Last Sunday, No. 1 Oklahoma State (10-0) collided on the mat with No. 3 Oklahoma (9-4) in the National Duals finals and claimed a convincing championship by outscoring its opponents 116-33. The Cowboys defeated the Sooners for the eighth consecutive time with a 27-6 pounding in the finals.

This weekend, the Cowboys will turn their attention to unranked Pacific 10 Conference opponents: Oregon State on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Oregon on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

A championship will not be riding on the outcome of this weekend’s battle with the state of Oregon, but Cowboy coach John Smith said he wants his wrestlers to set the tone for the rest of the season in the dual.

“This weekend I want to see our best individual performances of the year,” Smith said.

Oregon State (7-5) and Oregon (5-4) have never come closer than nine points of beating the Cowboys in 27 meetings and will be outmatched once again this weekend. The Cowboys boast a lineup with nine wrestlers ranked in the Top 10 compared to zero Top 10 contenders from the Beavers and the Ducks.

Smith said winning or losing will not be an issue, but the intensity his wrestlers show will be the focal point.

“This is the time of year to get really excited,” Smith said. “We have talked about being motivated — let’s continue to pound that mat, let’s continue to stay focused. To me this is when it starts to get exciting.”

The Cowboys are enduring a brutal three-week stretch and the Cowboys will have competed in eight duals in a 16-day period after the Feb. 1 and 2 contests with No. 17 Northern Iowa and No. 11 Iowa State.

“I think it’s important for us, as a team coming off a National Duals Championship, that we show some consistency,” Smith said. “It’s a situation that you would like to see your athletes make weight back to back to prepare for the rest of the season and the playoffs.”

The stretch will be a little harder on OSU’s Muhammed Lawal and Chris Pendleton. Both wrestlers have accepted their invitations to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic on Feb. 3.

They will be taking a flight out of Ames, Iowa on Sunday night to arrive at the University of Delaware. Johnny Thompson, Zack Esposito and Tyrone Lewis were also invited to the All-Star Classic, but will not be making the trip to Newark, Del.

“Everybody is tired at this time of year,” Smith said. “There isn’t a guy out there that isn’t tired.”

Drew Hill can be reached

via e-mail at

dhill@ocolly.com

The Missouri Tigers will be hosting the Oklahoma State Cowgirl basketball team at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Heames Center.

The 5-11 Cowgirls are looking for their first Big 12 Conference road win. OSU is currently 1-4 overall in the Big 12. The Tigers have an overall record of 8-7 and are 2-2 in the Big 12.

OSU is coming off of two straight losses entering Saturday’s game. The Cowgirls got routed by No. 7 Texas Tech Lady Raiders 95-45 in Lubbock, Texas and lost to the Colorado Buffaloes at Gallagher-Iba Arena 64-50 on Wednesday night.

Although the Cowgirls have lost two-straight contests, they feel good about their progress.

“We’ve had a lot of turnovers lately and haven’t been patient,” OSU freshman guard Meghan Craig said. “We need to take care of the ball and if we play defense a little better and shoot a little better we have a chance.”

Craig led all OSU scorers with 16 points in the loss to CU and is the Cowgirls second leading scoring averaging 8.2 points per game.

Along with Craig, junior center Trisha Skibbe and senior guard Thia Willis lead OSU. Skibbe, the Cowgirls leading scorer and rebounder averages 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Skibbe tied her season-low by being held to nine points in her last effort against CU. “Skibbe has always been there for us,” Willis said. “The rest of the team needs to step up when she is struggling, but sometimes we need Skibbe to get some points on the board for us.”

The Tigers are coming off two straight victories against Big 12 opponents. MU beat the Iowa State Cyclones 86-55 at Ames, IA.

The Tigers also topped the Nebraska Cornhuskers 65-53 to pick up their first Big 12 home win. Against the Huskers, MU junior forward Stretch James scored a career high 18 points and dished out three assists.

The Tigers are led by junior forward Evan Unrau and senior guard Kerensa Barr. Unrau is the MU’s leading scorer and rebounder with an average of 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Barr is the Tigers second leading scorer with an average of 12. 2 points and leads MU in assists by averaging five a game.

Cindy Stein is in her fifth season as the Tigers head coach and has turned a program around that was in the dumps. By her third season, Stein led MU to the Sweet 16.

Last year, the Cowgirls hosted the Tigers at Gallagher-Iba and came out victorious, 73-57. Skibbe scored 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting and former Cowgirl Tari Cummings put up 22 points in the win.

“I felt like we played well against Colorado,” OSU coach Julie Goodenough said. “We guarded the triangle offense as well a team can and we executed offensively. We just need shots to start falling for us.”

The unveiling of the video board in Gallagher-Iba Arena is about to take place. Where now hangs a shroud of black plastic, four 8-by 10-feet video-screen panels will soon be installed, marking the final major step in the renovation of the arena.

Marty Sargent, assistant athletic director, said the video board is the “last major item the facility needs to complete the [renovation] project.”

Installation will begin following the Feb. 5 Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State men’s game, and the board is scheduled to be operative Feb. 11.

Being able to watch the video board is a long anticipated moment for many OSU sports enthusiasts.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to see instant replays on questionable calls. It’s going to make Oklahoma State basketball even more exciting,” said Zac Harrel, mechanical engineering sophomore.

The completion of the video board has been pending due to lack of funds since the beginning of the facility’s renovation.

“It was a financial issue,” Sargent said. “We needed to get (some other) things done first.”

Harry Birdwell, athletic director, said the video board cost just less than $500,000. The money to purchase the board was the result of private donations — a culmination of a variety of small gifts.

Athletics are not the only domain that will benefit from the new video board. Other events, such as graduation, that take place in the arena will have the opportunity to use the board, provided the event’s organizers pay the required fee.

The video board will provide not only broadcasts and instant replays, but will also make information more readily available to spectators.

Sargent said video board will make a “valuable contribution to events held in the arena because there can be information put out to people that they can see … and people will enjoy the video board.”

Advertisers will also get a chance to take advantage of the video board. However, the commercials will not take precedence over the event taking place and will likely be run before or after the game or during half-time, said Joey Biggs, director of marketing for athletics.

Officials responsible for securing the video board agree the addition will have a positive impact on the university.

“It will be a great addition, enhancing the game day experience for fans as they watch the best college basketball in the country,” Biggs said.

Amber Switzer can be reached via e-mail at news@ocolly.com

There’s no way around it, abortion is a horrible thing. Arguments over when life begins are irrelevant, because the bottom line is that each abortion represents a loss for all of us. Arguments about the horror of abortion are also irrelevant, because they ignore the greater horror: that any woman ever reaches the decision that abortion is her best choice.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that never happened? If every time a woman was told she is pregnant she and her partner were overjoyed? If in every case, pregnancy only occurred when the parents were stable, mature, solvent and capable? If every pregnant woman retained a future full of opportunity with the full support of her family? If every pregnancy developed without a hitch and no mother was ever told that the baby she carries will never have a chance at normal life?

Sadly, all these things do happen. They always have, and always will.

More sadly, when these things happen, there have always been women who believe abortion is their best option.

For these women, no matter what the law says, abortion is a choice. And there have always been women who chose abortion, in every culture, in every time. Always have been, and always will be.

Most of you have freedoms no other women anywhere have ever enjoyed. You can prevent pregnancy. You can identify the father of your child, even if he denies the possibility.

These advances have allowed you to determine your own sexual, marital, and professional life. You have grown up knowing that you could control your own life — something no other women have ever known. And somewhere in that knowledge, whether you support the idea of abortion or not, was the knowledge that you have control over your own reproductive future, even if technology fails and pregnancy occurs.

It is almost impossible to explain what that means to someone who has not been without that freedom.

I was in high school when Roe vs. Wade became law, and what it means to me is not dead babies, but living mothers. Before Roe, we all knew where to go in Tulsa, in Dallas, in Colorado. We knew the teachers who could get us in touch with someone who could perform the abortions. We all knew girls who went.

Today, we talk about the women who were never able to carry a baby to term after their back-alley abortion. We talk about the girls who wound up in the hospital bleeding to death, and those who didn’t make it to the hospital in time.

Outlawing abortion doesn’t save lives, it costs them. If outlawed, it would be the only instance in which we punished only one of the two people who committed an act.

It would be the only instance in which we refused safe, adequate medical care for someone because we disagree with their decision.

Even mass murderers get medical care. But if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, girls who commit the sin of becoming pregnant face death by butcher knife or coat hanger.

You don’t have to support the choice of abortion to support the legality of it. Each woman has the right, no, the responsibility, to set her own values.

Remember, though, that the values we set when something doesn’t seem possible aren’t always the values we hold to when the impossible becomes reality.

I pray that each of you achieve everything you want in life, in the order in which you want to achieve them. I hope you never face an unwanted pregnancy or one which will never result in happiness. I hope you welcome all your children into loving, secure homes.

But most of all, I hope you all remember the great gifts of choice and self-determination you have been given. They are precious and must be protected so you can pass them on to your daughter. Her life may depend on it.

The Oklahoma State University campus has many international graduate students from a multitude of countries. Some have had problems stemming from their backgrounds as international students.

The United States government shares information which concerns possible arms development with a select group of nations. The ban on the export of information is not simply limited to governmental activities in direct dealing with other nations, but it also spills into the arena of education. Many graduate students from one of those countries not receiving U.S. arms information may find a block on the permissibility of their learning.

This could be a problem for many international graduate students on the campus of Oklahoma State University.

“As long as information is in the public domain, it doesn’t affect graduate students in the classroom,” said Kay Ellis, manager of University Research Services.

“I would definitely get mad [if my research were hindered],” said Prateek Kothari, who is pursuing his Masters in Business Administration. “One of my friends was a Ph.D. student in organic chemistry working on his thesis, which was in terms of a chemical compound used in warfare. Because he was an international student he had some complications about his papers being processed and published.”

Kothari said he believes that once international students have completed their education, they may have difficulties finding jobs. He said he has observed that many companies are reluctant to hire people of international backgrounds.

Other international students such as Ambika Nair, who is working toward a Masters of international business, can sympathize with the U.S. government’s point of view but is not convinced of its justice.

“I can see why [sharing of information with foreign countries] would be an issue,” Nair said, “but here is a large generalization and sweeping ban.”

She said she believes that currently people of entire nations are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

“It’s understandable,” Nair said. “But it’s still kind of sad.”

The Export Administration Regulation and the International Traffic in Arms Regulation only affect graduate students when doing research is involved, and even then, the EAR-ITAR only affects graduate students from certain foreign countries, Ellis said.

Other official programs are focused on international students.

According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service Web site, “Student and Exchange Visitor Information System provides tracking, monitoring and access to accurate and current information on non-immigrant, someone admitted to the U.S. temporarily for a specific purpose, students (F and M visa) and exchange visitors (J visa).

“SEVIS enables schools and program sponsors to transmit electronic information and event notifications via the Internet to the INS and the Department of State throughout a student or exchange visitor’s stay in the United States.”

Some of the departments on campus that host foreign graduate students where information gained might pose a threat to national security could run into the dilemma of what to teach or not teach their graduate students.

According to the University Research Services Web site,”Export is defined [under EAR-ITAR] so as to preclude the participation of foreign graduate students in research that involves covered technology without first obtaining license from the appropriate government agency.”

Jannah Zubaidi can be reached via e-mail at news@ocolly.com

Among the achievements President David Schmidly has acquired, he is now able to add being inducted into the Texas Science, Mathematics and Technology Hall of Fame.

Schmidly was awarded this honor by Gerald Skoog, dean of the College of Education at Texas Tech University and a 2000 inductee into the hall of fame, Monday night.

Skoog said Schmidly deserved the honor because of his record as one of Texas’ leading mammalogist and because of his knowledge of conservation and wildlife.

Schmidly’s most recent book, “Texas Natural History — A Century of Change,” which describes what has happened to Texas’ environment over the past century and the challenges facing wildlife conservation as the state has become more urban, is an example of his scholarly research, Skoog said.

Schmidly has completed field studies in all 254 Texas counties and the research has been the basis for another of his books, “The Mammals of Texas.” The book describes the 181 mammals in Texas.

Schmidly also had a book published in 1991, “The Bats of Texas.” Skoog said this book reflects Schmidly’s interest in the study of mammals.

“I’ve known him for awhile and being a science educator, I am familiar with some of his work,” Skoog said.

Skoog said he worked with Schmidly during their time together at Texas Tech on several activities, including the university’s Strategic Planning Committee that became an important aspect of Schmidly’s term as president there.

Schmidly has had research projects funded totaling $2.6 million, Skoog said.

According to an Oklahoma State University press release, Schmidly has directed 39 research projects and federal initiatives totaling $35 million.

Natalea Watkins, assistant vice president of the OSU news bureau, said the honor of being inducted to the hall of fame shows in writing Schmidly’s 30 years of research.

Watkins said it is a combination of his research and hard work spent in Texas.

The Texas Science, Mathematics and Technology Hall of Fame is funded by the San Antonio Education Foundation and the Texas Education Agency, according to the Texas Science Summit Web site, www.texassciencesummit.com. The first inductees were in 2000.

According to the Web site, the hall of fame was envisioned as a means of recognizing Texans who have played a major role in significant scientific accomplishments in the State of Texas.

Mary Henderson can be reached via

e-mail at mhenderson@ocolly.com

Behind the leadership of 2002 All-American Hunter Mahan, the Oklahoma State University golf team will be seeking the university’s 10th national championship.

Mahan, a McKinny, Texas native, was named the 2002 Big 12 Player of the Year as well as being selected to the U.S. Amateur and Palmer Cup teams.

During the summer of 2002, Mahan made an impressive run at the U.S. Amateur Championship, making it to the title match where he was defeated by Ricky Barnes.

In his second season with the Cowboys, Mahan set the ninth-best stroke average in NCAA history with an impressive 70.51 average. In addition, Mahan also set the OSU 18-hole scoring recording by firing a 10-under 62 during the second round of the U.S. Collegiate tournament.

Mahan also posted three individual victories last year with first place finishes at the Jerry Pate Collegiate Tournament, his first victory as a Cowboy, the Ping Arizona Intercollegiate Tournament, and at the U.S. Collegiate Tournament.

This year, Mahan has his eyes set on team success.

“Our goals of winning a national championship are a little more clear this year,” Mahan said. “We feel a lot more confident than last year when we were a little young, starting some freshmen and sophomores. This year our team is really clicking and it’s exciting o be a part of that.”

Experience and confidence may not be the only thing fueling the Cowboy’s national championship hopes. Familiarity may also play a huge role for the Cowboy’s this year. Karsten Creek, the Cowboy’s home course, will be the venue for the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

Mahan said that the Cowboy golf team is looking forward to hosting the tournament. “Having the national tournament there is a once in a lifetime opportunity — it’s something really special,” Mahan said. “We’re just going to take full advantage of that.”

Mahan, who began his collegiate career at the University of Southern California, said that he felt privileged to be playing for such a tradition-rich school such as OSU.

Mahan said that while it was a lot of pressure to continue the winning tradition for OSU golf, he felt that it wouldn’t be the same without that pressure.

“It’s a pressure that if you don’t have, then you’re missing out on something in college golf and to have that is an awesome thing,” Mahan said.

Putting some of that pressure on the Cowboy golf team will be legendary OSU golf coach Mike Holder. Holder, who has seen his share of success in the Cowboy golf program, is entering his thirtieth season as head coach of the Cowboy golf team.

During the Holder era, OSU golf has separated itself from the rest of the collegiate golf programs in the country and boasts a long list of NCAA Championship awards.

Under Holder, Cowboy golf teams have posted 26 Top-10 finishes, 25 top-five finishes, 18 top-three finishes, 17 top-two finishes, eight championships and five individual championships.

Mahan said that the Cowboy golf team is prepared to add to the list of NCAA Championship awards.

“I think we’ll be in contention for a lot of tournaments, When it (NCAA tournament) comes in May, I think we’ll be ready to go.”

Ryan Sharp can be reached

via e-mail at

sports@ocolly.com

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a four-part sexual health series.

Is premarital sex moral? It’s a question not often discussed openly, but with knowledge and communication about sex, one professor said the correct decision can be made.

“I look at decision making as a psychological process,” said Bill Scott, associate psychology professor. “I want both males and females to be assertive about asking questions about sex.”

Nate Alberty, business freshman, said he and his girlfriend, Melinda Wakefield, Manhattan School of Music freshman, both virgins, have been dating for 14 months and have talked about the possibility of marriage.

“I talked about it (sex) with her the first week we met so we could have a better idea of what each other desired when it came to sexual morality,” Alberty said.

Alberty said his parents influenced his decision to remain abstinent. Stories from his friends’ sexual regrets and his Christian beliefs impacted him as well.

“It’s not only a special gift you can give to your wife but waiting creates less problems,” Alberty said. “I have more respect for the person I am with.”

Wakefield said remaining abstinent until marriage is safer for her because she does not have to worry about contracting a sexually transmitted disease and getting pregnant out of wedlock.

“I believe sex can complicate a relationship,” Wakefield said. “Having sex before marriage is something that I am not able to handle before I am married in all the ways: emotionally and physically.”

She said by not having sex with Alberty, she knows that he is with her because of who she is and not for sex. Their relationship is clear and purity is a common bond they share.

Because both of them share the same views on premarital sex, talking about sex with each other was not difficult, the 19-year-olds said.

For some people, talking about taking the next step in a relationship is not easy. However, Scott said communication and education are key in making moral and ethical decisions before engaging in a sexual relationship.

Scott said the Oklahoma State University course Human Sexuality 2593, a class he teaches, helps students learn the appropriate times to question a partner’s sexual history, the appropriate places to have sex and the legal issues involving sex for example.

“Sex is a thinking person’s interpersonal activity,” Scott said.

What people do not know about sex can get them in trouble, especially with the law.

Scott said legal sex must be consensual with someone over 18 years of age and with a mentally fit partner. This means having sex with someone under the influence of alcohol or with a mentally handicapped person can be illegal depending on the situation.

In Oklahoma, engaging in oral sex with the same sex partner is illegal, but heterosexual oral sex is legal, Scott said.

For another OSU student, having sex was not a moral issue.

“Having premarital sex was not that big of a deal to me,” said Jared Harlow, business sophomore. “It’s kind of like drinking beer in high school; you just kind of did it.”

Harlow lost his virginity because of peer pressure, but it was also something that he wanted to do, he said.

“I wish it had been more special, but I wouldn’t take it back,” Harlow said.

Even though he said he did not have a problem with premarital sex, he said he looks for girls who do not want to have sex with him because he likes the challenge and does not want a girl who will give in to him easily.

“I think everyone needs the experience,” he said. “Sex is a life lesson.”

Bethany Krottinger can be reached via e-mail at bkrottinger@ocolly.com

I’ll have the crow today, thanks, and for dessert I think I’ll have the bar of soap.

I wrote a column yesterday which was based on comments allegedly made by Earl Mitchell at Tuesday’s peace rally in front of the library. As I do for most of my columns, I read the paper searching for something about which to write, came across a paraphrased statement allegedly made by Mitchell — one of the featured speakers at the rally — comparing our current movement toward war to that of German aggression in 1939 and, justifiably so, he became very pissed off.

Quoting from my column, I made the following statement: “Please tell me that either this newspaper drastically quoted him out of context - well, paraphrased, it wasn’t a direct quote - or please tell me that he is packing his crap into a box today and looking through the want-ads for a new job.”

Well, it turns out the former happens to be the case.

I woke up yesterday morning to two e-mails. The first was from Mitchell, offering to explain what the Office of Multicultural Affairs actually does.

The second was from the reporter who wrote the story, explaining to me that, on second review, the quote was out of context.

With that, allow me to offer my mea culpa and two necessary and fair clarifications to this bit of ugliness.

First, Mitchell said nothing of the sort in his speech. It turns out that the paraphrased quote came from an interview with him after his speech.

Second, as Mitchell explained to me in our meeting yesterday, his only comparison between the U.S. and Germany was the sense that very little of the world is behind our current move to aggression, just as very little of the world was behind Germany’s.

With that, consider this my public apology.

I’ve written roughly 350 columns for The Daily O’Collegian, spanning from my undergraduate years in the mid-1990s to my current daily position, which I’ve held since 2001. I have two basic methods for writing my column. The first is an experience I have on or around campus and my reaction to it. The second is from watching the news and reading four daily newspapers. The obvious inspiration for this story was The Daily O’Collegian, from which most of my column ideas are culled. This was the first time I was blatantly wrong, and I regret it.

The more thoughtful of you will ask why I did not call Mitchell to verify such a statement. While this would seem to be common sense, I’ve never done so before and this method has never failed me until now. I take in what I observe and I react to it, end of story. This may seem a reckless way to do things, but it’s just the way I do them.

I would like to note that my contrition is not an act of self-preservation; for me, it is merely doing the right thing. I have not been urged by a lawyer or the editorial board or the relatively large volume of e-mail I received about this, but out of a particularly strong sense of shame. I can only hope everyone who read Thursday’s column will read today’s as well. Unfortunately, this probably won’t be the case, and for that I am sorry.

With the Hispanic population doubling in Oklahoma since the 1990 census, Oklahoma State University has also seen an increase in its Hispanic student population.

However, this might not be in reaction to the rising Hispanic population alone.

“It (the Hispanic population) seems to be steadily growing,” said Edwina Kersten, Hispanic Student Coordinator for the Multicultural Development and Assessment Center. “I think from last year it’s up about 6 percent, so it’s steadily increasing. It’s not representative of the state yet, but it’s getting there.”

“The whole student population is going up,” said Earl Mitchell, associate vice president of Multicultural Affairs. “So we are getting more whites; we have more blacks. The only group that has gone down is the Asian-Americans.

“But on the national scene, Hispanics are the larger minority group in the country,” Mitchell said.

For this semester, there are 289 undergraduate and 46 graduate Hispanic students, according to the Office of Planning, Budget and Institutional Research. The Oklahoma Hispanic population is 179,304, or 5.2 percent, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

Kersten said some reasons why the OSU Hispanic population is not reflective of the national population may be Hispanic families’ inability to pay for college or sometimes college is not where Hispanic families’ priorities are.

James Banda, architecture sophomore and Hispanic-American, said he has always felt comfortable and accepted at OSU.

“OSU has done a good job (for) me,” Banda said. “I didn’t really need much help getting into college, but I know they do a good job of trying to help multicultural groups and people from other races to get into the school, at least from my experience.”

Kersten said attracting minorities and making them comfortable is always an issue.

“I think we help in that,” Kersten said, “there is a program on campus called ‘Gear Up’ through the College of Education.”

Kersten said she will be speaking at a “Gear Up” event Saturday evening. It will be in Tulsa and she will give Hispanic students an idea of what college life is about.

Kersten said attracting minority students is not the primary concern of the center.

“We’re set up here primarily for students that are here on campus,” she said. “We try to make it a comfortable environment for any students of diversity that come through and any mainstream students that have any questions. We’re here to help.”

However, Mitchell said there are other concerns to all students.

“I think the only concerns I have are the same as when we increase the number of students on campus,” Mitchell said. “We have to develop services for students in terms of student affairs.”

There are groups on campus that help create a comfortable environment for both minority and majority students.

“The one thing I’ve noticed in the Hispanic Student Association right now is that it’s not just predominantly Mexican-Americans in there,” Kersten said. “We have students from Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

“That’s very exciting because even among Hispanic students there is great diversity. So we’re learning a lot about other groups in our own little group,” she said. “Then putting those students out into the classroom, it just shows more of your mainstream students a little more about how the rest of the world, other cultures, students grow learning from each other.”

Eric Bost can be reached via email at ebost@ocolly.com

Even today, on such an educated campus with so many liberal people, sex can still be so taboo. This taboo that surrounds sex, even to students whose lives are centered around learning, causes such ignorance that many who do have sex, do so without much caution.

Although there are some for whom sex is commonplace, the amount of self-education about sex is severely limited. People are either too afraid to bring the topic up with their partner or too unaware of the consequences of their actions to take much precaution.

The choice to have sex is yours, and so is the choice to take the proper precautions to practice safe sex.

People should realize what could come from a one night stand or nameless fling. The responsibility falls upon both partners to take the initiative to talk to the other about their sexual past, or to plan for how the night may end.

Communicating is something partners should be able to do comfortably — especially if they feel comfortable enough to sleep together. Partners should tell one another about their sexual history and share their feeling about safe sex with one another.

If you do make the choice to have sex, do so on your own terms. One night of passion could lead to a lifetime of misery. Having sex could be one of the best decisions a person can make. But it can also be one of the worst.

If you do make a decision, decide responsibly, because this time it involves more than just you.

The sound was heard across the world when Oklahoma State University student athletes and employees crashed into the rolling countryside of Strasburg, Colo.

John A. Hammershmidt, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, wrote, “I am sure the OSU travel policies were very similar to other Big 12 schools of their size.”

The team travel policy at the University of Arkansas was very similar to the policy in effect at OSU, said Frank Broyles, athletic director at the University of Arkansas.

“We had some strength in some of our policies. … We were using some private planes, but now we have changed since the crash. … We only fly with charter or commercial companies,” Broyles said.

According to the NTSB report released Thursday, some universities do not have access to private donations and planes. Other Big 12 universities had to travel commercially from the start.

“We have always flown commercial; we have never had access to the resources such as private planes, like OSU and other Big 12 schools,” said Jon Burianek, senior assistant athletic director for the University of Colorado.

The families of the 10 victims of the crash seem to follow the same thinking process.

“There was no reason for this accident to happen,” said Zane Fleming, father of Nate Fleming. “A stronger policy and really just enforcement of the existing policy would have maybe kept the men safe.”

Students at OSU feel saddened by the news that the plane crash was a result of human error.

Sherri Collins, agriculture junior said, “In the beginning, it was a source of comfort to know that nothing could have been done to save the victims of the crash. … But now with the evidence presented by the NTSB there is a shadow of doubt cast over the situation.

“The emotions that students tried to deal with two years ago are only being prolonged in anguish. To know that lives could have been saved if the pilot of the airplane had been able to properly fly the plane.”

“My concern is for the families affected by the crash before the students,” Collins said. “I cannot imagine trying to deal with a situation of this magnitude for two years and then finally have the real facts presented two years down the road.”

At every university there is worry about student travel.

“Anytime you have student athletes traveling, whether it be on the land or in the air you are always concerned,” said Ed Stuart, associate dean of athletics for the University of Missouri. “You are always going to try and do everything to ensure or give your kids the best and safest opportunity to travel from one destination to another.”

“You hope as an institution that you have done everything in your power to guard against situations of that magnitude,” Stuart said.

New answers are being offered by the National Transportation Safety Board in explanation to what happened to the 10 victims of the plane crash in Strasburg, Colo.

In a statement issued Thursday, the NTSB determined the probable cause of the Jan. 27, 2001, plane crash was “the pilot’s spatial disorientation resulting from his failure to maintain positive manual control of the airplane with the available instrumentation. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the loss of A.C. electrical power during instrument meteorological conditions.”

Prior to the plane crash, Oklahoma State University followed a loose policy regarding the procedures for student athlete travel, said Zane Fleming, father of the late Nate Fleming.

The OSU transportation policy before Jan. 27, 2001, stated:

“All charter flights — any trips for which money, goods or services are exchanged for air service — are required to be contracted and scheduled through the flight department.

Aircraft could be donated for OSU use and those aircraft had to be certified and approved through the flight department, according to the prior policy.

Information regarding the airplane’s inspection records and insurance policy, the pilot’ s FAA certificate number and medical certificate, and the pilot’s biannual flight review record were to be updated annually and kept on file within the department.

This was not the case in review of the Strasburg crash, wrote John A. Hammerschmidt, acting chairman of the NTSB, in a letter in reply to Thursday’s NTSB report.

“According to the flight department manager, four charter companies were on file with the flight department, but Jet Express Services was not one of them,” he wrote. “OSU indicated that its flight department did not have any records on file regarding the accident pilots or airplane.”

Suspicion stewed in the minds of the victim’s families as to why policies were not followed.

As reported by The Daily O’Collegian Thursday, Fleming said, “If more care would have been taken, this crash could have been avoided and all those men would be with us now, but that is the way things happen.”

The NTSB gave thought to the fact that OSU did not follow proper procedure in this case, but Hammerschmidt wrote, “OSU’s former air transportation policy was not causal to the accident. In fact, the policy was not likely different from those in place at other universities of the same size as OSU.

“The flight was coordinated with the flight department manager, as were charter flights and flights involving university airplanes,” Hammerschmidt wrote. “Thus, OSU did not provide any significant oversight for the accident flight.”

Hammerschmidt stated the goal statement of the task force designed to reformulate OSU’s travel policy was “to provide a framework for safe and efficient athletic team travel for Oklahoma State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, … to assign responsibility and accountability for enforcement.”

Fleming said the new team travel policy at OSU is very inclusive. The policy takes into account every aspect of athletic and academic travel, whether it be in the air or on the ground.

According to the OSU post-accident team travel policy, “All flights are to be operated on an IFR flight plan and aircraft may not depart into forecast hazardous weather conditions, including severe icing, thunderstorms, or severe turbulence or windshear.”

IFR, or Instrument Flight Rules, is a system the aviation world uses to determine the severity of meteorological conditions and whether a plane is able to function in such conditions.

Also in the OSU policy, “… inspection and maintenance must be performed by an appropriately rated FAA-certified repair station, the manufacturer or a manufacturer-authorized service center.”

The policy calls for the pilots and owners of the aircraft, private or commercial, to carry insurance policies of no less than $250,000 and no more than $1 million dollars for private planes and $3 million dollars per passenger for commercial airlines, Hammerschmidt wrote.

The NTSB recommended that the National Collegiate Athletic Association “review Oklahoma State University’s post-accident team travel policy and develop, either independently or jointly with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and/or the American Council on Education, a model policy for member institutions to use in creating a travel policy or strengthening an existing travel policy,” Hammerschmidt wrote.

It’s about that time of year, when everyone begins admitting that their New Year’s resolution just did not come to pass this time. Things came up and it just ended up being the wrong time. Next year will be different, right?

I must say I get a great deal of joy out of listening to friends’ resolutions every year. Whether it be going to the gym more often or swearing off fast food, I know deep down that as soon as Jan. 3 rolls around, at least one friend will be explaining to me the reason behind their lack of physical activity as we venture to Taco Bueno at 1 in the morning.

Most people live up to their promises a little better, however. Statistics show that about 60 percent of Americans actually remain faithful to their New Year’s resolution for at least two months. How does that make you feel? If this study is true, then six out of 10 readers are still living up to their New Year’s resolution.

Surely this data is flawed and misleading. No one can think of two friends, let alone six, that have not already abandoned their respective oaths of honor.

Foreigners must think we Americans are hilarious, what with the way we triumphantly resolve to live a better life, only to stumble and fall after a few short weeks of half-hearted attempts. Only in America could this dishonesty not be considered deceitful, but rather be accepted as reality and a way of life. One wonders if these socially acceptable falsehoods are commonplace in other nations around New Year’s.

So who’s to blame for creating such a rich tradition of annual guilt and shame? Unfortunately, capturing and flogging the culprit would do no good, as they have been dead for about 4,000 years. The Babylonians were the first to start celebrating New Year’s, however their festivities took place about March instead of January — with the spring planting of crops.

While I’m upset with the Babylonians for lulling me into a dull stupor of gloominess every year, I like their idea of starting the year in March when it’s vibrant and happy outside. Plus it’s warm. It’s just too cold in January to do anything but bundle up and watch Court TV.

The point is, nobody is being fooled by anyone when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. The odds of success are miniscule at best, and even if you are actually going to the gym five times a week, nobody is going to believe you.

So for those of you who are still walking the narrow road and keeping up with your resolutions, I commend you and good luck with the future. As for everyone else, well, there’s always next year.

As I look at society, I see many good and descent people. People that cherish the freedom we have of practically everything. There are also bad people in our society that want to drain it.

Prisons are made to punish people who break the law. Without this punishment there would be no instrument to uphold the peace. It needs to be fair in its sentencing and with its logic.

Today, prisons are as corrupt as some politicians. Instead of punishing criminals, we, the taxpayers, pay for their cable television, basketball and everything else they have.

So, if “Bob” kills another human being, Bob is supposed to be punished and have his freedom taken away. But once Bob gets to prison, is he really being punished?

We have all the corruption and criminals in America today because no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. No one cares if other people get hurt; no one is considerate; everyone is only concerned with themselves and not about society as a whole.

Punish criminals for the illegal acts they commit. Make them a better person before they come out. To do this I see only one way and that is to teach them responsibility. Make them see that even though it is much harder to make a dollar legally, it is the right thing to do.

Criminals who’ve committed horrible crimes should grow their own food. Instead of letting them lift weights, make them lift a shovel. Instead of pushing a basketball down the court, make them push a plow down the corn field.

If they don’t want to do this, that’s okay, we can’t force them to. But, if they don’t, they won’t have any food to eat. So it’s up to them whether to help plant and harvest crops, and care for animals.

Oh no, you can’t do this. It violates their civil liberties. What about the liberties these criminals took away. Why do criminals have more rights than the victim? Nowhere in the constitution does it guarantee basketball to criminals.

This way, they will learn respect for the food they eat. If they can’t physically handle it, there are plenty of other jobs they could do. They will learn that it takes hard work to do the things they take for granted. They will learn teamwork, trust and will have a much easier time finding and sustaining a job in the real world once they get out.

Prisoners should not be all bound in the same place. Different crimes require different punishment. Prison guards have to give prisoners their basketball and cable television because it keeps them under control. Does that sound strange to anyone else? Prisoners are not there for comfort. They are there for punishment.

If a prisoner acts up for whatever reason, he should be punished with solitary confinement or by taking away some of his food. Guards are supposed to be running the prisons, not the prisoners. That’s what we pay them to do.

Prisoners don’t need to be reasoned with. They need to be told what to do and know the consequences of disobeying the rules.

I never had cable television growing up, and by no means should a criminal get it because he broke the law. I admit, there are some great prisons out there with spectacular prison officials.

I sincerely thank you for the job you are doing, both to the inmates and to America. We need to force responsibility on these criminals if they do not want it freely.

Remember, they are criminals. They are in prison for a reason.

We need to teach them responsibility so when they come out, they will benefit society as a whole instead of being the virus that brings it to its death.

What comes around goes around. This is true in life, and apparently true in sports as well. With all the griping and moaning after the Oklahoma State basketball team’s 48-46 win over Oklahoma last week, you would have thought the Sooners lost a football game.

The disputed call (or no-call, if that helps) in which Cowboy Victor Williams got off the winning shot, appeared to be after the shot clock had run out. However, after some review, the horn hadn’t sounded, and apparently, the horn is the only thing that matters.

Don’t bother telling that to OU’s Kelvin Sampson, though.

The same factor that ruled against the Sooners also ruled against Texas Tech Monday night. In OU’s 69-64 overtime win over Tech, Hollis Price got off a last-second shot that sent the game into overtime. However, someone forgot to work the game clock. The first clock pause error came with 6.7 seconds remaining when the game was tied at 58-58.

After two Will Chavis free throws, OU guard Hollis Price caught an inbound pass. As Price dribbled the ball twice, 4.5 seconds still hung on the clock. Price then went the length of the court for the game-tying shot. Without the two errors, Tech would have won the game.

Though the Big 12 can’t change the outcome of the game, the lesson still stands that the same fate that screwed the Sooners and Raiders out of their respective games will screw every team at one time or another. Coaches that whine after the unfair outcome of a game (Sampson) need to shut up.

It might not be in the next game or the next 10 games, but everything will even out in the end. Who knows, maybe the cycle will come full-circle against the Cowboys in Lubbock Sunday?

Speaking of the Cowboys’ game against the Red Raiders, bench production and an entire team effort will be big factors against Tech. With OSU being able to get quality offensive production from as many as five players, the leading scorer could be the player who is just feeling it on Sunday afternoon.

“I just think that we’ve got an arsenal of guys that can come out and give you 20 each and every night,” said Cowboy Victor Williams. “We’ve got guys coming into the season, that you never know who the guy is going to be on that night. What helps out on the offensive end is that teams coming in can’t say ‘okay, if we shut this guy down, then we’re going to win the game.’ It could be anybody each and every night.

“So we’re the type of team, (that is) very unselfish. We know that one guy might get hot this night, and another might get hot another night.”

In last season’s game at Tech, OSU was in a funk, offensively, and as a team. The seniors of this season’s team, though, are approaching everything with a positive attitude that starts in practice.

“Well in practice, we just come everyday with a positive attitude,” said Cheyne Gadson. “As a team, last year, I would say we somewhat fell apart.

“This year we know, especially the seniors, what to do to keep us going and keep us winning is to stay together and stay positive in practice and keep working hard everyday.”

With OSU owning the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games, the opposing team is always ready for the Cowboys. The title doesn’t affect the OSU players, however.

“I guess that’s good,” said Williams of the winning streak. “But this team isn’t really worried about records and where we’re ranked and all of that. I think we go into each and every game knowing that we’ve got the toughest conference in the country, and if we don’t play well, we can lose.

“I think that’s been helping us out all season — that we just come into each and every game with that mentality that we’ve got to play hard to win the game.”

Media outlets, like ESPN’s Web site, speak highly of OSU. Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology” has the Cowboys in a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament — if the season ended today.

Don’t expect to see an OSU player looking up their rankings on ESPN.com, though.

“There’s not one player on this team that would go onto the computer everyday, looking to see where we’re ranked,” said Gadson. “Every player is coming into practice and is like, ‘let’s get better.’ Forget the rankings. They’re going to do what they’re going to do, and the media’s going to say what they’re going to say.

“We’re just trying to get better everyday.”

At the beginning of the season, the Oklahoma State basketball team needed something to be judged by. Coming into the season, it appeared as if the Cowboys would finish somewhere in the middle of the pack of the Big 12. A good team, but not a great team.