The Koreans are coming. No, no, it’s not war. They are coming for the American Studies Short Program, an exchange program for students from Korea. It all started three years ago and each year it has been growing in strength.

When Frank Anderson officially accepts the job to become the new Oklahoma State baseball coach, he will enter the 2004 season with a draft-depleted group of players. Of the six OSU players and signees that would play for the Cowboys in 2004, three of them have already signed. John Urick was selected in the 22nd round by the New York Yankees (the 664th overall pick) has already signed. Urick, the team leader in home runs for 2003, was assigned to the Yankees’ Single A affiliate, the Staten Island Yankees. Urick has played in six games for Staten Island, batting just over .100 but drawing several walks.

A job as the pitching coach of one of the best staffs at one of the nation’s baseball powerhouses couldn’t keep Texas pitching coach Frank Anderson from landing the job he coveted most - a head coaching position. Anderson accepted the vacant head coaching position at Oklahoma State on Monday, according to Texas head coach Augie Garrido. A formal announcement from Anderson and OSU athletic director, Harry Birdwell, is expected to come on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

With the young core of players that led the way for the Cowgirls returning in the fall, Oklahoma State soccer coach Karen Hancock feels the team is ready to turn the corner. After completing the most successful season in OSU history, the Cowgirls will enter the 2003 season in a little less than two months after losing only three seniors from last year.

Boyd Tinsley is a man you’ve all probably heard (and enjoyed) but have never heard of. His work with The Dave Mathews Band, playing both acoustic and electric violins, something almost unmentionalbly cool, has allowed Tinsley to write and create a large part of his first solo album, “True Reflections.” With help from many of his friends (including Dave Mathews on the title track) Tinsley and writer/guitarist Chris Bruce were able to write songs that won’t change the world but might make it more tolerable with their special brand of song styling.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, it’s been a good couple years for Marvel. It began with a band of mutated misfits, a guy who wears red tights and swings around New York and, well, another guy who wears red tights and swings around New York. All that, topped off with the men and women of X coming back for another round. Thus, the biggest, maddest Marvel character of all has hit theaters, with more emotion than fist, in “The Hulk.”

After the comic-book style credits, we see an extended origin scene for the jolly green giant. His father, David Banner (later in the movie played by Nick Nolte), is working for the military to try and genetically enhance humans. After his research is cut off, Banner senior decides to give himself a dose of his super medicine, but it doesn’t quite work. Unfortunately, his genetic monkeying is passed down to his son.

After David Banner goes crazy and gets thrown in jail, young Bruce is put in foster care, growing up with something hidden away inside, not knowing who his parents are.

To begin today I will make a statement that will seem stupid and pointless, but don’t worry, it will lead to something better. Summer is now here and in full so-called “swing.”

But, you are all probably bored. Summer is not necessarily boring; in fact, it is usually considered one of the happier times in the year.

Less school work, trips to lakes, ice cream at 3 a.m., swimming at all hours and actually having the time to go see all the latest movies are some of the things of summer.

The American Library Association Web site is a bounty of information — especially about books. But the site isn’t just a place for renewals, fees and reviews. Instead it is a gathering of information and facts about books themselves, and the influences they’ve had intellectually and culturally. There is a great quote you see when you do a search for the words “Harry Potter.”

The quotation is taken from a play written in 1821 by Heinrich Heine, called Almansor, which reads, “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.” How appropriate.

Summer can seem to last forever, especially in the Oklahoma heat. But our one summer holiday will be here soon. The Fourth of July and its hot dogs, watermelons, and a pleasant afternoon at Boomer Lake Park are always wonderful diversions.

This fall is going to bring more than a few changes to our campus and our lives as students. There will be record numbers of new freshmen milling about,

searching hopelessly for their classrooms. Lewis Field and the surrounding area will be getting a facelift. And returning students will open their mail to find that their tuition and fees have been increased by about 20 percent.

Friday night June 20, 2003, was a night filled with anticipation. Children of all ages lined up at Hastings at 316 N. Main St. for their first glimpse of the fifth installment in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

At 10:30 p.m., I pulled into the Hastings parking lot to find it more than half full and wondered quietly if this was a normal Friday night crowd. Surely a new Harry Potter book couldn’t draw this kind of a throng. Nearing the door, I heard the Harry Potter soundtrack; ambiance, I thought to myself.

The first thing I did when I walked inside was to look around. In no time I spotted the line, already extending through the music section. The interior of Hastings had been decorated with streamers and balloons.

I spoke with Karen Cristiano, Hastings book manager. On hand were 555 books and 187 had been reserved. She looked like she was ready for anything and said she was “expecting a madhouse.” I wandered around a bit and listened to bits and pieces of conversation, pleasantly surprised that everyone there seemed to be as anxious as I was.

After too many months of waiting, the literary world has finally been given the newest installment in the Harry Potter series. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is by far the longest volume yet at 870 pages, and it includes 38 chapters and weighs at least two pounds. J.K. Rowling has outdone herself again in her mastering the art of storytelling. She has produced an installment of great proportion with answers, but of course leaves more questions. Her magical world comes to life again through her expressive writing style and imagination.

Anyone interested in outdoor activities needs to check out the latest opening at the corner of Main Street and Virginia Avenue in Stillwater.

The store is called the Stillwater Summit Co. and is owned by 23-year-old OSU graduate, Brady Moore.

The Summit, which is now officailly open, offers outdoor footwear, sandals, sunglasses, camping gear and apparel, rain jackets and climbing gear.

Stout Hall, a student residence hall, has been reopened after a period of two years.

It has been remodeled and given a new look.

The National Collegiate Network Institute at OSU is working to recruit high school intermediaries from Japan, helping them with their English language abilities and thus training them for schooling at OSU.

Students from Japan learn English as a second language but they are not yet eloquent at it. They lack the fluency and are not facile with its usage. Their English is not good enough to start graduate study.

Katsunori Kanai, adviser to NCN, said, “The institute plays a vital role in assisting students on how to take English language classes in OSU, helps them chart out their career options and guides them on how to handle jobs and survive in the United States that is culturally different.

“Our focus is on English study and surviving American culture. In most companies in Japan, the job interviews are in Japanese. But some companies look for proficiency in English, and if they can speak good English, it will be a good advantage in finding a job.”

Another adviser, Akiko Hayashi, an employee of the private company, said, “We put them in the English Language Institute and they work from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. They take English courses where they learn about reading, writing, listening, grammar and speaking in English. It is an eight-week program where orientation about which classes to take is also given by our company.”

While discussing how the office came to OSU, Hayashi said, “One of our advisers came from the University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond. He established this office in 2001.

“This time we have 37 students and I think we are doing very well. The average GPA of our students is 3.34. Though they have English problems, in academic standing, they are doing pretty well.

Tuition increases for students at Oklahoma State University could be as high as 25 percent in 2004.

On top of the massive budget reductions in 2003, Oklahoma State University is facing another budget cut for the 2004 fiscal year.

With more colleges and universities embracing the World Wide Web, Oklahoma State University is certainly not falling behind.

The online application process has been available since early September, said Joan Sanmann, staff supervisor of the OSU admissions office.

“Since September, there have been about 10,700 applications total,” Sanmann said. “Of those, 3,025 have been online, which is about 28 percent.”

Larry Kruse, director of high school college relations, said the university wanted to introduce the online application process earlier, but was delayed.