Graduate Class Gift and Speaker Announced

Photo courtesy of AP

The University of Oklahoma 2009 graduation is just around the corner. The university and the graduating students and their families are all in for a treat. The speaker for the 2009 commencement will be David McCullough, a two-time Pulitzer prize winning author. The university will receive the class gift of a beautiful stained-glass window that will be added to the Oklahoma Memorial Union.
As well as being an author, McCullough is a renowned historian. McCullough's very popular book, "John Adams," spawned a successful HBO series of the same name that was directed by Tom Hanks. This story about the history of a man and his country is acclaimed as one of the best biographical books on America. McCullough's recent book, "1776," has achieved countless awards and rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. With over 3 million copies sold, the book is admired by many. “No living American historian has done more to educate the American people about our own history and to teach us all the lessons from it, which are relevant to America’s current challenges,” said OU President David L. Boren.
As for the 2009 class gift, the piece of stained-glass will honor the Union's 80th anniversary. The Union has been a very common area for most University of Oklahoma students. "Some study there, some work there, and some play there. I guarantee you that no student will forget the Union!," said Jordan Hartley, OU senior. Being such a popular place, the Union is great place to display the 2009 class gift. The glass will hang above the doors between the Clarke-Anderson room and the Will Rogers room on the first floor of the Union.
So whether you work for the university, are a student, or an alumni, the 2009 graduating class is going out in style. And I, as a graduate this year, am honored to attend the University of Oklahoma and I will continue to support the university. Hopefully my children can come to OU and see the artwork that my class gave to them. To donate money for the class gift go to http://www.ou.edu/commencement/home/class_gift.html. McCullough can be seen at the commencement ceremony at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on May, 15 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Here are some past gifts that OU has been given. More can be seen all around the OU campus.

Class gift of 1935

Class Gift of 2007

End Is Near for the Vista Building

EVACUATED VISTA BUILDING COULD FALL ANYTIME

     The recently evacuated Vista Building on historic downtown 

Main Street is in more danger. With very strong winds in Oklahoma, 

especially over the past week, the building could topple without notice.

     City officials temporarily evacuated everyone from the famous site

because of the poor structural integrity of the building. Until the 

foundation is fixed, no one is allowed to go into, or near the building.

A popular sports bar and grill "The Vista" has been around for decades.

Being a very popular place for college students, many are looking 

elsewhere to drink and have fun.

     This past week, the problem got a little worse than just a structure

problem, it got windy. Professionals that surveyed the site, stated that

the building would not continue to stand if there were winds above 

50 mph sustained longer than three seconds. Anyone who has been 

outside in the past few days can tell that the wind sure seems to be 

blowing. For precautionary measures, the City of Norman closed down

Main Street  from Peters Street to Porter Street. The surrounding 

businesses were also shut down, because if the building were to fall

due to winds, nearby buildings would also be in the line of danger.

     "The Vista is like a second home to me. I have spent so much 

time and money there with friends, I really don't know what to 

do now!," said Eric Hollinghead, University of Oklahoma senior.

With the forecast of strong winds in Oklahoma next week also, 

city officials still do not know when it will be safe for people to walk

by, and for surrounding businesses to open their doors again. To help 

keep tabs on the wind, an anemometer has been placed on the building

to help monitor winds. 

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

image courtesy of vistasportsgrill.com

with added graphics by me!

Here is an example of a building crashing. Although, it is a little bigger, this could still happen to the Vista!