September 28

THE CAMPUS

September 28, 2016 – Volume 110 Issue 31

SGA to promote transparency Sage Tokach WEB EDITOR

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Elina Moon Student Publications

Baking, selling

Onnika Hanson, acting sophomore, buys pumpkin bread from Lucas Haupert, acting senior; Austin Martin, music theater/vocal performance junior, and Wesley Yang, psychology/youth ministry senior, on Sept. 23 outside the caf in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. The sale was part of FIJI’s philanthropy week to support United Service Organizations. FIJI raised about $2,100 throughout the week for their philanthropy.

Student Government Association is working to be more accessible and engage more with students.

David Hall, SGA chief of staff, is implementing several new ideas to promote transparency and student involvement.

OCU’s Prexi Club, composed of presidents from student organizations, was created to allow students to influence SGA’s mission, speakers and events.

Hall plans to advertise Prexi Club meetings more and invite students from any organization to attend.

The meetings will be scheduled around leaders’ schedules, not just SGA’s, he said. During the meetings, SGA officials will clearly discuss the bill and allotment process, revealing the system that allows some organizations to receive more funds than ever.

“We want SGA to be personable, transparent and serve

the students,’’ Hall said.

Senators will provide the dates and times of every Prexi Club meeting, as well as their contact information, at the first meeting at noon Thursday in the Leichter Room in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center.

Onnika Hanson, acting sophomore, said she is on board with the idea.

“It’s nice to know that there’s a place to go where students will listen to my problems,’’ she said.

“I feel like a lot of schools don’t have that.’’

Hall is organizing town hall meetings, where he will invite all students, faculty and staff to openly discuss any issues within the community.

He will designate a panel of faculty and administrators to facilitate discussion and answer any questions that might arise.

“I will personally make it a point to ensure each question is fully answered, rather than finagling around the question,” Hall said. “Either students can know

or they can’t, so if something is confidential, we’ll simply tell you that and give updates later.”

SGA also plans to increase transparency by enforcing an open-door policy for their meetings and keeping office hours.

Officers will make themselves available to any student, Hall said.

Designated hours are posted on various bulletin boards across campus, and students can either set up a time in advance or show up during the time frame.

“Basically I want to focus on student involvement that extends past emails, Homecoming and Midnight Breakfast,” Hall said. “SGA officers acknowledge that past actions have not met the expectations you hoped they would, and we want the entire OCU community to hold us accountable as your representatives and campus leaders. Get involved.”

Student creates surprise GoFundMe account for campus cook Sage Tokach WEB EDITOR

Taylor Blackman, acting junior, started a surprise GoFundMe campaign for Willie Butler, weekend campus cook.

“I made this account in the hopes to be able to help him out and give back to him, since he’s given us so much,” Blackman said. “Willie is an emblem at Oklahoma City University.”

GoFundMe is a fundraising site designed to let users collect money online for personal causes. Blackman’s campaign, titled "Give Willie the World" opened Sept. 19, with a fundraising goal of $5,000. The link was shared 331 times, and donations total $850 at presstime. Most of the donations are $10 to $30.

Butler has worked on the Sodexo staff at OCU for nine years.

Before going into the food industry, he served 12 years in the military. He was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Germany and still suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The students at OCU make it better, Butler said.

Butler is known for his special deviations from the brunch menu, especially with his pancakes. He often creates new flavors and takes suggestions from students. He also plans special celebrations in the caf for holidays like Valentine’s Day. “When I started, I just did fancy pancakes for the ladies,” Butler said. “Then I met a good group of guys who made me want

I made this account in the hopes to be able to help him out and give back to him, since he’s given us so much.

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Taylor Blackman acting sophomore

to do it for them too. I keep an eye on the students while they’re away from their parents.”

Students say Butler keeps them in line, at the grill and in life.

“Willie always treats the ladies just right,” said Matt Tuley, acting freshman. “He also calls us out if we’re not doing that.”

A group of athletes acted aggressively and rudely toward the cooks earlier this month, Butler said.

“I almost stopped making pancakes because when they say ’gimme gimme gimme’ in a certain tone, I don’t want to serve them," he said. “We’re being polite and we’d like respect in return.”

Butler continued serving pancakes because he did not want to punish everyone for the actions of a few students, he said. The

athletes later apologized for any hurt feelings.

“I’ve overlooked that weekend because I know nobody means to be rude,” Butler said. “We’re a family. If we don’t appreciate each other, what do we have?”

Butler spends time with his OCU family outside of the caf as well. During Gamma Phi Beta’s Pancake Palooza, he served pancakes for a two-hour shift. He will help Phi Mu by serving scramblers (small omelets) during their philanthropy week. He also is working with the Student Activities Council to create a Stress Relief Week prize that allows a student to choose the pancake flavor of the month and cut to the front of his brunch line for a weekend.

Blackman asks that students keep the campaign a secret from Butler. He plans to present Butler with the money at the beginning of November.

To donate toward Butler’s GoFundMe account, visit gofundme.com/2pxnvn0.

Students frustrated about litter, recycling on campus Chandler White STAFF WRITER

OCU’s clean campus is being threatened by an influx of litter on the quad and inside the dorms.

Litter is frustrating and disappointing, said Franziska Harms, acting junior.

“Anyone can notice more litter around campus, both indoors and outdoors,” she said. “We live on a fairly small campus, so it can get dirty pretty quick.”

While litter can be the result of sheer negligence, some students think that a way to prevent it would be to increase the amount of recycling options.

There are 22 buildings with recycling bins on campus, according to the university website, okcu.edu. Most of them are smaller receptacles.

“I’ve seen a few recycling bins in Banning Hall and in the caf,” said Jordan Tartar, English sophomore.

“However, it would be nice if we had recycling in every

M MEDIAOCU.com

building, just so we have the option.”

Because the majority of recycling bins are small paper receptacles, most bulky nonpaper items are left without a place to go. Students are left with no option other than to put those items in the trash.

Onnika Hanson, acting sophomore, said this was a problem, especially after she first moved in.

“I had a lot of boxes and paper that I wanted to recycle, but I ended up having to throw it all away,” she said.

“Basically, if you want to recycle anything other than paper, it ends up going in the trash.”

Several buildings on campus have multiple recycling containers for paper, bottles or cans.

Mark Clouse, the associate director of facilities, was unable for comment Friday.

Hallie Schmidt, music theater/vocal performance freshman is working to promote compost on campus.

Being from Washington,

As a school, we do generate a lot of waste, and I think putting that into a more sustainable cycle would be a good idea.

Hallie Schmidt music theater/vocal performance freshman

she was raised with strong beliefs concerning the environment, she said, and she is bringing those sentiments onto campus.

“They don’t do very much composting or recycling in this area,” she said. “As a school, we do generate a lot of waste, and I think putting that into a more sustainable cycle would be a good idea.”

The issue of litter and the neglect of the recycling system is a detriment to our campus, Schmidt said.

She said she’s researching compost and its benefits and has spoken to some faculty members about the possibility

of implementing some type of compost program on campus.

University officials hosted last October a “Blue Goes Green Week." It was a week of implementing programs to help make the campus more ecologically friendly.

There has been no mention of a Blue Goes Green Week yet this academic year.

Olivia Johnston Student Publications

Cover with chocolate Austin Gipson-Black, religion sophomore, tops his ice cream with chocolate syrup at the Sept. 20 ice cream social in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Religious Life sponsored the event so Methodist students could socialize and meet each other in a relaxed and casual setting.

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opinion Editors push to end littering on campus by promoting recycling OCU is a small but beautiful campus. We have a big, green quad with a fountain and even a couple of hedges trimmed to spell out “OCU.” It’s a welcoming atmosphere to new and returning students and a good invitation to lie out on the grass or toss a Frisbee around. But that environment is being threatened by litter.

There’s been noticeably more litter on campus and inside the dorms recently. There are trash receptacles around campus, but they’re pretty spread out. There’s definitely a need for either more trash cans or better placement of them. There’s also a need for more recycling receptacles.

An old page on the university website shows the buildings where students can recycle. It shows there are 22 buildings on campus that have paper, plastic, aluminum and/or cardboard recycling bins, though it may not be up-to-date. Despite its small size, OCU easily has more than 22 buildings, and a lot of those recycling bins are pretty small, which means if students have bigger items to recycle, they’ll be

forced to throw them in the trash.

The excessive trash situation is caused by lack of attention from staff and students. Everyone on campus should be aware of their trash and dispose of it properly, even if it’s not the most convenient thing to do. Desire to keep our campus green, clean and beautiful should trump the hassle of having to walk a little extra to do it.

Facilities can help students recycle materials like batteries and metal, according to the same university site. They probably also help students recycle bigger things, like cardboard boxes.

Facilities teamed up with Blue Goes Green, a staff and student-led sustainability team, to launch a big recycling campaign on campus in Fall 2009. Facilities and many other groups on campus partnered again with Blue Goes Green to implement a campuswide recycling program around this time last year. They even made a whole

Talk Back "Where do we need more recycling bins and/or dumpsters on campus?"

week out of it, with different events each day.

This type of initiative should be taken again this year, but actually make lasting effects on the campus. It would be great to see more recycling receptacles around campus, and not just inside buildings. It also wouldn’t hurt to reevaluate trash bin numbers and locations.

Madelyn Parker Student Publications

"Everywhere! Dorms especially and in the caf and Alvin's"

"On every floor of the dorms at Walker, not just the first floor”

Maddie Louder entertainment business freshman

James Yeargan business administration freshman

“Throughout campus, especially in Walker Center and the dorms"

“Everywhere!

Recycling is important!”

Amy Smith political science senior

Kristen Biberacher nursing junior

“We need more recycling bins everywhere—I can never find any.”

“Around the paths outside on campus, or maybe downstairs of Bass.”

Turner Carson acting freshman

Arlena Upton music theater freshman

Pete’s Dragon remake geared toward ‘really young’ children Even though the inner child in me is alive and well, it’s still hard to objectively judge a children’s movie.

For every Finding Dory or Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, children’s movies that are fun for children and adults, there are a dozen others that are not only geared toward the young, but the really young. When that becomes the case, it’s difficult to be critical of anything, but I’ll still try.

The remake of the animated Disney movie, Pete’s

Dragon is directed by David Lowery, who also co-wrote the film, and stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Karl Urban and a big green dragon named “Elliot.”

The movie follows “Pete,” a young boy who finds a dragon in the forest after an accident forces him to have to fend for himself. After spending years living in isolation with his new friend, Elliot, his new life is changed when he is discovered by other humans and forced to come back to the real world.

The movie would be great

Danielle Petersen is a violin performance graduate from San Jose, Calif. She likes playing with her cat and watching films.

if it was only Pete and Elliot.

The first part of the film is full of great imagery and the two of them are the best characters in the film. Elliot the dragon comes off as a mix between “Scooby Doo” and “Sully” from Monsters Inc., and his

interactions with Pete provide the majority of humor and emotion for the movie.

The problem is when other people start showing up. The actors do their best to deliver the generic and bland dialogue that was not only meant for

little children, but sounds as if it was written by them as well. Every line seems like it was recycled from the garbage pile of other, better Disney movies and tossed in as an afterthought. Urban really struggles, overacting to the point that it seems like he was getting a kick out of how ridiculous he sounded.

The biggest problem, however, is that, for a movie about a boy and his dragon friend who can breathe fire and turn invisible, it’s extremely boring.

Aside from Elliot, the movie is

formulaic and just overall blah.

I wish I’d seen this m ov i e w h e n I w a s 5 , because then it may have been my favorite movie ever. But after seeing the same basic story repeated in other movies, the charm just doesn’t work for me.

This is purely a movie for small children, and, while there is nothing wrong with that, you still pity the adults that have to sit through this with their children.

Columnist discusses women’s voices, rape culture The discussion about rape culture is sensitive and always susceptible to chaos.

There are a lot of problems that arise, but their causes are not always clear, making it easier to blame it on the wrong thing.

Anytime I sift through the landfill of click-bait on my Facebook newsfeed, there’s always some extreme rightwing that will catch my eye, no matter how hard I try not to pay attention to it.

What I found most recently was an article from Thought Catalog, titled “5 Legal Rights Women Have That Men Don’t.” Its main idea claimed women had more rights that men. No. 5 was, understandably, enrag-

ing for a feminist. It read: “women have the right to call unwanted, coerced sex rape.”

I found this statement jaw-clenching at first, but then I wanted to unpack it.

It pointed out a real problem.

Within the battle against rape culture, there’s a natural tendency to pull opinions to the opposite extreme. In most cases, because rape culture is so prevalent, this kind of extremeness is needed.

Women need to be believed because they haven’t been believed for years. Using a pin-pointed focus makes it harder, however, for men to receive proper attention.

Sometimes there’s so much backlog that women need to be listened to, but that doesn’t

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

mean there aren’t men who also have been through this same situation.

Feminists often are blamed for a lot of issues like this that don’t make sense. Why should a group be so idolized when all it seems like they do is advocate for one side of the issue? The problem is, there’s too much of a problem.

Wo m e n’s v o i c e s w e r e silenced for so long that the most dominating voices in

feminism right now are speaking for them. To the uninformed person, that looks like indifference to the other issues. But there are feminists who still fight for men’s rights even if they aren’t the loudest thing being shouted right now. But feminists are not to blame for that trouble.

Thinking about what constitutes rape, and figuring out who the victim is when alcohol is involved can make things

hazy and grey. Doing nothing about rape clearly doesn’t help anyone, but deciding that rape crimes are clear-cut and meet a generalized list of criteria doesn’t work. Murder is just as complicated, and, to solve a murder, so much backstory is required. The police have to know motive and intent.

With rape, it’s pointing fingers and deciding who to believe.

If both people are drunk, it’s whoever reports it first. And, oftentimes, this messy way of dealing with a real problem is blamed on the rapist and the victim.

What is needed is a better policy. No rape situation is similar to the next, just like a premeditated murder is nowhere near similar to some-

one who accidentally committed manslaughter because he or she was driving drunk.

One person had the intent to murder and the other did not. In both instances, a person was murdered, and that is never excusable, so both receive consequences.

Instead of trying to figure out whether or not someone’s rape claim is valid, we should decide that rape is never excusable. We shouldn’t be arguing about whether or not feminists are fighting for something that matters, or if they’re being ridiculous.

To solve this issue, we should be establishing the proper consequences for rapists and getting our priorities in order.

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

WEDNESDAY Career ser vices etiquette dinner from 5:30-6:45 p.m. in the caf

FRIDAY Hairspray opening night dinner at 6:15 Bass Music Center Atrium in Wanda L. Bass Music Center

THURSDAY Chapel from 1-2 p.m. in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

Hairspray director’s pre-performance talk at 7 p.m. in Burg Theater in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

Free Movie Night from 7-11 p.m. at Harkins Bricktown Cinemas 16, 150 E. Reno Ave.

Hairspray opening performance at 8 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Auditori-

um in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center SATURDAY All state choral workshop from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bass Music Center Atrium in Wanda L. Bass Music Center Hairspray director’s pre-performance talk at 7 p.m. in Burg Theater in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

Hairspray at 8 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center SUNDAY Intramural flag football from 2-3 p.m. on the intramural sports field Hairspray director’s pre-performance talk at 2 p.m. in Burg Theater in Kirkpatrick Fine

September 28, 2016, Volume 110, Number 31

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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

Drive in Duncan, Oklahoma

Hairspray matinee performance at 3 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

Evensong Worship from 8-9:30 p.m. in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

MONDAY Duncan nursing open house f r o m 4 - 7 p. m . a t D u n c a n Regional Hospital Learning Center, 1407 N. Whisenant

TUESDAY Wind Philharmonic Concert from 8-10 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.

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,

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.

September 28, 2016

news University trustee Ann Alspaugh dies at home at 81 Miguel Rios EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

One of the longest serving members of the board of trustees died last week.

Ann Alspaugh died Sept. 20 in her home. She served as a university trustee since 1981, President Robert Henry wrote in an email sent last week to the campus community.

“Ann intuitively understood the need for a broad education and the beauty of the fine arts,” Henry said.

“She loved Oklahoma City and exercised both generosity and intellect to enhance the culture of our city. She lived with beauty and grace, and perhaps that

is why she understood the need to keep Oklahoma City moving forward. Her belief in Oklahoma City University and OCU students was unequaled. She leaves a legacy of service and love.”

Alspaugh received an honorary doctor of letters from OCU in 1986.

Alspaugh was the mother of three, the grandmother of seven, an executive, a community leader, a patron of the arts, and a philanthropist.

Alspaugh was born Dec. 13, 1934 in Duncan, Oklahoma.

She was the daughter of Marjorie Simmons Alspaugh Gray and Howard Beason Alspaugh.

Her stepfather, Robert Mark Gray, was an advertising executive for Exxon.

Alspaugh is also the grand-

daughter of Ola Mixson Simmons and Louis Bascom “L.B.” Simmons. L.B. founded the Rocket Ann Alspaugh Oil Comtrustee pany of Duncan, Oklahoma and the Rock Island Refining Companies whose pipelines and other assets were merged into Koch Industries.

Alspaugh attended Duncan High School. After graduation, she attended Smith College and later University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.

With her first husband,

Pa u l A n t h o n y A n d re s , Alspaugh had three children.

Alspaugh dedicated herself to the enrichment of Oklahoma and the often anonymous care of those in immediate need. In return, the state honored in 1997 her with induction into the Hall of Fame.

Alspaugh’s awards include, but are not limited, to: - OCU’s Distinguished Service Award in 1984, - t h e G ov e r n o r’s A r t s Awards for the State of Oklahoma in 1991, - OCU Norick Hulsey Gallery Society Award in 1992, - The Byliner Award by Oklahoma City Professional Chapter of Women in Communications in 1992, - Distinguished Friend of the OCU Alumni Association

in 1993, - the Oklahoma City Arts Council Mayor’s Award in 1994, - the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Distinguished Trustee Award in 1997, - the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Faculty Award in 2000, - the Oklahoma University College of Medicine Deans Award for Distinguished Community Service in 2002, - the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation’s Living Treasure Award in 2002, and - the Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Alspaugh is survived by her daughter, Holly; her hus-

band, Clay Healey; her son, Dr. Louis Howard Andres Cox, and his wife, Kathryn; her son, Paul Anthony Andres Cox, and his wife, Melinda, and by her seven grandchildren. She also is survived by her sister, Gay Alspaugh Roane, and nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, the Simmons Charitable Foundation of Oklahoma, P.O. Box 307, Oklahoma City, OK 73101, or the charity of your choice.

Food provider to extend hot to-go food pilot program McAlyn Forbes STAFF WRITER

The hot to-go food pilot program in the caf will continue throughout the rest of the semester, officials said.

Since the beginning of the month, Sodexo, the campus food service provider, allowed students the option of getting a take-out container to take hot food out of the caf for the same price as a regular meal.

The hot to-go food pilot program is available Monday through Friday during lunch hours only.

Nirali Mickow, director of operations for Sodexo, said she is pleased with the student and staff response to the program.

She said more staff is coming to the caf because of it.

Anna Wade, nursing sopho-

more, said it is an improvement over previous to-go lunches.

“It’s nice that we don’t have to eat those slimy sandwiches anymore,” she said.

Jeremiah Rupp, bass performance sophomore, said extending the program is a great idea.

“It is a helpful program for those with ‘OCU’ lives,” he said.

Mickow said she wishes more students were aware of the new program and of what she and her staff are doing for the students. She said students should follow @OCUEats on Twitter to keep up with what is happening in the caf.

Every semester, students form a focus group committee that helps Mickow and her staff improve dining on campus. She and her staff want feedback from the students on customer service, quality of food and menu suggestions.

She said it is difficult to get students to join the committee, but that it is an integral part of improving dining at OCU. For more information about the committee, email Mickow at nmickow@okcu.edu.

Student Government Association passed a resolution in February with six requests for Sodexo, according to Student Publication archives. SGA and Sodexo negotiated the requests during the spring, which is where they agreed to launch the pilot program.

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Elina Moon Student Publications

Blasting the bass Dr. Ryan Robinson, instructor of tuba and euphonium, plays “The Grumpy Troll” at his tuba recital at 8 p.m. Sept. 22 in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Robinson performs regularly with the OCU faculty brass quintet and has been invited to perform at several international competitions and festivals.

Alcohol survey response rates low due to fear of identification Zoe Travers STAFF WRITER

Less than 450 undergraduate students responded to the alcohol survey sent out in August.

The survey was sent out to gather information on student habits for education purposes, but many students were wary of disclosing information.

Lesley Black, associate dean of students, distributed an email Aug. 29 with a link to an optional and anonymous survey entitled “Alcohol Usage Survey.”

The survey asked students questions about the amount of alcohol, if any, they consume and where they consume it.

The goal was to organize information about alcohol consumption and use the findings to establish ways to inform students about the dangers of alcohol usage,

Black said.

While there are regularly conducted national surveys that provide some information for schools, Black said the data aren’t representative of OCU in particular, which is why she chose to create the survey.

“We want information that can be used for education,” Black said.

But in comparison with how many surveys went out, fewer students responded to the survey.

“I was happy with the response rate, but, next year, I’d love for it to be higher,” Black said.

Some students felt uncomfortable answering the survey because of the fear of being identified.

Kira Poole, English sophomore, chose not to respond to the survey because of that and also because she thought the motives were unclear.

“When I actually opened the email and read the questions, I got spooked and decid-

When I actually opened the email and read the questions, I got spooked and decided not to do it at all.

Kira Poole English sophomore

ed not to do it at all because I didn’t trust that it was going to be anonymous,” she said.

Poole said it is silly that officials expected students to answer honestly. She said she felt uncomfortable with how intimate the questions were. She also didn’t want her answers to affect her scholarship.

“I wrote in my contract, as a scholarship student, that if I ever get caught, they will take every cent of scholarship I have,” Poole said. “I’m not a drinker whatsoever, but, if I can’t trust that it’s anonymous, I won’t admit to anything at

a conservative university. I’ll lose everything, and I think that’s why people are reluctant to answer.”

Black said students shouldn’t worry about her tracing the responses back to them, but she understands why it is stressful for some students.

“I don’t know if students believe that it’s really anonymous. I think that makes people a little nervous about responding,” Black said.

Survey questions included demographic information like students’ majors and classifications and what school they study in. Students also were

asked whether they were on a sports team or in a Greek organization.

Black said students also shouldn’t worry about their responses reflecting their organizations.

When Black reviewed the results of the survey, she was pleased to find that 76 percent of the responding students said they had not binge drank in the past two weeks, and 66 percent said they hadn’t consumed alcohol in the past week at all.

“Binge drinking is a very high risk behavior that we absolutely want students to avoid,” Black said.

Only 21 percent of respondents reported drinking alcohol on campus.

According to the handbook from OCU’s drug and alcohol prevention programs: “any student found using or distributing alcohol and other drugs on campus, in on-campus housing, or during campussponsored activities can face disciplinary action by the

University.” This includes the possibility of a drug assessment, referral for counseling and treatment based upon the recommendation of a counselor.

Black said, while she was pleased with the results she saw, she did not get the information she wanted because of the low response rate. She plans to distribute the survey again next year and hopes for a higher response rate.

“We have approximately 1,800 undergraduate students, so we would love 1,800 students to respond,” Black said. “But if we can double our response rate and get 700 responses, that would be fantastic.

“We need to make sure students understand that it’s anonymous, and we need to encourage more people to take it.”

Faculty, staff step up to cover for professor on medical leave Sage Tokach WEB EDITOR

Dr. Regina Bennett, associate professor of English, is on medical leave for the semester.

Bennett’s usual classload includes classics of Western culture, composition, Western literature, world literature, and values and culture.

She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at OCU. Though there was no minor September 28, 2016

at the time, she specialized in women’s studies. Bennett joined the faculty team in 2000, after teaching at OU, OCCC and Rose State.

Bennett is stable but unable to teach this semester. Her classes were split between OCU faculty and staff in the English department. Bennett would like to keep the details of her medical condition private, officials said.

Dr. Amrita Sen, associate professor of English, took over

B e n n e t t ’s world literature class sections.

Students originally enrolled in BenDr. Regina nett’s class Bennett planned to take world literature: wild women around the world.

The week before classes began, they were notified via email that the class was changed to

Sen’s course, world literature: mythologies.

“I really did try to study up on wild women and see if I could adapt Dr. Bennett’s course, so students could learn what they enrolled in,” Sen said. “In the end, I decided it would be in everyone’s best interest to stick with mythology. We don’t exactly have wild women, but we do have some crazy, powerful ones like Clytemnestra.”

One student said she felt

neutral about the change.

“Since I didn’t really want to take wild women, but I had to, I’m not that mad about it,” said Kyra McGowen, finance sophomore. “Dr. Sen seems like a good professor.”

Deborah McIntyre, adjunct professor of English, will take over Bennett’s composition class, and her classics of Western culture course will be cotaught by Dr. Nathan Ross, associate professor of philosophy, and Dr. Harbour Winn,

professor emeritus, who came out of retirement to help cover the class.

“Basically, we got lots of wonderful people to help out,” said Dr. Tracy Floreani, English department chairwoman “She needs to heal.

She needs time to get well, so we’ll support her.”

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a&e Music theater students to travel, perform in China next month Nicole Waltman STAFF WRITER

Six music theater students are taking a trip to China next month.

Three faculty members will accompany the student vocalists: Dr. David Herendeen, director of opera and music theater, Dean Mark Parker and Music Director Corie Melaugh.

The group goes to China on Oct. 12.

The students are invited to perform a revue to help celebrate Pearl River’s 10th anniversary in Tianjin, China.

Herendeen said many Chinese people enjoy American music theater and have a great market growing for it there.

“I picked these students

because they’re particularly nimble,” Herendeen said. “They adapt to everything with a great deal of panache and humor, and they’re extraordinary in their abilities. Think of them as a musical SWAT team.”

The students going are: Stephanie Feeback, Thomas Harton, Liza Clark, Walker Degerness, Alexandra Hebert, music theater seniors, and Morgan Haney, music theater junior.

The revue is a 70-minute performance of American musical theater selections called Heart to Heart, with no intermission.

They also will join Chinese students in their production of Mamma Mia. Some students already went on a trip to China in May, where they performed a show similar

Six music theater students, joined by Dr. David Herendeen, director of opera and music theater, will travel to China on Oct. 12. The students will perform a 70-minute musical revue of American musical theater songs in Tianjin.

to the one planned for October.

“Going the first time, we didn’t know what to expect, but it was really fun because we got to interact with the students more than we thought,”

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Degerness said. “Doing that was great, because we realized they have the same desires that we do, and they were just so excited. We were like rock stars to them.”

Herendeen said people and their children even came up to take pictures with them because they’d never seen an American before.

Harton said he especially enjoyed the audience.

“It was interesting because I’ve never seen an audience so excited about musical theater,” he said. “It reminded me why I love to do it. They even came up to us and asked for autographs, and were just a wonderful audience.”

The audience was moved to tears even though they didn’t understand what was being said or sung, Degerness said.

“It’s cool to get to do this with a group of friends that I love so much,” Clark said. “We aren’t going to get to do all the shows from the revue together

at OCU, or maybe ever in our lives, but now I get the chance to do these shows and sing this music with these specific people.”

Shows such as Oklahoma!, Beauty and the Beast, and West Side Story are featured in Heart to Heart.

“Students are really getting to experience the universality of what they do,” Herendeen said.

“It has no borders. It’s a distinctly different culture, yet it has the same universal qualities of love, friendship, and sadness, and all the things every culture’s stories are based on that we’ve depicted and transcended.”

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Wild goose for sale

Dawson MacLeod, Mercedes Arndt and Madison Carey, acting sophomores, and Joanne Hoch, acting junior, portray a wild goose being sold on the internet in TheatreOCU and Stage II’s production of “The Residents of Craigslist.” The show had performances at 8 p.m. Sept. 22-24 and at 2 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Black Box Theater in Wanda L. Bass Music Center. Stage II’s next show is “The Striker,” which will be performed Oct. 6-9.

Above: Madison Carey, acting sophomore, and Adam LaPorte, acting freshman, do yoga in “The Residents of Craigslist.” The script was created entirely from Craigslist posts in the St. Louis area.

Acting student creates female sketch comedy group on campus Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

The first student-led sketch group has been created on campus.

The group was started by Caroline Stella, acting junior, and is an all-female group called The Matriarchy.

Sketch comedy is a type of performance comprised of short sketches that are only a few minutes long and are written by the group.

“I interned this summer at the People’s Improv Theater in New York, and I took a sketch class and it really inspired me to make this group,” Stella said. “Also, Leslie Marie Coffman [OCU alumna] always talked about creating a sketch comedy group, and I figured I might as well start it. If I don’t, no one else will.”

The group consists of six women: Franziska Harms, acting junior; Shelby McCarver, acting sophomore; Mary McLain, film production sophomore; Joanne Hoch, acting junior; Sage Tokach,

We just want to demonstrate that women are funny and don’t necessarily need a leading man. It’s a celebration of the matriarchy.

Caroline Stella acting junior

acting junior, and Stella. The group came together by word-ofmouth and finding people who are interested in sketch writing.

They meet once a week at Stella’s house and are assigned topics to write about for the week.

“Everyone has been so encouraging. I’d never shown my sketches to anyone before and they’ve been a great sounding board to bounce

ideas off of,” Harms said. “Also, it’s hilarious. Every Sunday we meet and I get to laugh all afternoon.”

The group plans to break the stereotype that women can’t be funny without men, Stella said.

“When the movie Bridesmaids came out, it was mind blowing to people that women could be funny,” she said. “In movies, TV and plays, women don’t really get that opportunity. We just want to demonstrate that women are funny and don’t necessarily need a leading man. It’s a celebration of the matriarchy.”

This is the first sketch comedy group on campus, and they plan to do two performances before the end of this semester.

“I just feel like this is very good for the campus. We focus a lot on classical training and this is a different genre to get into.

Also, learning to write is a crucial part of creating your own work,” Stella said.

Art Club commissioned to create art installation for fall festival Megan Carter STAFF WRITER

The OCU Art Club is creating an interactive installation for the Myriad Botanical Gardens Pumpkinville festival this fall.

“The theme this year is fairy tales, and we’ve been asked to do the three little pigs,” said Avery Hanson, studio art senior and Art Club president.

“We’re building the three houses that kids can play in and walk through, and we’ll also have some themed crafts for them.”

The Art Club submitted a proposal earlier this year to create a public art installation for the festival.

“They’re going to be kind of a whimsical version of the three little pigs’ houses,” said Mike Wimmer, artist in residence and gallery director for Norick Art Center. “Madelyn Parker designed the houses and paint scheme. The students will be building and painting them under my supervision. The houses will be built in a way that they can be easily assembled and September 28, 2016

easily taken down. That way they can be used again next year.”

Construction of the houses, which will be made of painted plywood, began Sept. 20. The installation will take place at the beginning of October.

The students involved in the Myriad Gardens installation are Parker, English/studio art sophomore; Kyla Bruegel, film production/studio art sophomore; Leondre Lattimore, studio art freshman, and Hanson, Yourong Zhao, Emily Baker, studio art seniors. All of the students are involved in the Art Club.

The Art Club will be paid $1,500 for the installation, about $300 of which will be used for supplies for the project. The remaining money will be divided among the participating students, so each student will make about $200.

Pumpkinville will open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Oct. 7-23. It will be the largest project the Art Club has done off campus.

“We really try to be involved in projects off campus,” Hanson

said. “Some of our members have done murals in the past, and we’re hoping to do more art installations in the future.”

Art Club members, as well as art students, are also involved on campus.

“The Walker Center has asked us to display artwork in the student lounge upstairs,” Hanson said. “We’re gathering artwork from students to display there.”

Artwork of current students and graduates will be displayed in the student lounge.

“One of our graduates, who now lives in Malaysia, has a piece hanging in the student lounge,” Wimmer said. “We really wanted to choose pieces that represented everything the school has to offer.”

The Art Club is made up of art majors and students from other schools within the university.

“Art Club is open to anyone, not just art majors,” Hanson said. “We love having new members and getting to know more people.”

Art Club meets once a month.

There are several events besides

Art Club in which students can be involved.

“We have a monthly art social in Norick,” Hanson said. “Acting students model costumes from the costuming department and music students are paid to play music. We have free pizza and drinks, and students can come hang out and create art.”

The next art social is from 6:30-8 p.m. Oct. 24. Students must bring their own supplies, but easels are provided.

There also are several art shows throughout the semester, including the current Katherine Liontus-Warren, A Journey of Discovery gallery. Later in the semester, the art school will host a 2D High School Exhibition Competition as well as a capstone show for one of the art students graduating in December.

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Blow your horn Kate Pritchett, associate professor of horn, performs “Andante und Polacca fur Horn und Klavier” at her faculty horn recital at 8 p.m. Sept.

20 in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Pritchett plays third horn with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

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