Sept. 19

THE CAMPUS

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September 19, 2018 – Volume 112 Issue 4

Never forget Peyton Wagner, religion senior, and Ellie Roth, business administration senior, lead a group in prayer at the 9/11 Service Project at 8 a.m. Sept. 11 on the quad. The Student Civic Engagement Commitee hosted the event.

Far left: Delanie Ayers, acting sophomore, plants a flag on the quad in remembrance of 9/11. Students also delivered doughnuts to police and fire stations in the metro area.

Hannah Rogers Student Publications

SGA amends budget bylaws, debates salaries Chandler White

COPY EDITOR

Student Government Association has a new budget, but it came later than expected.

The SGA president and his/ her cabinet drafts the budget. It then goes through the executive committee, then the steering committee and is then brought for approval by Student Senate.

Senate adopted the approximately $153,000 budget Thursday after suspending their original deadline. The budget went through the executive committee and then the steering committee, but it failed on the Senate floor Thursday. An earlier version of the budget that went from the executive committee to the steering committee will be used instead and is the budget SGA will operate on this year.

Jordan Tarter, English junior and SGA president, said senators resorted to this without a vote because the budget cannot

be amended on the Senate floor, and SGA couldn’t wait another two weeks for a budget.

The budget allocates about $23,000 to Senate allocations, about $10,000 to allotments, about $72,000 to Student Activities Council, and about $31,000 to the law school’s Student Bar Association.

“Every little bit of that money should help us create a more efficient and student-focused campus,” Tarter said.

SGA’s bylaws require that a budget must be presented within the first two weeks of school.

SGA members had to suspend the bylaw for the second consecutive year because of a section of the bylaws that sets a formula for how much money SGA must give to SBA. The formula is based on the total number of credit hours for the law school and the total number of undergrads.

The law school does not release those numbers until 12 days after classes start, which is after the budget deadline.

It’s time that we actually start working again for the students rather than trying to advance our own agendas.

Trae Trousdale

mass communications sophomore

The bylaw can be changed, but no senator has requested the change. Until that happens, the bylaw will need to be suspended each year.

Austin Gipson-Black, religion/political science senior and SGA vice president, said he thinks an amendment to change the bylaw will be submitted at some point.

“At that point when it’s submitted, I’m sure it will be amended,” he said. “They’ll either extend the time period to three weeks or say something vague like, ‘the earliest date after the law school submits numbers.’”

The approved budget pro-

vides Tarter with an annual salary of $1,500; Gipson-Black with $1,830; Ellie Roth, finance junior and chief justice, with $500, and Tyler Patton, mass communications senior and chief of staff, with $500. No other senators accepted a salary. Madelynn Buckman, entertainment business senior and vice president of SAC, forfeited hers so her commissioners could divide it between them.

Tarter said some senators were uncomfortable with her receiving a lower salary than Gipson-Black, even though she was fine with it.

But, because the budget cannot be amended on the Senate floor,

the salaries remained the same.

“Several senators wanted to raise mine to equal to his,” she said. “Though the salaries did not change, I don’t think that should have been the main concern.’”

Trae Trousdale, mass communications sophomore, was unable to attend the Senate meeting Thursday, but he sent a letter to the senators encouraging them to pass the budget as it was instead of squabbling over their own issues.

“Pettiness, malice, and greed have no place within the Student Government Association,” the letter reads. “I ask that each of you stand with me in opposition to these leeches on leadership, and pass this budget.”

Trousdale said he didn’t mean to offend anyone with the letter but wanted to ensure SGA members were doing their jobs.

“I was not by any means attempting to call anyone out, it was just saying, ‘the crap has got to stop,’” he said. “It’s time that we actually start working

again for the students rather than trying to advance our own agendas.”

Buckman said Senate voted against the budget out of spite toward Gipson-Black, even though the salary numbers didn’t change in the final budget.

“President Tarter said she was okay with taking less of a salary, so I don’t understand why that was an issue that was being discussed when she stated in our exec meeting that she was fine,” she said.

Trousdale said some of the senators who voted against passing the budget are not working toward SGA’s greater purpose.

“They see how they would like it to go and aren’t willing to truly compromise and serve all students,” he said.

Contributing: Staff Writer Callie Dewees

Cokesbury gates not locking, students concerned about safety Paul Dower

STAFF WRITER

Cokesbury Court Apartments officials installed new pedestrian gate locks, but some of them don’t work correctly.

Campus Living Villages, the company contracted by OCU to maintain the apartments, purchased the new locks for an undisclosed amount and installed them during the summer.

Students said the gates close before the locking timers reset, so the gates sometimes stay unlocked. When the gates do lock, some don’t unlock whenever the key code is entered.

Onnika Hanson, acting senior and Cokesbury resident, said the main gate she uses doesn’t work properly.

“Basically, if the gate closed, it didn’t open,” Hanson said. “And so you would press in the key code, and nothing would happen. If you were on the other side, you couldn’t get out.”

Most residents leave the gate open for this reason, Hanson said.

“No one closed it, on purpose, because they knew it wouldn’t open,” she said. “So it’s been open for weeks.”

Emily Wollenberg Student Publications The pedestrian gate facing the Panhellenic Quadrangle does not lock. The keypad locks were installed during the summer.

Hanson said she worries about the safety of Cokesbury with the gate always being open. She is concerned about people who do not live in Cokesbury being able to get in, she said.

“I was walking to a sorority meeting, and I literally saw a homeless

lady walk right by me and go, ‘excuse me’ and walk in Cokesbury,” she said. “This homeless lady walks straight into Cokesbury because, A, she saw students walking in and out, but B, she knew she could go in because it was unlocked.”

Even one gate not functioning properly compromises the safety of the whole system, Hanson said.

“It’s a great system, except it doesn’t work if one gate doesn’t work,” she said. “As soon as one gate’s wide open, there’s just no point.”

Becca Young, business administration sophomore and Cokesbury resident, said she has had similar experiences with the gates.

“It is a little bit worrisome, especially for safety reasons, because anyone can just kind of walk through,” Young said.

Young said the gates don’t close on rainy or windy days and have to be physically pushed.

Liz Richardson, associate director of student housing and apartments, said she has companies working to fix the gates. She has not given specific dates on when the gates will work properly and refused to comment further.

Campus community comments on Hurricane Florence, takes donations Nicole Waltman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

University church-relations officials are collecting donations to help those affected by hurricanes.

Hurricane “Florence” was a Category 1 hurricane that hit the Carolinas on Friday. Heavy rain and winds put the Carolinas and Virginia at high risk. The hurricane was downgraded Sunday to a tropical depression.

The Rev. Charles Neff, vice president for university-church relations, sent an email to the campus community Friday that read, “Religious Life and University-Church Relations are coordinating efforts related to our campus-wide response to the unfolding disaster along the Atlantic Coast.”

Blue bins were placed Monday in various locations around campus.

“The stories from our neighbors in the Carolinas are just beginning to come in, but they are heart-breaking,” the email read. “The rain continues to fall and the flooding is catastrophic in many areas. As we watch our Sisters and Brothers in this time of disaster, many of us want to ‘do something to help.’”

Some students who are originally from the areas affected by “Florence” expressed concerns.

“Our home was fine to stay in,” said Anna Caison Boyd, dance

M MEDIAOCU.com

junior from Kingstree, South Carolina. “But the Myrtle Beach area all had to leave and they blocked traffic coming in. We had to secure our home there before it got blocked off.”

Boyd said it’s positive that OCU is providing donation opportunities.

“Some people weren’t as fortunate as us and have lost everything or have thousands of dollars in damages,” she said. “It’s so great that our campus community wants to support those people because it will definitely be appreciated.”

Adrianna DelPercio, acting junior from Myrtle Beach, said her mother, stepfather and little brother evacuated to Nashville. But her father’s side of the family stayed in Myrtle Beach. DelPercio’s father, a police officer on duty during the hurricane, was in a car accident from the flooding in the area.

“I was a nervous wreck,” she said. “We deal with hurricanes all the time, but this was supposed to be this huge hurricane.”

Some students recall hurricane damage from last year in their own home states. Matt Tuley, acting senior and Houston native, said he remembers his feelings during Hurricane Harvey a year ago.

“The first week was the toughest, not knowing,” he said. “I felt guilt for being thankful for not being there.”

Tuley formed a Facebook group for OCU students from Texas to talk about how the hurricane was affecting them. He also sent one of the donation bins from OCU home with his family to be distributed

Donation Items Needed · Toiletries (TP, deodorant, toothpaste,

· Insect repellent

toothbrush, pads, brush/comb)

· Scrub brush

· Diapers

· Hand wipes (resealable)

· Baby food

· Sponges

· Five-gallon buckets with resealable lid

· Plastic scouring pads

· Liquid laundry detergent (25 or 50 oz)

(not stainless or Brillo)

· Liquid household cleaner (12-16 oz)

· Clothespins

· Dish soap (16-28 oz bottles)

· Clothesline (50 ft or 100 ft)

· Air freshener (aerosol or pump)

· Heavy duty trash bags

· Dishwashing gloves · Work gloves

(33-45 gallon) · Dust masks

in the Houston area.

The email reads that “donations of food, clothes, and pet supplies are not needed.” It also said that cash donations will be accepted and passed on with the supplies, but Neff encouraged giving directly to organizations such as redcross.org, umcor.org and spca.org.

Contributing: Staff Writer Amanda Miller

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opinion Students should stand up for their beliefs by registering to vote In times of social and systemic upheaval, it is more important than ever for students to stand up for their beliefs.

Students and teachers across Oklahoma walked out of schools to protest low teacher salaries and increase funding for schools last spring. Teachers demanded a pay increase of $10,000 over three years but were met with only a $6,100 increase.

The walkout ended after nine days, but leaders of the movement said they will continue to fight for education rights.

“We have created a movement, and there’s no stopping us now,” Oklahoma Education Association President Alicia Priest said in an April 13 CNN article.

Taking on the fight for social or political issues usu-

ally results in opposition, but that shouldn’t deter students from standing up for what they believe in. Change can be scary, but becoming stagnant in negative situations is worse.

In an age where young people are told that their vote doesn’t matter, the last Oklahoma election proved that civic duty not only matters, but can be responsible for legislative change.

It is important that all students are registered to vote.

That way, we can ensure that Oklahoma’s government reflects what the people want. Education funding in Oklahoma desperately needs change and voters are helping to make one.

It is also important to remain patient. Oklahoma voters ensured that people who will incite change are in office, and now voters have to wait for the change. It won’t happen over-

Talk Back “What products would you like to see at the new Farmers Market?”

night. It may not happen at all.

What’s important is to remain hopeful that change is to come and to keep exercising civic duty.

Whether the issue is big or small, students should take action, speak out and better their community and their world. It may seem like small actions don’t make much difference, but, by jump-starting a chain-reaction, students will encourage others to join a cause.

As Mahatma Ghandi said, “be the change you wish to see in the world,” a philosophy which should be exercised to the fullest extent in times of political disarray.

Students may register to vote at the Student Affairs Voter Registration Picnic from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday on the quad.

"Avocados"

"Different kinds of apples: gala, fuji, red delicious, all the apples"

Lea Malezieux acting sophomore

Claire Police design and production junior

"Corn"

"Flowers, so I can surprise my girlfriend"

Erin White dance universal freshman

Nick Atkins music theater sophomore

"Some baked goods would be nice."

"I would like fruit."

Caroline Purdy music theater junior

Nichole Gould music freshman

New Kanye West album offers gentle change of pace Ah, Kanye West. Producer, provocateur, meme.

And, as of last summer, eightalbum rapper.

Since the 2000s, Kanye has topped charts and magazine covers alike, both for his iconic rap style and controversial statements. As of the later 2010s, though, these provocative antics took a turn for the worse. In this year alone, Kanye cited an opioid addiction as the cause of a nervous breakdown, told TMZ he viewed slavery as a mental choice and, most meme-ably, donned the “Make America Great Again” hat and endorsed President Donald Trump on Twitter.

No doubt this has been, as Kanye himself rapped, “a shaky-ass year.” Yet, in the midst of all this, Kanye spun

together his eighth album, dropping it, as he often does, with little warning and riding a wave of media controversy.

The album, with the simple title of ye, is out of place from the get-go. With only seven tracks and a minimalist production style, it deviates from any other album Kanye has released. Kanye’s music is normally larger than life, littered with rapper features and crafted specifically to ruffle the listener’s feathers and shock them into awe. ye follows no such pattern. The album opens with the unique and elegiac track I Thought About Killing You, a gentle-melodied, spoken word-esque song that is unusually honest about Kanye’s life.

He rap-speaks about suicidal thoughts and struggles with

Chandler White is an English senior from Meeker, Oklahoma. He likes gothic horror and good hip-hop.

self-love in a way completely different than his usual aggressive approach. The product is an opener that’s both harrowing and relatable.

As the tracklist goes on, Kanye, of course, retains his abrasive style and comical absurdities that we’ve come to know him for, but he repeatedly employs them in a different way.

The second track Yikes, while definitely a banger more in line with the hip-hop spirit, is no less genuine or poetic

than the first track. The song portrays prescription drug addiction and mental health struggles in a loud, hardhitting way more familiar to Kanye fans, but the vulnerability he is treating this subject with is clear in the lyrics. It also proves that he can still rap in a classic hip-hop fashion, rather than the Auto-Tuneladen trap style he’s conformed to in past releases.

A r g u a b l y, K a n y e s t i l l revisits some of his overdone motifs, such as hedonistic

raunchiness with the track All Mine. But he almost seems to counteract this sex-driven braggadocio with the song Wouldn’t Leave. The track is practically an ode to his wife, Kim Kardashian, and it comes off surprisingly sweet and moving for a relationship so publicized and risqué. This track, along with the following two, employ soulful, gospelesque vocals Kanye is known to be fond of, and the product is pleasant on the ears.

The album closes out on the strangely-titled Violent Crimes, a soft narrative from Kanye to his daughter, North.

On this track, Kanye expresses fear and concern for North’s future, rapping that her birth has changed his perspective on women to “something to nurture, not something to

conquer.” The subject matter is sincere, fatherly and clearly straight from the heart, and it ends the album on a poignant, heartwarming note.

There’s a good chance that traditional Kanye fans who are used to his bombastic style will see no value in this project. But, personally, I find this to be a nice change of pace for Kanye, a direction that will hopefully free him from the frustrated knot of aggression he has dwelled in since the early 2010s.

For once, he’s not throwing wild, provocative words at the listener as a substitute for genuine artistry. Instead, he’s sitting down with the listener, putting on some gentle melodies and telling them about his life. And hey, what else is a rap album supposed to be?

Kaepernick ‘Just Do It’ ad sparks various opinions, controversy All of us have made sacrifices we see as substantial that others may see as trivial.

Colin Kaepernick sacrificed the passion of his life.

Nike’s new “Just Do It” ad has sparked widespread controversy across all social media platforms. Americans have shared their outrage in the forms of boycott and by burning their Nike memorabilia.

The ad features Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who was controversially released after kneeling during the National

Anthem in order to call attention to police violence against people of color. Kaepernick is fighting a legal battle with the National Football League in which he accuses team owners of conspiring against him to keep him from being hired. It’s a legal battle that Kaepernick is winning.

Despite all that, Kaepernick found a new way to anger football fans and various other Americans. In the ad, a picture of Kaepernick is featured with the tagline, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Harrison Langford is an acting senior from Las Vegas who loves golden retrievers and the New York Giants.

In outrage, many Americans have made fun of this.

Some have added the caption to pictures of American soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. Others are making memes out of the ad featuring comedic characters behind the phrase to poke fun at

Kaepernick.

According to many, Kaepernick’s sacrifice of his career as well as his public image wasn’t enough. So, who is Kaepernick? Has he sacrificed anything?

Kaepernick was born in Milwaukee. His father left his

mother before Kaepernick’s birth, so she was forced to put Kaepernick up for adoption.

He was adopted around the age of 4. He started playing football when he was 8 years old and decided it was what he was going to do with his life. He excelled at sports. In college, he was known to be an impressive baseball pitcher.

He had a passion for football, though, and was recruited by University of Nevada, Reno in 2006. In 2011, his lifelong dream was fulfilled, and he was drafted to the San Francisco 49ers.

Kaepernick may not have made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, but he sacrificed the next best thing—his dream. Since the age of 8, before fame and fortune, Kaepernick dreamed of playing football professionally.

He made the sacrifice of his career to call attention to the cause of his choice.

Kaepernick’s sacrifice is lessened now that he signed a deal with and is paid to represent Nike. But we shouldn’t get distracted from the issue at hand. Kaepernick’s protest still is relevant.

MONDAY Nursing Educators Conference: Debriefing for Meaningful Learning from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kramer School of Nursing

Center

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

TODAY OCU Sports Champions Club Blue-White Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at 50 Penn Place Building Strong Girls Week: Gamma Phi Beta fundraiser from 3-10 p.m. at Raising Canes, 2036 NW 23rd St. THURSDAY The Wellness Committee presents Dr. Diana Blackmon 10-11

a.m. in Room 151 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences

Gold Star Memorial Building

Chapel at 1 p.m. in the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

Volleyball vs. Mid-America Christian at 7:30 p.m. in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center

Building Strong Girls Week: Gamma Phi Beta fundraiser from 3-7 p.m. at Classen Coffee, 2515 N. Classen Blvd.

Project 21 Season Opener: An Evening of World Premieres at 7:30 p.m. in Medium Rehearsal Hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center

Weekly play club meeting at 7 p.m. in the Honors Lounge in

FRIDAY Abe Lemons Golf Classic at 8:30

a.m. at Lincoln Park Golf Course, 4001 NE Grand Blvd.

Gamma Phi Beta's Building Strong Girls Week: Moonball at 7 p.m. at the Team One pavilion SATURDAY Les Femmes Fortes: Faculty Celebrates Women in Song at 8 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

THE CAMPUS

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Staff Writers: Callie Dewees, Erik Hamilton, Madison Caputo, Paul Dower, Amanda Miller, Dru Norton, Lenora LaVictoire, Sarah Muscarella, Hope Melton Columnist: Caroline Hawthorne Photographers: Carolann Stout, Hannah Rogers, Kylie Sullivan, Ethan Tate

Women's soccer vs. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at Stars Field

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.

Sep. 19 2018, Volume 112, Number 4

Editor-in-chief: Nicole Waltman Associate Editor: Emily Wollenberg Copy Editor: Chandler White Photo Editor: Elina Moon Community Manager: Harrison Langford Web Editor: Jessica Vanek

TUESDAY Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker Series presents Orange is the New Black author Piper Kerman private discussion with students at 1 p.m. in Room 100 of Sarkey's Science and Math

Martha Jean Lemon Distinguished Speaker Series presents Orange is the New Black author Piper Kerman public lecture from 7-9 p.m. in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center.

The Student Publications staff welcomes unsolicited material and let-

Videographer: Emily Haan Ad Director: Emily Jones 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, 2018. All rights reserved.

September 19, 2018

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news

Theater officials propose, consider new building Chandler White

COPY EDITOR

School of Theater officials are looking to further improvements to theater facilities.

Gold Star Memorial Building has been undergoing renovations since February 2017, including safer flooring, soundproofed walls and a new heating and air conditioning system.

Brian Parsons, associate dean of the school of theater, said a yearlong feasibility study is underway to consult theater faculty and, potentially, students on what they would like in a new building.

Theater officials received funding for the feasibility program last spring, and, at the end of this academic year, officials ideally will know what new building could be built, Parsons said.

Theater officials are considering a new performance space, a place for the theater school and potentially additional buildings, Parsons said.

“It is our aspiration and dream to have a purpose-built theater school with specialist teaching spaces, specialist rehearsal spaces and new performance spaces,” he said.

Dr. Mark Parker, dean of the theater and music schools, said a new building would likely be a space shared by the School of Theater and outside theater entities. Parker said he first had the idea for a new theater space about a year and a half ago when Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center was being remodeled. He said outside organizations asked him if they would be able to use the space when it was complete, but it wasn’t possible to fit them all in one space.

Parker also said the construction of the building itself would take about 10 years. It would be funded by donors.

Parsons said improvements will eventually be finished in Gold Star, but it won’t be the School of Theater’s main focus because it’s temporary.

“We don’t want to sink money into a building that, if

“

It is our aspiration and dream to have a purpose-built theater school with specialist teaching spaces, specialist rehearsal spaces and new performance spaces.

Brian Parsons

associate dean school of theater

all goes well, we won’t be in, in two, three years’ time,” Parsons said.

Facilities staff worked in Gold Star during the summer and completed Studios E and F on the north side of the basement, improved soundproofing between the rooms and cleared out spaces on the south side of the basement that may be used as workrooms, offices or practice rooms. Parsons said soundproofing was especially improved after a failed attempt when the studios were built.

“We really learnt the lesson of the work we did before,” he said. “When we built the acting studios on the third floor, we

genuinely thought we had sufficiently soundproofed them.

But, if you go up there now and you shout in one room, you won’t hear it in the other room.”

Parsons said the renovations that still need to be done include the replacement or reparation of carpet, reparation of ceiling tiles and the installment of blinds and curtains.

The renovations do not have a completion date.

Parsons also said the Oklahoma City Ballet, when they were transitioning buildings in early 2016, didn’t have available office space, and theater officials leased out office spaces on the second floor of Gold Star for

them to use. Now, their offices are ready, and the School of Theater will get those spaces back in October. Parsons said they probably will be used as faculty offices, but he would prefer them to be practice rooms.

Lance Marsh, head of performance and theater professor, teaches all of his classes in Gold Star this semester. He said the addition of Studios E and F was especially helpful after the School of Theater was vacated from the Clara E. Jones Administration Building so it could be used for admissions.

“We were very much packed to the gills,” Marsh said. “We had every one of our studios fully booked through all of our typical teaching hours last year, so this extra space has really lightened things up and given us a little breathing space.”

Parsons said he encourages students to focus on what they’ve gained since the two extra studios make up for the loss of the admin tower.

Daniel Etti-Williams, acting

senior, said he appreciates the addition of the new studios, but there were better ways Gold Star could have been improved.

“It’s good, and I understand what they were trying to do with it,” Etti-Williams said.

“Now it’s two spaces instead of one, but I think there were more pressing needs that we needed for the Gold Star building. I feel like things are getting better, it’s just slow.”

Parsons said he is excited for the possibility of the theater school getting its own space.

“The School of Theater, if you think about it, it’s never had its own building,” he said.

“We have the bulk of Gold Star, but we share it right now, we share it with honors, we share it with religion, and it wasn’t built to be a theater school. So it’s part of the ongoing journey and development and growth of the theater school that we’re getting closer to what we need.”

Dance school featured in online article of national magazine Emily Wollenberg

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

The Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment was featured in a national dance publication.

Dance Spirit published an article on their website dancespirit.com titled, “Majoring in Dance? Here’s How to Choose Your Concentration,” that featured OCU dance students in pictures and quotes.

Dance Spirit is a monthly publication and online forum that provides young dancers with dance news, health and body tips, informative articles, and dance fashion.

The publication is part of a larger company called Dance Media, which also produces Dance Magazine, Pointe Magazine and Dance Teacher. The company is well-known in the dance community, said Melanie Shelley, associate dean of the dance school.

“This is a magazine that the students read, so it’s pretty cool for them to see that we are in there,” Shelley said. “This is a great way to get the OCU name out there.”

The article also mentioned the dance programs at Texas A&M in College Station and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, but Shelley said OCU seemed to be featured more than others.

“They had to highlight some other schools, but all of the pictures except for one

Go for it

This is a magazine that the students read, so it’s pretty cool for them to see that we are in there.

Melanie Shelley

associate dean Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment

were pictures that we submitted, which, of course, is really cool,” she said.

Dani Jo Towle, dance performance junior, said she was pleased when she saw the article.

“This was a magazine I read as a child,” Towle said. “I mean, I would buy subscriptions to it when I was like, 7 years old, so to see my school in the magazine that I looked up to as a child was just the coolest feeling.”

Towle said she appreciated that the article explained the different fields dance students can pursue in their careers.

“What I loved about this article is that it legitimatized being a dance major—here’s where they’re going to go after this, and here’s how they’re going to be successful,” she said. “It’s not an ‘if ’ they’re going to be successful, it’s an ‘are.’ It brought to light what it takes to be a dance major.”

Molly Smith, dance management graduate, was interviewed for the article about the classes she took as a dance management student. Smith lives in Chicago and works as a company man-

ager for Chicago Tap Company, as well a dancing apprentice in the company. She also stage manages for The Side Project, a performing arts theater.

Smith said she was surprised and honored to be interviewed for the article.

“It felt really validating to be going to a school that would be featured,” she said.

The dance program at OCU prepared her for a career in the entertainment industry, Smith said.

“The school, because it’s so focused and has different dance tracks, that really prepares you to do a lot of different things in the arts industry,” she said.

Towle said she is excited that this recognition will shed light on the dance program for future generations.

“To know that the place that I attend and that I love attending is so nationally recognized, it felt so good,” she said. “I felt confident in my school, and also in me, and I just felt proud.”

Senior Defender Gabrielle Szukala prepares to kick the ball at the women’s soccer game against Oklahoma Wesleyan University on Sept.

12 at Stars Field. The game ended as a tie, 0-0. The next women’s soccer home game is against USAO at 5 p.m. Sept. 25 at Stars Field.

Photo by Hannah Rogers

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Debate team prepares for state competition Lenora LaVictoire

STAFF WRITER

Members of the Student Ethics Debate Team are gearing up to argue today’s top issues this fall.

The team, which has attended nationals twice in the last three years, consists of seven students who will compete in a state competition Oct. 13 at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

The students then will attend a regional competition in November in San Antonio.

If they place, they will go on to a national competition in December in Chicago.

Dr. James Guzak, business management professor and team adviser, said the team is important because morally conscious students are needed in the business world.

“I tell my students that we do a bad job with ethical decision making in the world of September 19, 2018

business,” he said.

Guzak said business gets bad publicity for its mistakes, sometimes more than what’s fair.

“Considering the reputation that business professionals have in that regard, anything we can do to advance ethics and practicing ethics in the business world, I think is very worthwhile,” he said.

The competitions consist of the students splitting into teams and debating positions against other schools on top ethical problems of today. The sample ethical issues this year include voting rights for felons, online privacy issues and fake news.

Guzak said he has seen students learn critical thinking skills, the ability to apply ethical frameworks and public speaking skills.

“It gives you a whole new sense of sensitivity to other people. I think it gives you a sense of duty, and responsibility, and doing things for the right reason rather than doing it for expediency’s purpose,” he said.

Hannah Cozart, acting sophomore and debate team member, said she enjoys the change of pace from her theater classes.

“It’s good to have a different outlet that’s a little more intellectual,” she said.

Cozart said she learns a lot from talking to people that she disagrees with about current events.

“It’s really cool to be able to get down to the core issues of subjects and to be able to talk about what makes things right or wrong,” she said. “Because lots of people don’t take the time to slow down and think about that, they just go through their lives without stopping to think why that is.”

Guzak said the only requirement to join the ethics debate team is to be an undergraduate at the university. Interested students can email him at jrguzak@ okcu.edu.

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news Nursing professor summits Mount Kilimanjaro Erik Hamilton

STAFF WRITER

An OCU professor climbed Mount Kilimanjaro this past summer.

Dr. Diana Blackmon, chairwoman of Traditional BSN Program and associate professor for the Kramer School of Nursing, participated in a group hiking/climbing journey for about a week.

Blackmon will give a presentation on her journey from 10-11 a.m. Thursday in Room 151 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences. It will be hosted by the Wellness Committee.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a mountain in Tanzania, Africa.

Dr. Blackmon was accompanied by a group of 27 other women and about 90 local

porters, guides and chefs. They spent about eight days on the hike, starting Aug. 2. Six days were spent hiking up the mountain, and two hiking down.

Blackmon took the Machome route up. She was 65 years old, a few decades older than the other members of her group.

“It was probably the most physically challenging adventure I’ve ever been on,” Blackmon said. “I’ve been on a lot of adventures.”

To train, Blackmon spent six months taking only the stairs, running on elliptical machines, and running up and down ramps and parking garages.

The first day of the hike was spent walking through a rainforest. Blackmon said, starting on day two, the journey involved much more steepness and rock

Submitted Dr. Diana Blackmon, associate professor of nursing, reaches Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro’s highest summit, during her hiking trip in August.

climbing. When the trek became steep, the hikers had to practice acclimatization, moving slowly to make gradual progress.

“It’s not a race up,” Blackmon said. “It’s an adventure. A slow adventure.”

The journey’s last leg ascending began at base camp at midnight. Blackmon was wearing five layers of clothes on her torso, three layers on her legs, two hats, a mask, and a pair of chemicallyheated gloves to keep warm. She

said she reached the peak of the mountain about an hour after sunrise, despite fatigue from her lack of sleep the night before.

“I did this whole thing on an hour of sleep, two apples and a protein bar,” Blackmon said.

“Because you lose your appetite.”

After about 100 meters of three-foot snow, she reached the peak before anyone else in her group. Upon reaching the top, she took out an OCU flag and took a photograph with it.

“She is my hero,” President Martha Burger said. “She and I are almost exactly, if not exactly, the same age, and I have always wanted to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was always a real goal of mine. I am so impressed by her.”

Students also expressed admiration for Blackmon.

“I guess you could say that

“

makes me feel like I can do anything, but right now it makes me feel small,” said Jacob Michael McCoy, music composition freshman. “Like, I can only do the twin peaks over in Colorado.”

Climbing the mountain was a dream of Blackmon’s for a long time, she said.

“Seventeen years ago, I had plans to do it, and I didn’t,” she said. “And I should have. So it was my last thing on my bucket list I wanted to accomplish.

Because I’ve done marathons, I’ve done outward bound trips, I’ve backpacked and hiked, and all of that. But this was fabulous.”

Music students to perform at high school Amanda Miller

STAFF WRITER

Carolann Stout Student Publications

Get served Defensive Specialist freshman Isabel Harwell serves the ball at the volleyball game against Southwestern Christian on Sept. 11 in Abe Lemons Arena in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. The Stars won, 3-2. Their next home game is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Mid-America Christian.

Vocalists will collaborate with high school students to perform the new musical revue Montage.

Montage will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in the S. Arch Thompson Auditorium, 201 E. Adams Ave. in McAlester.

While the production is new to OCU, it has been around for nearly 50 years at McAlester High School. The public high school has teamed with the Wanda L. Bass School of Music to bring back the show.

The musical revue used to be an annual production, but it hasn’t been performed in years. McAlester alumni recently decided to support a new version of Montage, this time using proceeds from ticket sales to help create scholarships for McAlester students. The show will be the first production in the S. Arch Thompson Auditorium since its renovation.

Paul Gebb, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and Bob Spinks, director of the Non-Profit Leadership Program, are involved with the production. Spinks said he is grateful for the collaboration with faculty from the Wanda L. Bass School of Music.

“I could not be more grateful to Dr. Herendeen and the deans,” Spinks said.

Current undergraduates, along with graduate students and alumni, will perform alongside high school students from McAlester High School, including members of their choir, drama courses and pom team.

Montage is a musical revue that consists of four different sections, each one a different decade, filled with popular music and short sections of musicals. Various versions of Montage were performed by McAlester students between 1959 and the early 1980s.

The program will offer different and interesting opportunities to

“

We’re looking forward to seeing them per form, and hopefully they ’re look ing forward to seeing us perform.

Marcus Lonardo vocal performance senior

the OCU students who are participating, Spinks said. The hope is that students will see some of the inner workings of show business as they travel away from their rehearsal space and perform a show in such a short amount of time, he said.

Gebb and Spinks both said the experience gained working on Montage could teach students vital skills needed for traveling shows such as cruise ships and national tours.

Marcus Lonardo, vocal performance senior, said he looks forward to performing Montage next month. He said one of the most exciting things is the collaboration between different students.

“We’re looking forward to seeing them perform, and hopefully they’re looking forward to seeing us perform,” Lonardo said.

Lonardo, along with other OCU performers, will spend the weekend in McAlester, performing the show three times as well as meeting various groups from the community. The group also has been invited to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the high school’s homecoming football game while they are there.

The show is open to the public. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/3608051.

Students give back, teach at camp for low-income children Dru Norton

STAFF WRITER

A camp that helps bridge the learning gap in children from low-income communities will recruit students as counselors in November.

The camp, called Project Transformation, is a nonprofit organization formed to help children from first through fifth grades learn literacy, as well as spiritual, social and emotional skills. The camp has nine sites across Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City, Moore, Bartlesville, Enid, El Reno, Muskogee, Mangum, and two sites in Tulsa.

“The main focus of the camp is literacy. In low-income areas, there is one book to every 300 kids owned in the house,” said Bri Williams, acting sophomore. “The literacy rates go down over the summer. The camp worked to keep that literacy rate the same or increase it.”

Williams worked as the art coordinator at the Southern Hills United Methodist Church site in Tulsa.

“I would have them do activities like coloring a picture or make something out of recycled things,” Williams said.

Project Transformation and OCU also grant scholarships to students participating in the

I realized that I definitely want to do something in my future career with kids, maybe teaching. I really liked the education aspect of it.

Kelly Pan nursing senior

program.

Kelly Pan, nursing senior, said she recieved $1,800 as salary for the summer and $1,200 as an educational grant from AmeriCorps.

“OCU has a good partnership with Project Transforma-

tion, so they give you an additional $500 per scholarship you get,” she said.

Pan worked as the STEM coordinator at the St. Paul United Methodist Church site in Muskogee. This was her second year working as a coun-

selor at the camp.

“I taught the kids math and science,” Pan said. “I realized that I definitely want to do something in my future career with kids, maybe teaching. I really liked the education aspect of it.”

Before the camp began on July 26, the students working as counselors had a week of training through the Methodist conference.

“We learned about safe sanctuaries,” Williams said. “I was taught how to react if a child told me something was going on at home and how to notice signs of abuse.”

The camp lasted for 10

weeks during the summer.

It was from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Monday through Thursday.

“It made me self-reflect on how I can use my skills and training as an actor to go and help people,” Williams said. “It was an amazing experience.”

Applications to become a camp counselor at Project Transformation will be available Nov. 1. Students can go to www.projecttransformation. org or call 405-530-2010 for more information.

Caf officials open farmers market, encourage healthy eating, cooking Madison Caputo

STAFF WRITER

Dining officials began a new monthly tradition of a farmers market.

The farmers market is an event Chartwells, the primary food service provider on campus, implements at many universities they serve.

“We want to show fresh produce, cool produce, stuff that you might not have ever seen,” Executive Chef Alvin Mayes III said.

The farmers market will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every second Wednesday on the quad. There is no cost to attend.

The first farmers market was Sept. 12, and the theme was peppers. Mayes said he wants to have a new theme every month and incorporate many different foods related to that theme.

The farmers market is a partnership with Vinyard Fruit & Vegetable Co., a produce company. Mayes said the goal is to bring in as many local crops as they can within about a 250-mile radius, but still bring in some produce outside of that range for more exotic eats.

Other foods that will be present are fruits, vegetables and seasonal foods. Mayes said Michelle Gaffney, assistant director of retail for Chartwells, has a lot of made-in-Oklahoma products that will be incorporated into the market.

September 19, 2018

Elina Moon Student Publications

Lisi Levy, acting sophomore, buys goods at the farmers market Sept. 12 on the quad. The market, hosted by Chartwells, was open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and sold locally-sourced vegetables, fruit and herbs.

“Whether you have an interest in fruit, in vegetables or not, if you want to buy something or not, I would love for everyone to come check it out,” Mayes said.

Lori Walker, director of auxiliary services, said the farmers market is a good opportunity for students without meal plans.

“Some goals are to help students think outside the box with the ability of using these fruits and vegetables to cook on their own,” Walker said. “Because some residents live in Cokesbury, and we also have ELS students, and we have commuting students, so, you know, it’s an opportunity for them to fill a need that hasn’t been met before.”

Annie Bragg, exercise and sports science freshman, said she supports the idea of the farmers market.

“I’m really excited because back at home we always had a farmers market in our county, so it’s super exciting that we would have one here and get together and have a community,” Bragg said.

Mayes said he hopes the farmers market will lead to healthier choices for students.

“It’s all about eating healthier, and so that’s the trend that’s been going on in the past three, four, five years roughly, that’s just one way we’re showing that we’re supporting that,” Mayes said.

Students can have their own place in the farmers market by emailing Mayes at alvin.mayes@compass-usa.com to contribute or help out with the market.

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