Oct 5

THE CAMPUS

October 5, 2016 – Volume 110 Issue 32

Emotional support animals provide comfort on campus Sage Tokach WEB EDITOR

OCU currently houses the most emotional support animals in the school's history.

A nationwide policy requires universities to allow students to keep emotional support animals in their living space if recommended by a mental health professional.

“Two years ago, the policy made national news, and then we saw a huge increase in emotional support animals on campus,” said Kevin Culbertson, coordinator of housing operations. “I don't think students were aware of the policy before that, but now they know it's an option.”

At OCU, students must present their doctor's recommendation to Jenny Minsberg, disability services coordinator, along with the paperwork about their animal. If Minsberg approves the paperwork, students meet with housing officials to figure out logistics.

“This summer I went to therapy for depression and anxiety, and, after meeting with her through the summer, we both agreed it would help me immensely to have my dog,” said Madelaine Heigele, vocal performance junior.

“I had to fill out information as to why I believe I should have a dog and how it could help my condition. Then, my therapist had to write a letter for her stating how it could help me as well. Jenny is so kind and kept in touch with me after everything was in and then that was that.”

Minsberg approved 17 emotional support animals this semester, as well as five service dogs, which include seeing-eye dogs for blind students, as well as dogs that indicate seizures and those that help with balance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and anxiety.

The campus animal policy reads: “the University may, at its discretion, require any person who enters the campus with a pet to remove the animal from

Submitted Abigail Padgett, nursing senior, holds her cat, Minute Maid. Minute Maid is one of the 17 emotional support animals on campus.

the campus grounds.”

To avoid this removal, students with approved animals must keep their animal within permitted boundaries.

Service dogs may accompany students anywhere on campus, including inside buildings.

Emotional support animals, however, must stay inside except to go to the restroom. When inside, students must keep the animal in their private room, away from any shared spaces like the living room of a quad.

If Minsberg approves an

animal request, the student meets with housing to discuss their living situation. The policy technically allows animals in any residence hall, but housing officials prefer to put animals in United Methodist Hall or a Cokesbury Court Apartment because those rooms are more isolated.

Walker Hall uses a recycled air system, making it possible for someone to have an allergic reaction to an animal on a separate floor, Culbertson said.

Culbertson emails students'

roommates to get their approval before allowing an animal to live with anyone. If the roommates have an issue or are allergic to the animal, housing works with Minsberg to find a solution.

Usually, housing tries to find new housing for the student with the animal, but sometimes, the roommate volunteers to move instead, Culbertson said.

Emotional support animals each receive an ESA tag to wear that identifies them to campus officials. Their owners also receive a ESA magnet to stick to their door, preventing students or facilities staff from entering their room and suffering an allergic reaction. Minsberg orders customized magnets and tags to ensure their exclusive use by approved animals.

“We haven't heard any complaints about any of the animals, aside from maybe picking up after them outside, but that has gotten better this year,” Culbertson said.

“We're talking about putting dog waste bins strategi-

cally around campus, not to promote pets (these are not pets), but to acknowledge the presence of emotional support animals and help out the students that have them.”

Students only own dogs or cats on campus currently, but the list of possible animals includes ferrets, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, and boa constrictors.

Abigail Padgett, nursing senior, said her emotional support animal helps her every day.

“I've had my cat, Minute Maid, for six years, and his personality just compliments mine,” she said. “He's a consistent source of comfort and support and acts as a distraction when I need it the most.”

“I just know that when I come home, he'll be there, and I'll give him treats, and he'll love me. Follow his Instagram account @justaminute_maid.”

Weapons policy under review Nicole Waltman STAFF WRITER

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Courtney Beyer Student Publications

Kicking the competition

Sophomore Midfielder Sara Ricks prepares to pass the ball to her teammate. Ricks set the women’s singlecontest record with six goals. The Stars won 14-0 against Bacone on Sept. 26. at Stars Field. The next game is Saturday against Southwestern Assemblies of God in Waxahachie, Texas.

Campus police recently released a new draft policy on weapons to students and faculty for review.

The policy was sent in an email last week and is open for questions and comments for 15 days.

The new policy is more thorough than the previous one, said Bradd Brown, chief of police.

The policy defines what is classified as a weapon, what exactly “possession” means, where weapons are not allowed, and the exceptions to weaponry on campus.

“Our purpose is to define what the university’s policy is and make it clear to everyone,”

Brown said. “It’s also good to let everyone to have input and provide their feedback.”

The policy prohibits all firearms except in personal vehicles. Weapons in vehicles must remain in the car, “stored as required by law.”

One of the major changes in the policy is the allowance of pepper spray to be carried around campus, Brown said.

He said questions about pepper spray are more frequently asked than any other kind of weapons, and now parents and students alike can feel comfortable having it for defensive purposes.

“We constantly review policies and try to make them better,” Brown said. “We want to make sure we’re always in conformance with state laws,

and that’s part of the reason this policy was tweaked.”

He said clarifying what students can and can’t do, and allowing mace and pepper spray, will comfort parents and students.

Kyle Palmer, accounting junior, said that this makes sense.

“I think allowing students to carry pepper spray is a good thing,” he said. “I also think having a strict weapons policy fits the political culture of our school.”

Comments and questions are welcome through Oct. 12 and can be emailed to Brown at bradd.brown@okcu.edu.

Students frustrated by ongoing maintenance in Methodist Zoe Travers STAFF WRITER

Students are frustrated by ongoing construction and water-related issues in United Methodist Hall.

Flooded floor Construction began after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake Sept. 8 in Pawnee, Oklahoma, resulted in a broken pipe that flooded the dorm’s fourth floor officials said.

Construction workers assessed the damage and conducted water tests and moisture ratings that morning.

Three weeks later, work still is ongoing and students say they’ve seen little progress.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of work on Methodist for the flooding, but it’s really slow work,” said Cassandra Velasco, cell and molecular biology junior.

“They started fixing things, and then they just sort of left it. The ceilings tiles aren’t in place and the floor is just sort of lifted in spots.

“They’re just not working on it anymore, and I guess

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they’ve moved on to other things. It's still not a fixed problem.”

Maintenance work Kevin Culbertson, coordinator of housing operations, said work still is being done and all rooms with tenants have been repaired. The last step is putting back ceiling tiles and painting the walls.

“Residents will be seeing some maintenance cre ws coming in and patching holes,” Culbertson said. “There are just some very minor inconveniences. It won’t be too loud or disruptive.”

Chandler Hardy, economics/mass communications junior, and Keziah Williamson, acting senior, were moved out of their room due to significant flood damage.

They were told their room would be restored, and they would be moved in by now, but the students instead were transferred to a different floor for the remainder of the semester.

Maintenance crews are working on replacing the flooring in the evacuated rooms, Culbertson said.

It's nice to keep those folks informed of what's going on, but, as far as our resources go, we want to have more of a personal connec tion with those who were actually affected.

Kevin Culbertson coordinator housing operations

“Everyone's been very cooperative,” he said. “By the end of the week, we should be done, and you wouldn’t even know there was a flood.”

More water issues New problems have arisen in Methodist Hall since the flood. Students now are coping with extremely hot temperatures in their showers. Residents are reporting burns on their skin due to unusually hot water.

Velasco said students began seeing issues about a week ago.

“You can’t turn on any of your faucets without scalding hot water coming out,” Velasco said.

“I have to set my shower to the lowest possible cold setting,

otherwise I’m burning my flesh off. I literally come out with red and hurting skin. If you accidentally turn on the hot water in the sink first, you’re done. You’re burned.”

Culbertson said he spoke with maintenance crews about the hot water, and it is thought that a thermostat was shifted on the steamline that caused the water’s rising temperature.

He said workers reviewed the issue and the hot water should be back to normal.

Culbertson stressed the importance of filing work orders for these types of issues.

“We can’t fix it if we don’t know about it,” he said.

Students can submit work orders through their resident assistants or through

myschoolbuilding.com. The organization account number is 746615915 and can be found at okcu.edu with more instructions.

Lack of communication Residents also are frustrated because housing officials have not informed them about any of the repairs.

In regard to the flood, housing officials have kept students informed who were moved out of their dorms, but not residents whose rooms were not affected, Culbertson said.

“There’s really no sense in us keeping someone up-to-date who’s on the opposite end of the building who has no need to know,” Culbertson said.

“It’s nice to keep those folks informed of what’s going on, but, as far as our resources go, we want to have more of a personal connection with those who were actually affected.”

Regarding the hot water, Culbertson said he would send out an email if he found that the problem was larger. He said, as far as he knows, it was just a regulation issue.

Previous years Velasco said she thinks communication with residents was better last academic year.

“I really don’t appreciate it,” she said. “I feel like it’s an attempt to make things look better instead of addressing the problems, but it just makes it worse.”

The shift in communication could be the result of managerial and staff changes this academic year, Velasco said. She said she wants to be informed of work ongoing in the dorm.

“At least that way you know that it’s not just you and it’s something that’s being addressed,” she said.

“I thought it was just my shower, and then I asked my roommate, and I asked people down the hall, and, so far, it seems like our entire floor is having this problem.”

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opinion Editors encourage housing officials to communicate more Exposed wires, missing ceiling tiles and industrial fans clutter the hallways of United Methodist Hall almost a month after the fourth-floor flood.

A ruptured gasket, which officials attribute to the 5.8-magnitude earthquake in Pawnee, Oklahoma, more than a month ago, caused the Sept. 8 flood. The flood damaged six rooms, three of which housed students, who had to be relocated.

Overall, the situation was handled well. The disaster response team and maintenance crews quickly got to work on the issues, and officials made accommodations for the students who had to move out of their rooms due to damage. The rooms with tenants were repaired, and the last step is to replace the ceiling tiles and paint the walls, officials said.

Read more about the situation in Methodist Hall on Page 1.

But, maintenance work continues throughout the building and only a few students know what’s going on.

Throughout the whole

ordeal, not one email was sent to all the residents of Methodist explaining what happened or what they’re doing to fix it.

It’s clear they’re working hard to fix the issues, but some students have no idea what the issues even are.

Kevin Culbertson, coordinator of housing operations, said there’s no sense in keeping people on the opposite side of the building up-to-date, but just because someone lives on the opposite side of the building doesn’t mean they shouldn’t know what’s going on in the place where they live.

Students who had to move out of their rooms were kept informed about the situation, but that communication is not enough. It makes sense that officials want to have a more personal relationship with those affected the most, but they can still do that while keeping everyone up-to-date with what’s going on.

Not communicating the issues to all of its residents is irresponsible and makes students feel like the problem isn’t being addressed. It causes confusion about what's going on and leaves students

Talk Back "If you could have any pet on campus, what would it be?"

wondering if they should be concerned. It also makes some students feel like the housing department is just trying to make things look better than they are by not disclosing the negative things that happened.

All that does is cause more students to complain, rather than be happy that the situation is being resolved.

Officials said that, by the end of the week, students won’t even know there was a flood, but a lot of that is due to the fact that they won’t tell students, not because they’ve done a good job of cleaning up after the situation.

More open lines of communication will benefit students and housing officials.

Sending emails explaining the situation to the building's residents just makes sense. It also helps develop the relationship between residents and housing officials, which can only mean good things for the dorms.

"I would just want a dog."

"I actually have a fish right now."

Taylor Blackman acting junior

Dominique Kopecky cell and molecular biology sophomore

"I would have a Schnoodle. That's a mix between a Poodle and Schnauzer."

"I would have a turtle."

Maggie Duncan mass communications junior

Brianna Lockridge music education freshman

"I would have a ferret, because they're cute. I would name it 'Lanie' and let it weasel around."

"Well, I am pretty basic. I just want a puppy, like a lap dog."

Alyssa Peters music/acting freshman

Nia Renay Butler dance sophomore

"I would have a little baby cub."

"I would have a monkey."

Alexander Beys acting sophomore

Alexi Metoyer exercise science sophomore

Critic creates guide to Netflix stand-up comedy specials Tired of sifting through the same five lame comedy suggestions when you open Netflix? This review will help ease the pain of decisionmaking next time you’re in the mood for stand-up comedy.

There are about 50 standup comedy specials available on Netflix right now, but only some of them are must-sees.

The first on any list should be Bo Burnham’s newest release, Make Happy.

Burnham made his start in comedy with online videos of pun-filled songs with

extremely clever rhymes and risqué punch lines, but the 26-year-old comedian reached new levels of revolutionary with Make Happy.

The jokes in the show are constant. Burnham uses lights and music to create a spectacle unlike any other. Just as the audience catches their breath from a bought of gutwrenching laughter, Burnham knocks them out again with even funnier commentary and sillier jokes. The cleverness Burnham fans anticipate is evident throughout, but the heart of the show makes this hour of comedy special.

Mary McLain is a film production sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who loves sandwiches and social media.

Most comedy dances near sad or existential topics to relate to an audience without ever pushing the viewers to think too deeply, but in Make Happy, Burnham’s brutal honesty functions as bold daggers of truth amidst pure comedyinduced joy. By the end, tears of joy mix in with tears drawn from raw human honesty.

A similar and note-worthy special available on Netflix right now, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, by Mike Birbiglia came out in 2013, but holds steady today. Birbiglia uses the hourlong special to tell hilarious stories about his life, keeping the audience on their toes as they attempt to anticipate the punch lines within Birbiglia’s

charming and calm delivery.

My Boyfriend’s Girlfriend breaks all comedy rules about avoiding quiet moments.

In fact, Birbiglia creates moments within the special that harness the comfort of the previous jokes to create a safe space for the audience to hear moving tales of Birbiglia’s failures, romances, and other vulnerabilities. Birbiglia’s message is hopeful and honest and hilarious all at once, proving that the cleverness and volume of conventional stand-up need not define the genre.

Other honorable men-

tions for quality stand-up on Netflix include John Mulaney’s The Comeback Kid and Chelsea Peretti’s One of the Greats. Mulaney and Peretti’s styles are distinct, but both bring invigoratingly fresh content in the sea of comedy available today.

For those sick of predictable and flat jokes stretched into an hourlong comedy special, any and all of the suggestions a b ov e s h o u l d p r ov i d e a fresh comedy experience full of heart and innovation.

Columnist concerned with students' sleep deprivation The major concern for students's health is usually the adverse effects of drinking.

Often there are seminars and warnings presented to students to keep them healthy and safe. But why is there no safety seminar regarding sleep and how many hours students are getting or not getting?

Arguably, colleges fight to prevent hazardous decisions directly influenced by alcohol consumption, but these collegiate institutions have no immediate sway over student’s drinking habits.

Drinking is a student health risk that most campus officials are intensely invested in, especially when their preventative measures don’t always guarantee students' safety and well-being. And, while concern about unhealthy drinking habits is needed, it's curious as to why officials aren’t more concerned about other unhealthy habits that most students have.

It’s socially accepted that being sleep-deprived in college is a normal thing to experience. No parent would bat their eyes at a student’s

Madelyn Parker is an English and studio art sophomore who loves to rant about feminism and tell stories.

overwhelming workload that most likely would spur lack of sleep. That doesn’t mean there aren’t parents who don’t try to lend support to alleviate their childrens' stress. Most parents, however, try to help solve the problem of being overworked with coping mechanisms, like

care packages or by helping with laundry, instead of preventative strategies.

Often times, sleep deprivation can be just as damaging to a student’s health as excessive drinking. When the workload of five classes requires someone to stay up

past midnight, the result of the next day can be a loss in normal functionality. When I’m running on five hours of sleep, my body feels nauseous and my ability to focus is shot. Being sleep deprived also weakens the immune system, and that is almost always going to become a setback from schoolwork, but especially from participation in outside organizations or for work.

College students are asked to do more than is possible, but when college officials decide to take responsibil-

ity for students’ health, it is irresponsible to foster a culture where getting the adequate amount of sleep isn’t encouraged, especially when universities have direct influence on this aspect of their students' lives, unlike the remote amount of influence they have over student’s drinking habits.

Hopefully colleges will start to take responsibility for student’s stress levels and sleep deprivation in a way that adds on to, but exceeds visits from therapy pets once every semester.

Campus Calendar Calendar items must be received in the Newsroom or stupub@okcu.edu by noon Friday for inclusion in the following Wednesday issue.

THURSDAY Career and internship fair from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. i n Gre at Hall i n Tom a nd Brenda McDaniel University Center Chapel from 1-2 p.m. in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel Wi l s o n l e c t u r e s w i t h D r.

Warren Car ter from 2:30-

3:30 p.m. in Watson Lounge i n B i s h o p W. A n g i e S m i t h Chapel Fall Showcase: Explore with OCU from 6-8 p.m. in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center FRIDAY Out of the Box presents "Speech and Debate" at 10:30 p.m. in the

Clara E. Jones Administration Building

Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

Last day to sign up for Oct. 15 volunteer day at Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma at 5 p.m. via Google Doc

Out of the Box presents "Speech and Debate" at 10:30 p.m. in the Clara E. Jones Administration Building

SATURDAY Michael Holleyman's senior oboe and Lauren Taylor's senior horn joint recital from 8-9 p.m. in

SUNDAY Intramural flag football from 2-6 p.m. on the intramural sports field

October 5, 2016, Volume 110, Number 32

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Donovan Lawson, Olivia Johnston, Kelsey Simmons, Ali Wonderly Staff Writers: Taylor Rey, Prisca Lynch, Chandler White, Zoe Travers, McAlyn Forbes, Megan Carter, Tatum Nelson, Nicole Waltman Senior Staff Writer: Emily Wiley

MONDAY Stress Relief Week goodie bag distribution around campus Stress Relief Week therapy dogs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

in the student lounge in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center Evensong Worship from 8-9:30 p.m. in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel OCU jazz ensemble concert from 8-10:30 p.m. in Wanda L. Bass School of Music

The Campus has served the Oklahoma City University community since 1907. It is published Wednesday during the academic year, with the exception of holidays and exam periods.

THE CAMPUS Editor-in-chief: Miguel Rios Web Editor: Sage Tokach Lifestyles Editor: Madelyn Parker Photo Editor: Elina Moon Community Manager: Lauren Berlingeri Photographers: Courtney Beyer,

OCU Distinguished Artist's Series presents: Angela Cheng's piano performance from 3-5 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

The Student Publications staff welcomes unsolicited material and let-

Film Critics: Danielle Petersen, Mary McLain Circulation Director: Brianna Demuth Faculty Adviser: Kenna Griffin

ters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include the writer’s phone number, address, major, and classification. The staff reserves the right to edit all letters. The staff also reserves the right to refuse letters without explanation. Letters can be sent online at mediaocu.com, emailed to stupub@ okcu.edu or dropped off at the Newsroom in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences. Submitted items may appear on MediaOCU and in the print edition.

The first issue of The Campus is free. Each additional issue costs 25 cents. Contents copyright, 2016. All rights reserved.

October 5, 2016

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Ali Wonderly Student Publications

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Shendra Stevens Student Publications

Donovan Lawson Student Publications

A week of miracles

Students play a board game at Phi Mu game night Sept. 28 at the Phi Mu house. The event was part of the sorority’s philanthropy week, called Miracle Week. Throughout the week, Phi Mu hosted events on campus to raise money for their philanthropy, the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Other events included a movie night on the quad, an ice cream social, where a portion of the proceeds benefited the CMNH, and a riff-off, where Willie Butler, weekend campus cook, made small omelettes. The sorority raised about $2,000 during the week.

Top left: Students buy treats from Phi Mu’s “Not-your average bake sale” to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals on Sept. 29 outside the caf in the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Phi Mu women set up a table outside the caf and sold treats during lunch and dinner every day.

Bottom left: Lysa Engle, film production sophomore, and Danielle Risner, nursing sophomore, perform at Miracle Mac, on Sept. 30 in the Phi Mu house. Miracle Mac is the sorority’s signature event during Miracle Week. It’s an evening of live entertainment and all-you-can-eat macaroni and cheese for $5. Phi Mu created a geofilter for Snapchat, which was approved and available for use during the event. They also had a hashtag and encouraged participating students to take pictures, post them on social media and use #miracleweekocu.

New faces to know:

Dance school alumnus returns as guest teacher, artist-in-residence Chandler White STAFF WRITER

During all 114 years of OCU, the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Arts Management has remained among its most award-winning colleges.

As one of the highestranked dance schools in the nation, second only to Juilliard, the school’s graduates are skilled, as the prestige of their professors would imply.

In some cases the two become one in the same, as is the case with Vincent Sandoval, a graduate who returned to teach for the same school

from which he graduated.

“I’m excited and thrilled to be back,” Sandoval said. “To be part of the dance school again and to come full circle is just great, especially knowing how the school has changed and grown over the years.”

Sandoval, a 1993 graduate, was readmitted as a guest artist-in-residence, where he is teaching dance classes in tap, jazz, contemporary partnering and theater dance.

Coming to OCU from the field, Sandoval applies practical, “real world” experience to create a comprehensive and thorough learning environment.

If it wasn’t for this school and its faculty, I wouldn’t have been able to reach the successes that I have.

Vincent Sandoval guest artist-in-residence

“He has a lot of knowledge that he’s bringing with him to the classroom,” said Emily Jones, dance universal sophomore. “He’s very forwardminded in the way he prepares us for auditions and for jobs.”

After leaving Oklahoma,

Sandoval spent eight years in New York City, where he took a three-year position of dance captain in the first national Broadway tour of Fosse in 1999. He also worked in Radio City Music Hall, initially as a performer, but

eventually climbing to the assistant choreography director position for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, where he worked with the Rockettes.

“Radio City Music Hall was the first big show that I did when I moved to New York,” Sandoval said.

“It was something like the second audition I had done, and I got picked up by them for eight or nine years.”

Rather than minimize his time in Oklahoma, Sandoval’s experience will enhance his return, enabling him to share stories from the battlefront of the entertainment industry and to better prepare the stu-

dents. As far as Sandoval can tell, being true to his roots is sure to reward him in this exact way.

“I knew this school was special from the get-go,” Sandoval said. “If it wasn’t for this school and its faculty, I wouldn’t have been able to reach the successes that I have. It really prepared me for my long-term career.”

Voice professor takes visiting job, music school welcomes new professor Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

A new voice professor has started teaching at the university.

Dr. Frank Ragsdale, professor of voice, has taken a position for the year as a visiting instructor of voice at the University of Miami.

During his absence, students in his studio are working with Professor Autumn West.

West said she calls herself a “Chicag-Ohioan” because she was raised in Chicago but then moved to Ohio when she was older. She studied in voice and political science at Northwestern University during her

undergraduate career and then continued to study voice at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she is also completing her doctorate with emphasis in vocal pedagogy, musical theater style, and pedagogy and arts administration.

West expects to receive her doctorate in December after performing one final recital.

“I did my undergrad in voice and political science, randomly, because my parents told me I could do music, so long as I had a back-up,” West said. “After my master’s, I took a couple years off performing before deciding that I wanted to be a teacher and knew I had to go back for my doctorate. I

love teaching students who are at a high level and who really care about what they’re doing, like Autumn West my students voice professor here.”

West has performed in many operas including “Susanna” in Le Nozze di Figaro, “Zerlina” in Don Giovanni, the “Dew Fairy” in Hansel and Gretel, and “Clarice” in Il Mondo della Luna, but realized she loved teaching at the end of her master’s.

“I love performing and I get a lot of joy out of that, but I realized that I love instilling

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that love in others more than I like performing myself,” West said.

“I think I really knew after my first student, who had a lot of talent and potential, got into all the schools she applied to.

I just broke down and cried.

I get more emotional when I see people I mentored reach success.”

Graydon McNally, music theater junior, who’s in West’s voice studio, said he’s happy to work with her.

“I absolutely love her as my teacher,” he said. “I love how she finds something that I might not feel confident with, and works with me until I feel like I could successfully practice it in the practice rooms.”

Morgan Haney, music theater junior, said she also enjoys West’s classes.

“She has done wonders for my voice in such a short amount of time. She is an incredibly creative teacher and really tailors her lesson to each student’s style of learning,”she said.

In addition to teaching and performing, West also co-founded the Cincinnati Chamber Opera in 2013.

“My main position at the Cincinnati Chamber Opera now is to choose repertoire and to produce the shows, I get to give opportunities to extremely talented people and directors who maybe haven’t gotten a chance to perform like that

before,” West said.

We s t b e g a n a t O C U this semester and said she really enjoys being a faculty member.

“The position opened in May and I submitted all my paperwork that day, and then I came down for an interview,” she said. “It’s been sort of a beautiful whirlwind.”

“I love it here. The faculty has been so nice. The students are crazy talented, and I think they get wonderful performing opportunities.”

New bishop appointed to Oklahoma United Methodist Conference McAlyn Forbes STAFF WRITER

After more than a decade of serving as Bishop, Robert E. Hayes, Jr. retired.

Bishop James Nunn took over for Bishop Hayes in the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference.

Bishop Hayes retired in September after serving for 12 years. Bishops are appointed on a four-year rotation, and October 5, 2016

generally do not serve more than eight years. Hayes knew he wanted to retire after 12 years, however, and was granted permission to serve for 12 years.

Laura Jardine, science junior, said Hayes is well-loved and respected in the United Methodist Church and students have fond memories of his leadership.

“I think the Oklahoma Conference fell in love with

I think the students here that are involved with the Methodist Church are exactly the kind he’s going to want to know and care for.

Elizabeth Horton-Ware director religious life

him because he was so present,” she said. “He made it to hundreds of services and

events every year and was never lacking in laughter, warmth or energy.”

Nunn hails from Texas, where he was the Northwest Texas conference director of mission and administration and church development. He helped start new churches and was adamant about mentoring.

Elizabeth Horton-Ware, director of religious life, said she does not think anybody needs to worry about the transition, but that it is a period of change, which always comes with anxiety.

“If his goals have been in the past to develop young leaders, I think the students here that are involved with the Methodist church are exactly the kind of people that he’s going to want to know and to care for,” she said.

Bishop Nunn was unavailable for comment on Oct. 3.

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You can’t stop 65 years of the beat

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Elina Moon Student Publications

The cast of Hairspray portrays dancers on “The Corny Collins Show,” a fictional teenage dance show. Hairspray kicked-off the 65th consecutive performance season for OCU, which marks the world’s longest run of collegiate opera and music theater seasons, Dean Mark Parker said. The show was double cast, with Madelaine Heigele, vocal performance junior, and Shannon Calkins, music theater freshman, playing the lead “Tracy Turnblad.”

Top: Spencer Gualdoni, music theater senior; Katie Pohlman, dance universal sophomore; Matthew Reindl, music theater sophomore; and Caroline Baniewicz, music theater junior, perform “The Nicest Kids in Town.”

Bottom: The cast performs the final number, “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” The show’s performances were at 8 p.m. Sept.

30 and Oct. 1, and at 3 p.m. Oct. 2 in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.

Hispanic Student Association prepares for annual conference Madelyn Parker LIFESTYLES EDITOR

The Hispanic Student Association is preparing for their annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference.

Each year, HSA hosts a group of high school students in a conference centered around promoting higher education.

Nayely Vargas, HSA vice president and music education sophomore, said HSA members have seen many positive results from the conference.

“Our numbers may be small,” Vargas said. “And I feel like our impact in the community might fly under the radar at OCU, but it’s not like we do this because we want to.

We have seen results.”

She said these results are really needed.

“I was the first generation ever to go to college,” she said.

“Though I didn’t have this conference specifically, I had the benefit of someone to walk me through the process.”

Vargas said that sometimes Hispanic and Latin youth feel pressured to help out with family, or to get a job instead of pursuing higher education.

Often, paying for college is too difficult.

“If it’s hard enough for someone who is a citizen to pay for it, just imagine how hard it is for someone who isn’t,” she said. “ People come to the United States for those kinds of opportunities.”

HSA is group on campus that focuses on empowering the His-

We want to promote equal opportunity especially in the Latino community because there is a bias.

“ “

panic and Latin communities.

“Other than hanging out, we try to do as much as we can for the Latino community around OKC. The main thing that we do is our Latino Youth Leadership Conference,” Vargas said.

This year, the conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 7 in Meinders School of Business.

Since the event is during a

Olivia White secretary Hispanic Student Association

time where some HSA members have classes, they ask that anyone who is interested in volunteering get in contact with Secretary Olivia White.

The conference’s main purpose is to promote higher education to Hispanic and Latin students in nearby high schools, public as well as non-public.

HSA invites a variety of speak-

ers, including one keynote speaker to end the day. The speakers generally have experienced going through the process of higher education and job searching as a Hispanic minority.

There is also college fair composed of other universities that promotes and represents many different college options for high school students.

White said she loves being part of HSA. “It’s a safe place to grow, not only from a Hispanic background, but as an independent person who is willing to go out into a very diverse world and actively participate in each endeavor that is presented to them,” she said.

“We want to promote equal opportunity especially in the

Latino community because there’s a bias. People automatically assume certain people are not capable of getting an education. It’s frustrating to get clumped into that category.

No one should feel like they can’t be educated.”

HSA is a smaller organization compared to other campus groups on campus, but they try to empower people in the local community Vargas said. She said people don’t necessarily have to be Hispanic to join HSA. For more information on HSA or the volunteering opportunity at the conference, email White at ocwhite@ my.okcu.edu.

Students confused about stackable, non-stackable scholarships McAlyn Forbes STAFF WRITER

Some students can add their scholarships together until they pay for tuition, while others cannot stack their specific scholarship types, causing confusion and frustration.

The majority of academic and departmental scholarships are stackable up to full tuition, but cannot cover room or board, officials said.

Athletic scholarships can cover tuition, the university general fee, specific athletic room or athletic board, or parts of all.

These scholarships cannot cover fees or any other costs because the majority of the scholarships the school offers students up front are discount or waivered. There is no actual monetary funding behind them.

“Awarding the scholarships up front as a discount allows us to not have a limit on the number of scholarships that we can award,”

I received a Clara Luper/ American Indian scholarship, but it wouldn’t stack with my academic scholarship for my GPA and ACT score.

Adrienne Pierce acting junior

said Denise Flis, senior director of student financial services.

After students are offered their scholarships up front, Flis takes the majority of earnings the school receives from endowments and gifts to pay for the students.

But some scholarships are not stackable, Flis said. For example, if a student is a double major and is offered two departmental scholarships, the student can only accept one, because accepting

two most likely would exceed the cost of tuition.

“I received a Clara Luper/American Indian scholarship, but it wouldn’t stack with my academic scholarships for my GPA and ACT score,” said Adrienne Pierce, acting junior.

If an outside scholarship specifically covers tuition, students can only use it for that purpose, even if they also have an OCU tuition scholarship.

“I’ve had no luck with overlapping scholarships from OCU,” said Laura Jardine, biology junior. “Also, I have an outside one for tuition, but I can’t use it on anything because my tuition is already covered.”

If students received only monetary scholarships, they could stack all of them, Flis said. Outside scholarships also can be stacked, unless they specifically state they are restricted to tuition, board, etc., she said.

Students move through semester without required books Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

Some students have complained about not getting their textbooks on time and have had to continue through the semester so far without them.

The bookstore recently changed their website and b e g a n u s i n g “ Te x t b o o k Butler,” which not all students understand.

“I think some students have been confused by the new process,” said Christina Chapman, bookstore manOctober 5, 2016

ager. “Not all students were automatically registered for Textbook Butler, only new incoming students were, and I think not everyone realized that.”

All students can register for Textbook Butler by going to okcucampusstore.com and logging in using their okcu. edu email address and their B number including the capital “B” as the password.

Once logged in, students can opt-out or opt-in for Textbook Butler and request to either purchase or rent new or used books. After register-

I never get my books from the bookstore anymore. They never have my books when I go in there. By the middle of the semester, there’s no books in the bookstore.

Arash Allahayar biology senior

ing, all students’ books can be purchased online or sent to the bookstore at the beginning of the semester where students can pay from their student accounts.

Students can only pay though their student accounts

in the store and only through the first two weeks of classes.

After that books need to be paid for with credit card.

Professors in some classes, like Acting V Shakespeare, postponed readings because of problems ordering books.

“I never get my books from the bookstore anymore,” said Arash Allahyar, biology senior.

“They never have my books when I go in there. By the middle of the semester, there’s no books in the bookstore.”

The bookstore sends back unsold books during the middle of the semester to prepare to order books for the new semester.

“Some titles are always hard to get a hold of. Sometimes if a professor added the books late or if they’re a new professor we don’t always get them in on-time,” Chapman said.

“And then there’s other books that are just difficult to order, like the dance books this year. But other than that nothing was different this year than in past years.”

If students are still missing books, they can order them through the campus store at any time during the year and they should arrive in three to five business days.

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