Oklahom 5 1 14 proof1

May 1, 2014 | Volume 2, Issue 28 | Norman, OK

www.theodysseyonline.com | @OU_Odyssey | Facebook.com/TheOdysseyatOklahoma

EIC NOTE PAGE 2

THE SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTIONS PAGE 5 HOW GIRLS PREPARE FOR GOING OUT PAGE 6 IF IT’S NOT MOVING, MONOGRAM IT PAGE 7

CHI OMEGA WISH WEEK’S FIRST YEAR PROVES TO BE A SUCCESS! photo by: Maxi Anderson

2

Editor's note

www.theodysseyonline.com

MISSING HALEY MOWDY Alpha Gamma Delta Editor-in-Chief

Haley is a senior studying classical languages & English writing. You may contact her at hmowdy@ ou.edu.

THE ODYSSEY AT OKLAHOMA CREATIVE EXECUTIVE TEAM

Rachel Campbell

Editor-in-Chief Haley Mowdy

Jessica Schaefer

Alpha Gamma Delta

Alpha Chi Omega

Editor-Elect Annie Roach

Recruitment Chair Hunter Graham

Chi Omega

Delta Delta Delta

Contributing Editors

PR Chair Dea Pennington

Alex Bare

Delta Delta Delta

Alpha Chi Omega

Pi Beta Phi

OLYMPIA MEDIA GROUP 888.272.2595 | OlympiaMediaGroup.com Managing Editor, Brittany Binowski Graphic Designer, Grant Hohulin

We want a representative from every house!

To apply for a writing, photography or sales position, TheOdysseyOnline.com/creative Š 2014 Olympia Media Group, LLC All Rights Reserved.

The Odyssey is a private entity not associated or governed by University of Oklahoma Greek life office. The views and opinions shared in The Odyssey are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Odyssey and Olympia Media Group.

www.theodysseyonline.com

MISSING ANNIE ROACH Chi Omega

Annie is a sophomore studying professional writing and international studies. You may contact her at annieroach@ou.edu.

Scene on campus

3

4

Scene on campus

MISSING RACHEL CAMPBELL

Alpha Chi Omega Rachel is a sophomore studying professional writing.

You may contact her at rcampbell@ou.edu.

www.theodysseyonline.com

www.theodysseyonline.com

Ideas debate & discuss

THE SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION ANDREW SANDERSON Lambda Chi Alpha

Andrew is a freshman studying advertising. You may contact him at andrew.sanderson@ou.edu.

If a picture of you and your friends doesn’t end up on Facebook or Instagram, did it ever happen? Is it possible to spend time with a group of people without feeling the need to take a perfect picture and see how many people will like it? Over the last few years, I have noticed that social media has gone from a useful and practical way to share bits and pieces of daily life to a full-fledged obsession for many.

Before I go any further, I don’t want to sound like some sort of cynical old man venting about kids and their cell phones.

I tweet (pointless things that many times are probably only funny to myself), post pictures on Instagram and check my

Facebook just like everyone else. I think they’re all great ways to keep in touch with friends. But when it gets to the point where you can’t go from your room to your car without sending 50+ Snapchats, come on, it’s time to put your phone up for a bit and take a look around you.

Everyone has the friend who spends more time sending selfies or tweeting while hanging out with a group than they do actually talking to whoever they’re with. If you are that person, others notice. Believe me, there are many more things happening than what you’re going to see from refreshing all your feeds to see if anyone else has posted since you checked five minutes ago. And, as crazy as this sounds, you can enjoy the company of friends without sharing it with the world. Take a trip with some friends to the lake or the river, go to dinner with that cute girl, go to a Thunder game, put your phone up for a while and have a real conversation.

It may seem trivial to the twenty-somethings who were already in middle school or high school and had learned how to communicate with people by the time social media sites, such as Myspace and Facebook, took off. Think about the elementary school aged kids who already have iPhones as well as Twitter and Facebook accounts. I noticed the

other day, while out at dinner, that the family sitting at the table next to me had not spoken a word to each other for quite some time. Sure enough, the two kids, who couldn’t have been older than seven or eight, as well as both of the parents, were fully immersed in their phones.

Obviously, times are always changing and technology keeps evolving at a ridiculous rate. But, at this point, it seems like social media, in general, isn’t going to benefit anyone in the long term. The things you put on the Internet are always going to be viewable. Think what it would be like if our parents’ generation, who went to college in the alcohol and drug friendly 70s and 80s, had Facebook pages or Instagrams documenting their every move. Would you even want to see?

Again, I don’t want to demonize all social media, because it definitely has its pros, but it’s the trend of people becoming so infatuated with it that society needs to discuss. If you’re out with friends and feel like capturing the moment in a picture, then you should do it. But also realize that you can enjoy yourself just as much without the aid of a continuous stream of posts of your friends before you go out. In the immortalized words of Juicy J, “Follow me on twitter @ therealjuicyj”.

WHAT DID YOU SAY? COURTNEY BLOSSEY Alpha Gamma Delta

Courtney is a senior studying public relations. You may contact her at blossey.courtneyrose@ou.edu.

When I was 16 years old, I was provided the beautiful opportunity to travel abroad for a small portion of the summer. Through a super travel agent deal, I found myself in Scotland, Ireland and Italy—all three countries that I highly suggest visiting at least once in your life. I took every chance to immerse myself in the culture, taking special care to be one of the locals.

My suitcase was cluttered with Rick Steve’s travel books on where to go, what to see, how to dress and what to say. When in Rome, I walked everywhere so I could speak my very limited Italian to anyone who would listen. When in Scotland, I listened carefully to the beautiful Scottish accents, later attempting to replicate them in my hotel room.

And, when in Ireland, I absorbed as much Gaelic as I could, even though I couldn’t understand it.

You see, the beauty of traveling is not just the places

you go, but the people you meet and what those people can teach you.

Perhaps, one of the most profound realizations I had was the communication disconnect. I’ll never forget visiting Ireland and staying in one particular bed and breakfast. While dining over traditional Irish breakfast cuisine, the lady of the house was telling my parents and me all about the sights to see in town. At one point, she looked right at me and said, “Go to the town and you’ll see a lot of old hookers and have good crack!” The look on my face was one of confusion and mimicked a deer in the headlights. The woman laughed at me, explaining that “hookers” are the old fishing boats. They’re called “hookers” because they hook the fish. She further explained that “craic,” pronounced “crack,” is the Gaelic term for fun. Oftentimes, locals will say, “The craic was grand,” or “That was good craic!”

When in Italy, I did my best to speak Italian.

Although much of what I said had a deep need for improvement, I was fortunate that the locals were patient and appreciative of my efforts. Many times, they asked me where I was from and smiled, giving me pronunciation suggestions or telling me different things to say. At one restaurant, I learned

5

the correct way to say “gnocchi,” an Italian potato pasta (delicious!). I also gave the waiter English lessons when he asked me the word for “showering my plate.” He was referring to “cleaning my plate.” It was in that moment that I fully came to understand just how difficult English can be for foreigners.

Scotland yielded many questions from another bed and breakfast I stayed at. The woman was insistent on finding out what the word “zing” meant and kept asking. When I asked for the spelling, and she responded “x-i-n-g,” I chuckled and informed her, that it was “crossing,” like for when people are crossing the street. She laughed and asked why Americans have so many “rest rooms.” She was very curious what Americans were doing that they needed to rest so often. After my family explained what restrooms were, she nodded, saying, “Well, that makes so much more sense!”

We may all speak English, but despite commonalities, cultural differences definitely make each of us unique. If you ever travel, I encourage you to speak to locals and immerse yourself in their culture for a fulfilling visiting experience. Who knows, you might be able to pick up a couple of your own stories to share!

6

Lookbook fashion

www.theodysseyonline.com

HOW GIRLS PREPARE FOR GOING OUT EMILEE O’HAIR

Delta Gamma Emilee is a sophomore studying public relations.

You may contact her at Emilee.B.Ohair-1@ou.edu.

It’s a hard life being a girl, sometimes. You boys don’t understand and, frankly, you’ll probably never understand the daily hardships we women have to face. Okay, well maybe hardships isn’t really the right word. But we, for sure, face difficulties that our gentlemen friends will never experience. One of those difficulties is the process of getting ready for a night on the town with our gal pals on the weekends.

It may not seem like there’s a lot to getting ready. As my mom always says, “Just slap on some makeup and you’re good!” Thanks, Mom, but the steps a girl has to take in order to go out must be executed with extreme care and diligence.

Deciding what to wear. This is by far the most important, and probably hardest, part of the pre-going-out activities.

We never realize how few “going-out” clothes we have,

until it’s time to go out. Also, without fail, we will try on at least four or five of our own tops as well as several blouses that belong to someone else before deciding on the final contender. Usually, it ends up being the first shirt that was tried on.

Shoes are a burden to decide on as well. You want to be comfortable all night, but those Steve Madden wedges would look so awesome with your pants. Curse you Steve Madden and your fabulous shoes! Shoes are always an obstacle when it comes to getting ready. When you don’t know how long you might be out, or how much walking you might end up doing, it can definitely be a challenge.

Lastly, there’s the point in the evening where you’ve tried on about three different outfits and you make the declaration that you can’t go out because you have nothing to wear. No joke, we all do it, pretty much every single weekend. It’s a moment of pure dejection; yet not serious enough to ever really keep us from going out.

Getting pumped up. We know that you boys blast music in your frat houses at all hours of the day, and we girls also like to listen to some tunes to get in the mood for going out. Although loud volumes aren’t usually tolerated in our houses, we make due with the Mac speakers. At this point, I think that nothing gets us feelin’ good more than Jason Derulo’s latest song. That little ditty comes on during shuffle mode and everyone starts twerking while trying to flat-iron their hair. Not recommended by the way.

Regardless of what awesome song comes on, it’s just not

the same getting ready without some sweet tunes in the background, setting the tone for the whole night.

Applying makeup. Applying make up must be done meticulously. You make one wrong move with that mascara brush and you’ve got black smudges all over the place.

Curse words fly right and left and again, there’s the usual debate about not going out. Choosing a lipstick can also be quite the task for many girls. Once you put that stuff on you can’t just wipe it off if you don’t like it. Especially if it’s red. That junk will stain your lips along with the entire area around your mouth. Ergo, wise decisions must be made when it comes to lipsticks.

Doing the hair. Next to picking out something to wear, fixing our hair is probably the second most important part about getting ready. Usually a flat iron, curling iron or hair dryer must be used. You can’t just go out all willy nilly without applying some sort of damaging heat to your hair.

It would be un-American. Messing up the hair is also one of the most heartbreaking experiences a girl can encounter before going out. The feeling of defeat is so prominent that, yet again, we debate staying home. Although usually we can find enough sisters to tell us that “it doesn’t look that bad” to convince ourselves to go out anyway.

I’ve only dipped my toe in the description of a girl’s process of preparing to go out on the weekend. There are so many more aspects involved, which I didn’t even touch.

I just wanted to let all of you guys know the lengths we go to in order to look good for y’all on the weekends.

PERFECTION DOWN TO A TEE GRACE ANNE MARCUM Kappa Kappa Gamma

Grace is a junior studying Journalism. You may contact her at clara.e.wilson-1@ou.edu.

Remember when you were eight years old and wanted to wear the Mary-Kate and Ashley clothing brand? You didn’t care if it came from Wal-Mart.

You just wanted to magically transform into the newfound long lost Olsen triplet that Full House accidentally overlooked. It’s fine. And if it makes you feel any better, I couldn’t get enough of MaryKate and Ashley’s clothing line back in the day.

Now, with the Passport To Paris and Billboard Dad days behind us (along with my third grade Wally World wardrobe), Olsen inspired apparel may very well be on its way back into my closet. It’s no secret that these famous sisters are now fashion icons with multiple clothing lines that I wish I had known about sooner!

One of these brands is The Row, which is not exactly the cheapest brand in the world and is most

definitely not designed for college girls. A sweater for $740? I’ll pass. However, there is definitely something to be said about my current favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley brand, StyleMint.

I was familiar with ShoeMint, a branch off StyleMint, and had spent some time on their website, but had not made the connection that this fashion-forward clothing collection was jumpstarted with the help of the Olsen twins.

All of you die hard StyleMint shoppers out there must be thinking I’ve been living under a rock, or something. For the rest of my fellow StyleMint newbies out there – here is the 411 about Mary-Kate and Ashley’s classic brand.

It all started with the idea of designing the perfect T for women everywhere at an affordable price.

StyleMint’s home base is in sunny Santa Monica, but you can see for yourself on their website how StyleMint’s perfect T and other casual wear could possibly deem Mary-Kate and Ashley to be T-shirt geniuses. Yes, that’s a thing. Because turning comfy into classy is a gift you’re just born with.

Not only do the twins have the art of designing t-shirts down to a tee, StyleMint is also home to classic sweaters, outerwear, jeans and semi-formal

dresses perfect for upcoming date parties. But the best part is the affordable prices!

When you first get to their website, after giving your email, you will take a quick style assessment (which is always a good sign) and then the fun begins. With everything tailored to your taste, it’s going to be a challenge not to go ahead and “add to cart” and enter your parent’s credit card number that you’ve memorized by heart.

Besides our favorite celebrity twins, other celebrities have also been spotted wearing StyleMint’s perfect T and other casual wear, including Jennifer Garner and Rachel Bilson. StyleMint has even found its way to the OU campus.

“I really liked the fit of the two shirts I bought along with their affordable prices,” said StyleMint shopper, Alex Hodges.

So here’s to Mary-Kate and Ashley and their fabulous sense of style, and to yet another website that will soon suck up my paycheck. Visit SytleMint. com for their latest looks and, while you’re there, check out StyleMint’s other collections such as ShoeMint, JewelMint and intiMint to complete your look!

www.theodysseyonline.com

Lookbook fashion

IF IT’S NOT MOVING, MONOGRAM IT

SOPHIE ORLICH Chi Omega

Sophie is a junior studying English. You may contact her at sophie.orlich@ou.edu.

Preppy, precious and practical – monograms have become both a sorority staple and a stereotype. But why monogram? Why give in to the stereotype?

Not only does putting your initials on something make it publically marked as yours, it adds a personal touch to a plain item.

Originally, monograms were use as a royal signature. Artists in the Middle Ages and Victorian period used them and then the upper class began using personal monograms to denote their place in society. Today, they are used with both genders from all classes on everything from personal stationary to shoes! Here are the traditional monogramming guidelines:

Women: first LAST middle (Rachel Karen Green – RGK).

Married women: first LAST maiden (Blair Waldorf Bass – BBw).

Men: FIRST MIDDLE LAST or first LAST middle (Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III – FTG or FGT).

Married couples: bride LAST groom (Nathan and Haley Scott – HSN. Traditionally, linens are monogrammed with the initials of the lady of the house. There are hundreds of monogram styles, fonts and shapes.

For women, the interlocking script is the most popular and widely used – it’s feminine, timeless and classy. For men, only block is acceptable and most common is the straight across style in the first-middle-last format. Often, menswear uses a diamond shaped monogram while women’s wear leans towards using the circle shape, but both shapes are interchangeable for each gender.

When choosing baby names, I hope couples consider how the child’s name will look in

7

monogram form, especially boys, because their initials will never change. For example, giving a boy the name Brian Allen Daniels would mean his initials would be BAD, forever. For girls, it’s a little less stressful for the parent because there is a likelihood that the daughter’s last initial will change. This also means if they accidently give them bad initials there’s hope her monogram will regain its dignity one day. Unfortunately for every daughter, if one of our initials does change then everything we’ve collected for the first twenty or so years, with our original beloved monogram, is now incorrect.

Luckily for me, I don’t predict any of my initials changing any time soon. I’m no monogram fanatic, but I have more things monogrammed than most people I know. Monogramming is just such an easy way to scream, ‘I’m cute and preppy!’ without encasing yourself in Lilly Pulitzer.

I monogram things for two reasons, the first is to label things as my own so they don’t get lost in whatever communal area/house/room/friend group I find myself in. Sometimes, I even forgo the initials and upgrade to having my entire name embroidered on the back of my shirts so there is no confusion. The best part about that is, instead of just writing in the tag with a marker, I can see it myself. More than once I’ve realized my name is on the back of the shirt one of my friends is wearing.

They can’t deny it’s mine!

The second reason is purely decorative; a plain cable knit sweater I found at a resale shop is much fancier after adding my interlocking monogram on the left chest in contrasting thread, tastefully of course. It can spice up a plain shirt or add class to a backpack. Even though we live in this awkward south/southwest/Midwest middle ground region, I promise you won’t be teased.

If you’ve been considering getting anything monogrammed, recently, I highly recommend it. You can paint, sew or sticker your initials on virtually anything. Customization is very in right now, plus you’ll always know it’s yours. So get out there and get monogramming!

8

Self health & fitness

www.theodysseyonline.com

FINALS WEEK TREATS Finals week is quickly coming up. Here are a couple recipes to try during finals in order to get your mind off of all of your reviews and de-stress,

KAITLIN MANIS

a large glass. Steep the tea in the boiling water from above. Remove and throw away the tea bag after the tea has steeped for five minutes. Set tea aside to cool at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes. Pour the tea in a serving glass and top with

Gamma Phi Beta

desired amount of ice. Add a few teaspoons of the sugar syrup mixture into the large

Kaitlin is a freshman studying journalism. You may contact her at kaitlinrmanis@ou.edu.

glass and combine well with iced brewed tea. Serve immediately.

even if it’s only for a few

Puppy chow Ingredients

minutes.

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Passion Tea Lemonade

1 cup creamy peanut butter

Ingredients

½ cup margarine or butter

Water

7 ½ cup Rice Chex cereal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Powdered sugar

1 teabag of Tazo Passion Tea

Preparation

Ice

Melt the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter or margarine together. Pour Rice

Preparation

Chex into a Ziploc large bowl. Next, pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal.

Microwave one cup of water until it is boiling. In another microwave-safe bowl,

Make sure all of the cereal is coated. Place the chocolate-covered cereal in a Ziploc

combine one tablespoon of water and two tablespoons of sugar. Microwave on high

bag. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cereal and shake well. Add more, if needed,

for 20 to 25 seconds and then stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside. Place one teabag in

and shake more until all the cereal is perfectly coated.

DIFFERENT ZONES OF THE GYM AND THE PEOPLE WHO INHABIT THEM ERIC PARSONS Lambda Chi Alpha

Eric is a junior studying chemical biosciences. You may contact him at snosrap@ou.edu.

Each different section of the gym has a specific subset of people who inhabit it. Throughout this article, we’ll take a virtual tour of the Huff for a glance at those who dwell there. I’ll tell you what goes on in each section so you can figure out where you fit into this fitness zone.

Basketball courts. The most frequently used area of the gym is the basketball courts. This is the fratstar ’s home niche. Go there, and you will see a ridiculous amount of fratagonia, comfort colors and, of course, New Balance shoes. This is where your average fraternity member, who isn’t super concerned with getting big, goes to get some exercise. Don’t be surprised to see a million guys with letters on their chest, playing tip 10 around the courts.

Badminton and ping-pong courts. This area

generally perplexes me as I’m not exactly sure what spot it fills. I mean, do you really think that you’re gaining any kind of physical advantage from playing a game that can be done sitting down – in the case of ping pong. While badminton is slightly better, why don’t we leave lawn games outside? I mean, you don’t see me playing bocce ball in the cardio room. This is like an extremely less intense version of tennis. If your sport has a ball that is designed to move slowly, then it’s not a sport.

Track and racquetball courts. I have to respect these two for one reason. They’re hard. As mentioned in an early article of mine, running absolutely sucks. If you’re a hardcore marathon runner, I salute you. I’m also curious if you’re kind of stupid, but I respect it nonetheless. Racquetball falls into the same category, as that is not an easy sport to play. I am, however, very fond of the rule that if you hit someone you get points. I guarantee that was started by a fraternity man while playing against the pledges during hell week.

Cardio room. This is the land of the sorority girl.

Why run around the track when you can just run in place and watch Parks and Rec instead? You will see many of the sororities represented on the treadmills. A few of the braver ones will venture over to the mat and attempt to do abs. On a day when there are very few people in the gym, you may even see these girls go into the weight room.

Make sure to take a note of this, or tweet it, because this is as rare as seeing a guy in a muscle shirt who lifts legs. Quick note, please do not be one of the guys who, the minute a girl walks into the room, can no longer concentrate or get a set in without looking around to see if she’s checking you out.

She isn’t. Unlike you, she probably came here to actually work out and isn’t concerned with how badly you shake putting up 95 pounds.

Weight room. There is hardly a more diverse place on campus than the weight room. You’ve got the roided out muscle jockeys who have a hard time bending their elbows past the 45. You have the miniscule honors kids, who are working their butts off curling those 15 pounds. You’ve got those guys who sit in the middle trying to build up and the guys who decided last week they were getting buff for spring break. You can find all types here, which is part of the charm.

Whichever area you fall into, don’t let habit restrict you from mixing it up a little bit. Try racquetball or lifting weights, badminton if there’s time or (god forbid) jogging a little bit. You may enjoy yourself and meet some cool people along the way, and that’s a good enough reason to step outside your comfort zone.

Sports local

www.theodysseyonline.com

9

BUBBA WATSON: AMERICA’S CHOSEN SON

BY PARKER CASSELL DELTA TAU DELTA

You probably do not watch golf. It is for old people. You know that and golf knows that. Even if you do watch golf, it is very likely a feigned interest for about four days in mid-April to watch The Master’s, probably for the sole purpose of telling your friends that you sometimes watch golf. I do not care if you watch golf. You are an American and you care deeply about golf. You love golf, mostly because you love your favorite golfer. His name is Bubba Watson.

Before delving into all the richly charismatic qualities of Bubba’s character, it is important to understand that—beyond all of his extra-golf appeal and apparent disinterest in golf custom and history—Bubba Watson can really, really hit the white ball. Yes, he has a cool car and a golden personality and a name that makes you want to move to Alabama and start shrimpin’ for eternity.

But, more than anything, Bubba is a tremendous golfer.

Now, a two-time Master’s champion, Bubba is the fourth best golfer in the world, according to the Official World Golf Rankings, with six career PGA Tour wins and 36 top 10 finishes. Even the way he plays golf is captivating. Traditionally, the most popular guys on tour are the golfers who win often. One popularity tier below them are the guys who hit the ball really, really far – like 320 yards far.

Bubba is lovable because he smacks the dogwhiz out of the golf ball all the time. This is the point where all of America generally screams, “But anyone who is a professional can do that right?

He takes lessons and has coaches and watches his swing on tape all the time! I could do that too if I had lessons!” Wrong, America. According to urban legend and his own word, Watson has had a grand total of zero golf lessons in his life. That is,

coincidentally, the same number I have had. Bubba just shot a 69 on Sunday at the Master’s to win $1.62 million. I just shot a 102 at Westwood on Sunday to lose all of my dignity.

What, exactly, does your favorite golfer and 2014 Master’s champ do fresh off of his victory? He and a small posse of friends head directly to his favorite restaurant, Waffle House, to eat and then he leaves a $148 tip just because he can. I cannot understand how this man could not possibly be your favorite golfer. Last year’s winner, Adam Scott, likely bought steaks and champagne for his friends and family.

Cliché. Four-time champion (and, formerly, my favorite golfer) Tiger Woods probably did things so unspeakably evil and immoral that this entire publication might risk immediate cease and desist threats if written descriptions of his celebrations were ever put to press. Watson celebrated in a way that was all at once unique, charming and grandma-conversation appropriate. He appeals to everyone.

Watson’s appeal extends far beyond golf. In a turn of events that surprises absolutely no one, a man named Bubba happens to drive a ‘69 Dodge Charger— a car made iconic in a TV show, The Dukes of Hazzard, with two glorified, rambunctious Southern cousins with little reverence for authority and custom—complete with bright orange paint and a Confederate flag plastered on top. It is almost as if Watson goes out of his way to look golf tradition squarely in eye, flip it a charming Southern bird and then laugh his way to the 18th green at Augusta National and slide into a new green jacket. He does not care. We, young America, love that.

If making imprints on the professional golf world was not enough, Bubba and three other golfers—Ben Crane, Hunter Mahan, and the

Stillwater Superdouche, Rickie Fowler—formed a small musical group called Golf Boys for your entertainment. I use the term musical very loosely.

They make autotuned YouTube videos for their own enjoyment and the rest of the Internet just happens to watch them. Bubba usually just jumps around in the back wearing nothing but some full-length overalls and God-given chest fur. Albeit strange, this makes him even cooler, if only because it likely makes him the only man from Florida who can jump around in nothing but a denim jumpsuit and not get arrested for something. Perhaps the only reason to even consider disliking Watson is because he hangs out with the Puma sponsored, flat-bill wearing, Oklahoma State graduate and PGA Tour skid-mark Rickie Fowler, but that is an entire extra article’s worth of discontent. Bubba deserves the benefit of the doubt for that friendship.

Disregarding the car, the overalls, and even the great success he has experienced, Bubba’s greatest appeal is that he appears to be something many golfers work hard not to be—human. He has feelings. He shows them frequently. After winning his first Master’s in 2012, Watson wept in his mother’s arms in an incredibly moving scene of raw emotion. He had just won his first Master’s 11 years after beginning his professional career.

He had just adopted his first child, Caleb, after a long four-year process. That moment on the 18th green at Augusta captivated the nation. It was in that split-second of unbridled human passion, that Bubba Watson became your favorite golfer. Waves of powerful, uncontrollable emotion swept over Watson, rippling out from Augusta to everyone watching from their couch across all 50 states.

America watched, and America loved it. He had, after all this time, made it to where he wanted to be. And all of us, by extension, had made it too.

10

500 words on music

www.theodysseyonline.com

15 THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE AWESOME MARRY WILLA ALLEN Alpha Chi Omega

Mary is a junior studying English literature. You may contact her at marywallen@ou.edu.

Being appreciative can be difficult in certain circumstances. For example: the ice cream machine at Sonic isn’t working (the actual worst), you get a massive zit right before a major photo op or some fine honey doesn’t reply to your SnapChat. On a bad day, these things can have you spiraling into a deep, dark depression instead of laughing it off like the champ you are. If you’re a crier, like myself, you might even have to excuse yourself for a little pity sob in the bathroom.

Stop that. If you feel as if you’re on the verge of a mental decline, here is a wonderful list of 15 things that make life awesome.

1. That magical moment when you think you typed your password wrong but, then, by the sheer force of pure luck it actually works (saving you at least four seconds of your precious time).

2. Netflix.

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Alexis is a junior studying Public Relations. You may contact her at alexis@ou.edu.

Want to make money from your Instagram popularity? Working for Marta Alonso, you can.

Alonso is the founder of Instagramers and head of Digital Ad & Marketing for Edelman Spain. She recognized the untapped potential of Instagram and utilized it in the forming of her company.

You might think this information is all new to you, but it’s probably not. One of Instagram’s most popular hashtags is “igers,” an abbreviation for Instagramers. This hashtag comes from Instagramers, the company, referring to Instagram users as “Instagramers.” In fact, the term “igers” has been hashtagged over 109,013,285 times!

Alonso works with corporations to enhance their Instagram presence. A common technique is sending popular Instagram users to corporate events. These Instagram users, or “Instagramers” (Alonso’s coined term), snap pictures throughout the event and post a few appealing ones to their

9. The petition to deport Justin Bieber, which is a real thing that actually happened.

10. Puppies. Little corgis, little labs, little pugs. They exist. Don’t even get me started.

3. The YouTube video, David After Dentist. I know, it’s old, but if you haven’t watched it recently, go do that. The second where he screams is probably the best moment ever captured on film.

11. Finding someone who shares that one all-consuming obsession you have. More specifically, the exact moment when you both figure it out. Much screaming and pointing.

4. Cheesecake, cookies, steak, fried asparagus. Food.

12. The amount of Oscars you have. Which, funnily enough, is the same amount that Leonardo DiCaprio has. For once in your life, you’re on the same level as Leo. Congrats.

5. Strangers who are randomly kind to you. Here’s a thought: be that stranger for someone else, next time.

6. Harry Styles. God bless the United Kingdom.

7. The song,“You Make My Dreams Come True,” by Hall & Oates. I’m going to need you to head to your car immediately and listen to that on full volume.

8. Videos of soldiers coming home from war to their families. Snowballing off that – proposal videos. If you’ve lost faith in humanity, just watch a variation of those two circumstances for a few hours. If you don’t

INSTAGRAMERS ALEXIS HAMES

cry repeatedly, someone has taken your soul.

personal Instagram page. These posts generate consumer awareness in a unique, modern way.

Instagram users with a few thousand followers are happy to attend these exclusive events and the companies get practically free endorsements broadcast to thousands of people. Instagram users with a higher following receive monetary compensation. This is a brilliant, easy way for companies to gain publicity and for Instagramers to do what they love to do – Instagram!

Not only does the company serve corporations and popular Instagram users, it also serves your average Instagramer. One of the most useful aspects of Instagramers is the “hot links” section on their website where you will find questions and answers to some of your Instagram questions. Here are a few of their tips: To see who created a tag first, download the Instagramers app. This is useful when trying to find the origin of a viral movement.

Use two to three hashtags. Reading more than three is obnoxious and kills your Instagram. Many tags are used so frequently they have lost their meaning on Instagram. Because of this, you’ll need to make your hastags unique. Additionally, using popular hastags makes you more susceptible to spam.

Promote your Instagram profile on your other social media outlets.

13. Listening to your very first Christmas song every season. I tend to hop around like a lunatic on that special occasion.

14. Falling into freshly washed sheets.

15. The fact that your last name isn’t Kardashian. If you don’t find this to be a bonus in your life, please reevaluate.

Post frequently and keep in touch with your Instagram community. Don’t let people forget about you; respond to their questions and comments.

Use your language skills. If you can speak another language, don’t be afraid to use it on your Instagram. Doing so will allow you to discover cultures all over the globe.

Want to make the popular page? Follow a ton of people – just by shear numbers, some of them will follow you back. You’ll also want to add information about each post. Adding a title, location and other unique information will make your posts more relatable. Show interest in your followers by spending time communicating with them. The larger your following, the more time needed to maintain it. Instagramers notes that, while it may take a lot of time, organizing original contests has been proven to raise Instagram popularity.

Celebrate your “hits” and thank your followers.

The most important thing is taking creative photos with quality editing. And be patient.

As cool as being on the popular page of Instagram would be, I’ll never be willing to do bizarre things like organize a contest or thank my followers. As I am not “Instafamous,” my followers are my friends in real life, so thanking them for following me on Instagram would be unnatural.

Looks like I’ll never make the popular page. How will I ever go on?

www.theodysseyonline.com

500 words on food

11

FUNNY WORDS THAT SHOULD BE PUT TO REST MORGAN BRUNELLI Delta Gamma

Morgan is a sophomore studying public relations. You may contact her at Morgan.L.Brunelli-1@ou.edu.

We’re all familiar with the popular terms that are used in daily conversations. Some people find these words funny, while others find them downright annoying.

Here’s a breakdown of some “funny” words that need to leave our vocabulary and never come back.

Bae. I don’t know about you, but I have personally only heard this word being used for less than a year, now. I went months without actually knowing what this word meant. I would see people post pictures with their friends or boyfriends saying things such as, “me and my bae” or “reunited with my bae.”

My first thought was that these people were incapable of spelling the word babe, but I quickly caught on to this new fad when the number of people using this word was through the roof. If you still don’t know what bae stands for, don’t think that you’re the only one out of the loop. I had to go to Urban Dictionary to figure out what this word actually meant. I now know that bae stands for before anyone else. This could be used when talking about anyone, including a friend, sibling or boyfriend – basically the person who is number one in your eyes.

This word should not have been introduced to society to begin with, but in this day in age, this word will probably last for another couple of months and then die down once another new word comes about.

LOL. I’m sure everyone has used LOL at some point in his or her life. Whether you used LOL back in junior high rather than the now classic “haha,” when something is funny or, like your mom and grandmother, you think it means lots of love, we are all guilty of using this term at some point.

The term LOL is used more in a joking sense. I know that I am guilty of saying lol on a daily basis, but let it be known that it is always in a joking sense. The last time I actually used lol in all seriousness was probably back in the seventh grade, but the term has had a revival and is now used jokingly by many people. The term “Lawlz” and “lololol” have also come from lol and are terms that

you are likely to hear daily, as well.

Hashtag. Twitter has become a popular social media industry and is where the hashtag was originated. When it comes to hashtags, you either love them or hate them, there’s no in between. I like to use hashtags when I’m on Twitter and actually tweeting but, today, we often hear hashtag used as a word. You’ve probably seen the Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake video of the two of them hashtagging everything they say in their conversation.

A popular term that I’ve heard people say is “hashtag blessed.” Listen, hashtags should be used only for Twitter. What good is hashtagging everything you’re doing aloud? At least when you hashtag something on Twitter it counts for something but, in reality, it just sounds foolish when you hashtag a word in a conversation that isn’t through Twitter and you’re probably confusing those over the age of 35 who don’t know what the heck a hashtag is.

Turn up. This is the next word that need to be banished from the English vocabulary. Does anyone know what turn up actually means? With everyone using this word in so many different contexts, it’s difficult to distinguish the true meaning of this word. This term can also be known as, “turnt.” I’ve never been too fond of this word.

Basically, it means getting loose, getting wild and getting the party started. So why not just save everyone the confusion and say what you’re actually doing rather than using some silly term.

I only touched on a few of the most common words that people use today that some find funny; the list can go on. Just to name a few more, words such as swerve, selfie, RT and dank have made their way to the top of the list of regularly used words. I love my occasional use of some of these words, but once they start taking over your entire vocabulary, that’s where I draw the line. So, next time you want to go turn up with your bae because you’re oh so #blessed, listen to the jumbled mess that is actually coming out of your mouth. Can I get a RT and big lololol to that?

12

500 words on

www.theodysseyonline.com

WHY WE SHOULD BE MORE LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER Everyone knows the famous pop star COLLIER and everyone has an HAMMONS opinion of him. Justin Alpha Tau Omega Bieber is, arguably, Collier is a freshman studying the most famous health exercise science. person in the entire You may contact him at gregoryhammons@ou.edu. world, having played in dozens of countries and on several continents. The music star started his career young and by a miracle, when he met Usher in the parking lot one fateful day. Until that point, Bieber had been a YouTube musician never actually gaining much attention. However, as soon as, “Baby,” was first released, his boyish charms and young voice attracted the girls in herds. Beliebers, as they are known, are notorious for their passion, and obsession, with Bieber. Until he turned 18, no one really cared. He was just another teen pop star the girls fawned over and the guys hated.

When Bieber turned 18, things took a turn than no one expected.

The new Bieber had been living a hidden life until this March 2, 2013. Nothing was ever reported, but Bieber complained on Twitter that he had the “worst birthday” after having his party cut short by security who said they were “too rowdy.” A few days later, on March 5, Bieber showed up to a performance exceptionally late, “due to technical difficulties.” The next day, he had his famous altercation with an unnamed British paparazzi, who claimed Bieber shoved him.

After some harsher words were exchanged, the video went viral and everyone was talking about this trash talking, arm swinging Justin Bieber.

Of course, I was completely on his side. It was clear-cut who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Justin had been super stressed out! The day before he had to stay up later than expected, because he was busy doing something else more pressing than preparing for his sold out show. He had every single right to yell back at the disgruntled reporter he had just shoved out of the way. If I had been there, I probably would have yelled at the reporter, too. That’s Justin Bieber!

He writes songs that are loved by girls ages 10 to 20! We owe him respect, because he is a celebrity and he can do whatever he wants.

Another completely misunderstood event in Bieber ’s new lifestyle is the Anne Frank incident. After visiting her house in Amsterdam, he

wrote in the Holocaust victim’s guestbook hoping “she would have been a Belieber.” Well, duh! What is more important to history? A firsthand account of one of the most tragic events in recorded history or a few albums vaguely describing girls? Since Bieber knew that Anne Frank was a young girl when she wrote her diary, he probably hoped she would have been enamored by his looks and voice like countless other girls. People lashed out and called his remarks, “disrespectful, distasteful, conceited.” Millions of other girls are in love with him, why should Anne Frank be different? Bieber knows he’s got it, and he’s definitely going to flaunt it.

This attitude is similar to when he was captured on video peeing in a bucket and yelling, “F%$# Bill Clinton!” as he walks by a picture of him. Presidents aren’t even important, especially ones from different countries! He’s Justin Bieber; they should be calling him when there is a global crisis! Not someone like the President of United States.

Bieber ’s ego shows no signs of shrinking anytime soon and he likes girls just like him, “confident.”

Just like every kid with over $100 million to his name, Bieber enjoys drugs and drag racing. While in Miami, Bieber was arrested for a race with a friend, Khalil. He was intoxicated and resisted arrest, as anyone who is merely enjoying a drunken drag race should. Knowing he was in no serious trouble, he smiled very happily for his mug shot and showed no signs of remorse on his TMZ interview. Bieber sticks to the, “I’m invincible” approach throughout the interview, only getting upset when asked about his ex, Selena Gomez. Not only did he make himself look extremely appealing and apologetic for his recent acts, he showed his softer side when they brought up Selena.

Justin is a great guy and he knows everybody under the age of 20 knows that! He even let his friend, Lil Za, take the blame for a drug bust on his house, which found copious amounts of cocaine. Bieber and Za probably planned out the whole thing and set it up so that Za could go to prison. I would want to go to prison – free food, no rent, exercise, and maybe even a job! Bieber is one sneaky, good friend.

I hope everyone learns something about the Justin Bieber I love, from this article, not the one the media makes him out to be. He’s a misunderstood 19 year old with a lot of money and fame. What else is he going to do except lots of drugs and endanger people’s lives with underage drunk driving? So, everybody, lay off him and give the guy a break. He’s only human. Just a really, really bad one.

Humor lol

THE DEATH OF FACEBOOK

www.theodysseyonline.com

KELSEY GOSDIN

Alpha Omicron Pi Kelsey is a junior studying public relations. You may contact her at Kgosdin@ou.edu.

Despite its acquisition of several new ventures, including Whatsapp, Facebook seems to be dying a slow and painful death. The Facebook we once knew as middle-schoolers and young high schoolers is pushing up daisies, and for good reason. An article in Adweek slammed Facebook with the ultimate diss, saying that it is heading the way of MySpace. Gasp. Many

13

predict that by 2017, it will have lost 80 percent of its users.

Does that mean that every social media network that ‘sells out’ for ad space is destined What is the cause of this rapid and tragic to bite the dust? Not necessarily. Instagram and decline, you might ask? In my opinion, it is Twitter have recently opted into the whole the overuse and rapid increase in ineffective advertising gig and aren’t doing too shabby ads and an aging user base. After all, sharing and Pinterest has stirred talk of creating a social network with your parents and promoted pins. grandparents does present some issues. Those What is more interesting is that teenagers funny pictures and updates you used to post and young people are the main demographic are now hot topics at the dinner table. Even who are shifting away from Facebook to other worse, your parents become friends with social media like SnapChat, Instagram, Vine your friends, which leads them to ask about and Twitter. Essentially, we college students the questionable Buzzfeed link they posted to are the ones who determine what is hot and your wall last week. Yikes. what’s not as far as social media is concerned.

10 REASONS EVERYONE SHOULD LOVE JENNIFER LAWRENCE KATHRYN ANDREWS

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Kathryn is a freshman studying public relations. You may contact her at kathryn.e.andrews-1@ ou.edu.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the greater part of the last couple of years, you know Jennifer Lawrence. She is all over everything from Rolling Stone, Men’s Fitness, ABC.com, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and everywhere else. But what’s all the buzz really about?

Isn’t she just another movie star? No, just no.

1. She is talented. While most people know Jennifer Lawrence for her starring role in The Hunger Games, she won an Academy Award last year for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook (don’t lie, you know you watched it). She also received a nomination for her role in Winter’s Bone, the year before. Let’s not forget that she played Mystique in X-Men and knocked our socks off in American Hustle. You get the point, the girl can act.

2. She is hilarious. She is always joking around. She has no filter and she is the queen of one-liners. While there are way too many examples of interviews to count, the most notable include when she interrupted Josh Hutcherson’s interview to ask if his rash was okay, and

when she compared her dancing skills to “a dad at prom.

Gumby getting electrocuted.”

3. She is relatable and down to earth. The best example of this is when she was on her way up the steps to claim her Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook and fell. With millions of people watching around the world, Lawrence brushed the fall off with a joke as the audience rose to its feet. She said, “You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell…that’s really embarrassing.” She falls; she talks about food and about her weaknesses.

She apologizes for pre-gaming interviews.

4. She is gorgeous. As Katniss, as Mystique, with short hair, with long hair, Jennifer Lawrence is gorgeous in the most unassuming and humble way. But according to ABC.com, when she first got into acting, she was told she needed to lose weight. The article says that today, Lawrence dares anyone to treat her like that again. She said, “if anyone even tries to whisper the word ‘diet’,” she has a few choice words for them.

5. Her facial expressions. ‘Nuff said. She is like a public SnapChat story.

6. She really is about her fans. Any celebrity can stand in front of an audience with a miniature gold statue and thank their fans, but Lawrence takes it one step further.

When she was on the red carpet for the Catching Fire premiere in London, she saw a young fan in a wheelchair crying. The YouTube video shows that Lawrence had the barricade moved aside so that she could go and talk to

the girl and pose for a picture with her.

7. She is not afraid to attack the entertainment industry.

In an interview with BBC, Lawrence gave her opinion on the sexualization of younger women in the entertainment industry. She said, “it sells.” But she doesn’t buy it. She said, “It is not really something that I worry about, because everyone has their own path.

They have their own way of finding themselves and, for some people, that’s how they feel best, that’s how they want to perform” (in reference to Miley Cyrus).

8. She is not afraid to be a role model. In an article on ABC.com, Lawrence has said she makes conscious decisions to be a role model when it comes to younger fans, which is a drastic difference from a lot of current female stars we are all too familiar with. Lawrence said, “Growing up, I didn’t have a female hero the way that Katniss is… She’s a wonderful role model for young girls and I’m happy that they have a character like that.”

9. She is smart. Wait, what? J-Law graduated high school in two years with a 3.8 to pursue her dream of acting.

How cool is that?

10. She gives back. Everyone likes a movie star who isn’t self-obsessed and helps others. While Jennifer Lawrence is a successful actress, she has been involved with several charities like Feeding America, The Special Olympics, DoSomething.org, The Thirst Project, Saint Mary’s Center and World Food Program.

14

Humor

@buuwaba “I didn’t know it was my roommate’s birthday.. #oops #bestroommateaward” @buuwaba “I hate getting ready in a rush because you always forget something. Like putting lotion on your ashy legs.. #dontlookatme” @hmfallon “When your JMC lab instructor brings you Panera” @johnsontruong “MONDAYS ARE FOR HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER AND NOW IT’S OVER WHAT DO I DO EXCEPT SIT IN A CORNER AND CRY” @ash_the_cupcake “I can never look tough on campus bc i have a rainbow tie dye backpack.” @LindsayLand3 “To the stranger who just bought my coffee at Starbucks, thank you for making my day” @rileysroberson “I’m at the point where I’m thinking.. do I really have to do this homework? Do I really have to go to class? Do I really have to... breathe?” @stuffaimeesayz “What’s smh mean? So much hate?” @carolineebreit “The amount of hours of sleep I got is almost directly proportional to the number of tests I have today. I have 2 tests.”

www.theodysseyonline.com

@TheBigEvant “Whenever I wear a hat while having a clean shaven face I look like a 10 year old that has aspirations of being a train conductor.”

@KlideBell “i look like a horse when i laugh so from now on when i think something’s funny i’m just going to say “laugh.”

@TheBigEvant “The woman @ Whataburger gave me a free lemon pie, like ugh is this some rewards program for frequent customers???”

@LesAsamoah “It’s almost as if Saturday is homeworkproof”

@ccourtneydiane “i h8 when I’m driving and another car pulls out in front of me and kills my vibe” @ccourtneydiane “#GoToOU bc we’re the first and only school in the Big 12 to raise over 1 million for Relay for Life #blessed #JustCureIt @rachclegg “the man who put the drainage systems in Norman must have been a longhorn. #drowning”

@HunterBirkhead “My mom just used the word ratchet. #YAS” @Brandons_taudt “I used to think the idiom “shoot the breeze” was actually “shoot febreze” lol” @_SHMINDIA_ “The most productive thing I’ve done today is successfully turn a styrofoam cup inside out”

@peytonisrad “Isn’t everyday a wind advisory in Oklahoma?”

AIMEE SCHNEBECK

@KelceyBeckman “Coffee can’t even fix how tired I am”

Delta Gamma

@NateJ24OU “S/O to pollen for making my car that disgusting shade of yellow that Honda doesn’t offer, because it’s the color I really wanted”

Aimee is a freshman studying broadcast journalism.

You may contact her at aimee.schnebeck@ou.edu.

@OklahomaProbs “Ohhhklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains (at 50 mph). #OklahomaProbs”

WHY CATS ARE BETTER THAN PEOPLE makes them so appealing. That’s the thing about cats – they draw you in.

ELLEN PEARSON

Let’s just state the obvious: cats are better than people.

First off, they can take care of themselves. Put out some kitty litter, food and a water bowl and they know what to do. Unlike dogs, they don’t bark until you let them outside to pee, so bonus points if you’re the kind of person who is easily annoyed. No need to check on them, either. They can handle themselves. To give Cats are fuzzy, cuddly and adorable. Even if you some perspective, a cat is like that friend you consider yourself a dog person, you have you have who gets goods grades, eats healthy to admit that cats can be pretty dang delightful. and basically has their ish together.

I didn’t think of myself as a cat person until I Also, cats understand that you need your met friends who had cats. Then, before I knew space, mainly because they do too. They can it, I was committed to cats, even planned to get be alone sleeping in a room for hours and only my own one day. emerge when it’s convenient for them. Cats When, for lack of a better phrase, you hang know the precious value of time to themselves. out with cats, you start to understand what If you like to have alone time, cats are for you.

Chi Omega

Ellen is a sophomore studying journalism. You may contact her at ellen.p.pearson-1@ou.edu.

Your cat is never going to call you for a ride home at 3 a.m. Cats don’t really party so you never have to hold back their hair like you must do for your human friends. And, yes, people have human friends and animal friends.

As a college student who has several billion things going on in the week, I advise that cats are the best possible choice for a pet. Change your life, get a cat.

Photo by: Morgann Russell Model: Andie

www.theodysseyonline.com

Humor lol

15

PAGE 15