Blog 3

A bill circulating through Oklahoma legislature could potentially increase the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 20. Republican Representative Ann Coody presented the bill to the Oklahoma Committee of Public Health Feb. 14, 2012, where it passed with two-vote majority.

If the bill became law,  the legal age to purchase and possess tobacco would increase gradually each year. Coody has proposed that every Nov. 1 the age would increase until it reached 21 in 2015. Adults who have already reached the legal age would not be affected by the bill because the gradual increase would rise as they aged. 

Other states like Alabama, Alaska and New Jersey have raised the tobacco age to 19. Oklahoma would be the first state in the U.S. to raise the legal age to buy tobacco to 21, according drugfree.org. 

Coody told the Oklahoma Committee of Public Health she put the bill together after a request from a doctor she visited. She hopes this request bill will allow young adults more time to decide whether or not to use tobacco products. People between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most easily addicted to tobacco, said Coody in an audio clip of the meeting. 

“I think it is a good thing,” Bill Zhou, a graduate assistant at OU said.

“The main purpose is to protect the minors, after all smoking is not really something you have to do.”

It was made clear at the meeting that the bill would not affect the sell of tobacco on American Indian reservations. The legislation has no control over what the reservations do or sell. This could give the reservations the ability to sell tobacco to those still under the desired 21 year age limit. However, the reservations usually try to abide by the U.S. laws when selling to non-reservation citizens, Coody said.

Those opposing the bill are worried about the amount of income the state would lose. The state already loses taxes to smokers who chose to buy cigarettes at the tax-free reservation stores and many worry that loss would become much more. Cigarettes and many other tobacco products are taxed in the rest of the state, therefore raising the age by three years could lead to a large loss in taxes for Oklahoma.

Coody believes that the deficit in taxes would be made up for by the lessened need for tobacco related healthcare. Tobacco is the most preventable cause for disease, affecting over 440,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Representatives backing the bill believe that the long term savings in healthcare costs would overshadow the tax losses. 

University of Oklahoma freshman Charlie Lamb began smoking at 18. Lamb, now 19 and still smoking, does not agree with the bill.

 “We can go fight in a war at 18, but can’t smoke until we are 21? That seems kind of ridiculous, I think 21 for anything is crazy,” Lamb said. 

The bill is still working its way through Oklahoma legislation and has not yet become a law. While healthcare and tax losses come into play for those voting for or against the bill, it seems that there is a lot more in the air than secondhand smoke. 

LEAD IN: University of Oklahoma freshman David Beard gives his opinion on the proposed bill to raise the age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 on Feb. 19, 2012. (0:20)

Clockwise: University of Oklahoma freshman Charlie Lamb smokes a cigarette outside his dorm Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. University of Oklahoma freshman David Beard smokes a Marlboro cigarette with his roommate Charlie Lamb on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.Beard holds his Marlboro box after lighting a cigarette Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.

Blog Post 2

Third floor construction in the Oklahoma Memorial Union forced the Pink and Black Ball to relocate from the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom to the Sam Noble Museum. Construction began on Monday, December 19, 2011 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, March 18, according to the Oklahoma Memorial Union website.

All events that usually take place in the Associates room, the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, the Frontier, the Governors, Heritage, Pioneer, Regents and Scholars rooms, the Dr. David F. Schrage OU Traditions room or the Weitzenhoffer room have been relocated, many finding a new home at the Sam Noble Museum.

Planning began around 18 months ago to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC systems on the third floor. The HVAC units being replaced were from around 1950 and finding parts to repair them had become difficult, said Laura Tontz, director of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. There are also plans to give the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom and atheistic upgrade, with refinished flooring, new wallpaper and paint.

When the construction plans were finalized, arrangements were made with all the usual spring clients, who rent the rooms for events during the semester, said Tontz.

“We worked hard to try to help people find things even outside of the Union,” Tontz said. “We tried to be really proactive ahead of time.”

The Pink and Black Ball celebrated its eighth annual event this year, according to the Pink and Black Ball website. However the big change this year was that the black and pink decorations were set up amongst the dinosaur skeletons and the mammoth statue in the main hall of the Sam Noble Museum. While the event is usually on campus, thecoordinators were happy to host the Susan G. Komen fundraising event at a different venue.

“We love the Union, it is a beautiful ballroom and we are sad itʼs not available to us, but we are excited to do something totally different this year,” said Kathy Moxley, director of the Womenʼs Outreach Center.

Although the event was not on campus, ticket sales were up from last year and they were expecting a good turn out, said Moxley.

Hosting the event at the Sam Noble museum brought its own strengths and weaknesses according to the Susan G. Komen Undergraduate Intern and Pink and Black Ball Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Lobaugh.

“The advantage, of course, of having it at the Union is that is is on campus. On the other hand, though, there is more parking here,” said Lobaugh.

There will not be a reopening ceremony for the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom or any of the other rooms undergoing upgrades. The rooms have already been booked for events right when the construction is scheduled to end. The Oklahoma Memorial Union third floor is planned to reopen the week after spring break. All the construction is on schedule up to this point, said Tontz.

Clockwise: Christopher Gutierrez, aerospace engineering senior, helps to finish the table decorations. The Pink and Black Ball volunteers decorate the main hall of the Sam Noble Museum. Cassie Ketrick, a Pink and Black Ball volunteer, sets up extra chairs around the tables. 

Blog Post 1

Two University of Oklahoma student organizations hosted an event Thursday to mark the end of their three month campaign to raise money for UNICEF.

Students were asked to wear internationally themed T-shirts to Thursday’s “Tee Party” in Hester Hall, where they turned in their donations and ate pizzas donated by Papa John’s Pizza. The event was sponsored by the Arabic Language Flagship Partner Program and the Model United Nations of the Southwest. 

“I love the fact that these two groups that care about the world sort of came together independently to have a fundraising event, to have this drive to help UNICEF,” said Zach Messitte, dean of the College of International Studies.

Fundraising for UNICEF has been a long time tradition for the College of International Studies. But, this year the two student groups decided to take the project and make it their own. 

The organizations distributed orange “trick-or-treat for UNICEF” boxes in late October. OU Arabic Flagship Coordinator Heidi Logsdon said that the national fundraiser usually ends after Halloween, but this year the groups extended fundraising through January. 

“Charitable giving can happen year round, it is not a seasonal thing necessarily,” Logsdon said. 

Unlike other organizations, the goal of these groups was not to raise huge amounts of money but to raise a sense of community. 

“While I think most students are really good about the idea that they are part of a community here in Norman, sometimes it is harder to have that same ‘give back’ internationally,” Messitte said. “So, this is an opportunity for people, who care about people in need all around the world, to give something back.”

UNICEF was created after World War II in December 1946 to help European children obtain food, clothing and necessary medical supplies, according to the UNICEF website. The organization now operates in 190 countries around the world helping children in need. 

“UNICEF is one of the older and well-established nonprofit international aid organizations,” Logsdon said. “They have the ability to reach a very wide scope, a very broad scope of vulnerable populations.”

The trick-or-treat themed change boxes feature facts about the impact of financial contributions to UNICEF. A quarter can provide 10 children with clean drinking water for a day, while $17 can provide a child with the immunizations to protect them from six deadly diseases. 

“The thing is even 25 cents makes a difference. We don’t expect college students to have deep pockets, it is just the idea of community service,” Logsdon said.

 Students lined the walls and formed groups waiting for the pizza to arrive after they dropped of their collection boxes. 

“I think it is really good that people are getting together and getting to know each other and enjoying the success of raising money for UNICEF,” said Cindy Coffin, a member of the Model United Nations of the Southwest. 

 Students who were not able to attend the event are still able to bring their donations in through the weekend. The money will be counted on Monday and then donated to UNICEF. Logsdon said that although the donations won’t be counted until Monday, the drive was successful.

“It’s probably too heavy of a load of change for me to lift up,” she said.