Sept 21 issue by MediaOCU

THE CAMPUS

September 21, 2016 – Volume 110 Issue 30

SGA to plan semester goals, focus on previous projects Sage Tokach

will be more willing to defer if the caf is closed during the event and if the vendor provides food Sodexo does not already make, Rhodes said.

LIFESTYLES EDITOR

Student Government Association plans to involve more of the student body in their decisions this academic year. SGA members will attend a strategic planning retreat to brainstorm ideas and goals for the semester. The retreat will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Room 214 in Dulaney-Browne Library. Senators encourage students to attend and share their own requests. SGA will compile a Top 10 list of the most important items to focus on for the year. Top priorities and goals for the year will be determined after the retreat, but, in the meantime, SGA President Nic Rhodes is focusing on the progress of past projects. Food service SGA had several meetings last year with Sodexo, the campus food service provider, to negotiate to-go boxes for hot food in the caf and food trucks on campus for special events. Sodexo agreed to test a hot food to-go pilot program, allowing students to take a box of hot food home from the caf Monday through Friday, but only during lunch. The pilot program is underway and will end Sept. 30. Sodexo officials also agreed to revise their catering guidelines and off-campus vendor rules, which they are scheduled to publish at the end of the month, Rhodes said. Instead of banning all outside vendors, Sodexo agreed create a form to allow students to apply for an outside vendor for their event. The applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but Sodexo

Plus or minus Rhodes continues the push to change the university grading policy to a standard system, one without the plus/minus scale. SGA distributed a survey last semester asking student opinions, and the majority voted in favor of the change, Rhodes said. He added that Dr. Jonathan Willner, chairman of economics and finance, transferred current student grades to the standard system and saw a GPA increase for 60 percent of students. "We'll put up a resolution in the next few months that clearly states our request to change the system, along with the data to support it," Rhodes said. "However, I was told that until we have a permanent provost, instead of an interim, there's not much we can do." The budget SGA's monetary allocation from the university remained the same as last year. Additionally, they have some leftover funds, allowing them to increase the Student Activities Council budget by a few thousand dollars. SAC is the organization in charge of creating events for the student body. They're typically in charge of things like Homecoming and Big Event. "We wanted to give most of the excess money to SAC, because that's the part of SGA that students see and directly benefit from," Rhodes said. "We also plan to set aside some funds to revamp the website. The only iffy part about the budget is the Student Bar Association budget." OCU mandates SGA to allocate a certain chunk of money each

semester to the SBA, the law school's version of SGA. The amount of they receive is based on their enrollment data, whereas SGA's budget is not. SBA's budget has decreased at a lesser rate than SGA's during the past few years. "We think it would be more fair to give them a standard percentage of our budget or simply let OCU's financial people handle their allocation, instead of it being part of our budget," Rhodes said. SGA received a budget cut last year, but still allocated more money to SBA than it had in previous years, according to Student Publication archives. They worked on renegotiating the budget in the fall semester, but continue to have issues with it. Student Senate Senate also will see some changes this semester, beginning with seat revisions. The seats are split into academic and grade level-based districts. To get a more accurate student body representation, SGA plans to change to a population-based representation, Rhodes said. Enrollment in each school on campus will determine the number of representatives they receive. Every school will get one to four senators. Additionally, Holly Randall, SGA vice president and Student Senate president, changed Senate meetings from weekly to biweekly. "This change will create more substantial and productive meetings," Randall said. "It will allow us to handle more legislation per meeting." Students who are not on Senate will be invited to attend monthly town hall meetings to voice their opinions. Faculty and staff can also attend the discussions.

Moving image arts sees changes Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

Donovan Lawson Student Publications

Strong girls, ice cream swirls Laura Kariuki, acting freshman, and Reily Preston, acting sophomore, decide what they want while supporting Gamma Phi Beta’s philanthropy Sept. 14 at Roxy’s Ice Cream Social, 1732 N.W. 16th St. Students went to Roxy’s and Empire Slice House, 1734 N.W. 16th St., to help raise money for Gamma Phi Beta’s national philanthropy. See more photos of Gamma Phi's philanthropy, Building Strong Girls Week, on page 3.

The moving image arts department has gone through some changes with faculty this academic year after Fritz Kiersch, former department chairman, left the university. Kiersch started the department and oversaw its growth and development for the last 10 years, but took a position this semester as a professor at Point Park University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Casey Marks, film production senior, said he was surprised Kiersch left. “I’m actually kind of sad that he left. I really felt like I

had bonded with Fritz,” he said. “I actually found out from an incoming student that he wasn’t coming back this year. He didn’t tell us." The department now has a smaller faculty, but Bryan Cardinale-Powell, professor of moving image arts, said it will not hurt the program. “Our program is not going to go away because of this. In fact, we hope it will continue to grow,” he said. “We appreciate everything Fritz did for us, but we still have lots of opportunities for our students and we’re continuing to work in teaching narrative, storytelling and film making.” Matt Payne, television writer,

was brought on as an adjunct professor and new additions are being added to the building. “We are going to get a new screening room and a new postproduction suite within the semester that the students will be able to use,” Cardinale-Powell said. Despite being sad, Marks said he's hopeful for the program. "I’m sad because you make these connections with people and then you don’t even get an email saying goodbye," he said. "But I’m not worried about it, I think we’re in really good hands with Bryan.”

Students take over local store, host weekly events Sage Tokach LIFESTYLES EDITOR

OCU students took over The Hippie Store and turned it into That Hippie Place, a clothing store, concert venue and artist hangout. Before its transition, The Hippie Store, 2412 N. Shartel Ave., had a 4.5-star rating on its Facebook page. "The lady that owned the store ran it for 10 years and was trying to sell everything out," said Sarah Feist, music theater senior. "She mentioned to my friend, Larz, that he should take it over, so he took the idea and ran with it. Now, we're using it as an art space, as well as a store to support itself." Feist works with Alumnus Seth Adam and their friends Larz Hoban and Forrest Wright. They host weekly art events and manage the store, using the pre-existing merchandise. The previous owner left records, furniture and several odd items with the group, as well as the entire clothing inventory, which the group sorted through and organized by season. "We only have the summer

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clothing on the racks right now, so we'll start transitioning to fall and winter clothes soon," Feist said. "There's a lot more. There are all kinds of vintage and period clothing, as well as some costume dresses I could see us renting out or selling to a theater company eventually." The upstairs apartment is condemned, but the space includes a loft and storage to house the offrack clothing. During concerts and events, racks are pushed to one side, making room for a stage and dance floor space. That Hippie Place hosted a back to school concert Aug. 28 featuring two bands from OCU, LFNC and One Minute to Paradise. The friends also performed in their own bands, SHAKTI, in which Feist writes the songs, and Moon Sun Reflection, which is composed of the same band members, but Seth and Forrest write the music. The back to school concert was open to the public, and about 100 people attended throughout the night. All live music events are free, but donations are appreciated, and eventually, there will probably be a cover fee of about $5, Feist said.

Besides concerts, That Hippie Place is used as a venue for activities like flow jams. Flow jams allow people to create flow art, dancing with hula hoops and spinning poi. Poi is a small ball of woven flax, attached to a chain with a swivel. Spinners hold handles and create a rhythmic dance by spinning the poi. Some artists dip the poi in kerosene and spin fire. Free, public flow jams occur every Thursday night. Other events include movie nights every Sunday evening and musical meditation sessions at 10 a.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Thursdays. Adam hosts the free meditation hour. People usually do light yoga, stretch and relax while I play the harp, he said. "We're picking up steadily, and every week we make more profit and have more people come to our events," Feist said. "It's funny how people come in and feel welcome. They want to hang out and give us things." Local people have donated money and other items like pianos and dresses. A woman known as "Big Mama" occasionally brings in food for the owners

Sage Tokach Student Publications

Forrest Wright, Sarah Feist, music theater senior, and Alumnus Seth Adam sit on a couch in That Hippie Place. Bands formed at OCU, like LFNC, SHAKTI or One Minute to Paradise use the store to rehearse and perform during shows. That Hippie Place, 2412 N. Shartel Ave., is hosting a Halloween concert Oct. 28.

and their cats, Feist said. The group often rehearses in the space, and people stop by just to listen and hang out. "It's a fun space to mess around," Feist said. "Random people come in to play chess, practice head stands, unicycle, or learn how to juggle. One time, some high schoolers came in and we did a bunch of round offs." Feist and the other owners plan to continue their weekly

events and host concerts once or twice a month. They have a Halloween concert scheduled for Oct. 28, but they haven't set a time yet. Long-term ideas for the space include selling more local art, opening an art gallery, giving lessons, making it a public rehearsal space, and creating a non-profit organization. "We have a lot of dreams," Feist said. "Right now, it's about

getting people here. It's a store, but it's an art house where we all help each other. It's a space to create and have feedback." To become involved or schedule a rehearsal time at the store, email thehippiedippyjoint@gmail.com or stop by the space during their business hours, which are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m Thursday through Sunday.

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opinion Editors encourage SGA to get things done this academic year St u d e n t G ov e r n m e n t Association is brainstorming resolutions for the 2016-17 academic year. See Page 1 for more information on SGA's plans. The concern is that SGA waited until the end of September to host their retreat to brainstorm resolutions. Honestly, that's too late in the semester to just be brainstorming. SGA is inviting students to the retreat at 1 p.m. Saturday in Room 214 in Dulaney-Browne Library to express their ideas. It's good that SGA is trying to be more transparent and include students in its decision-making process, and students should take the time to go and express their own ideas for campus. SGA also changed Senate meetings to biweekly, meaning they'll only meet every

other week because it'll allow for "more substantial and productive meetings," according to Holly Randall, SGA vice president of Student Senate. Senate members are students, which means they are busy, just like everyone else, but SGA is the voice of all of the students on campus. How can they expect to get anything done this academic year if they haven't even thought of the resolutions yet and are choosing to meet less in the process? SGA President Nic Rhodes is staying focused on the plus/ minus grading scale initiative. But, he said, without a permanent provost, there's not much SGA can do. His determination is admirable, but, at the same time, if there's nothing that can be done with the grading scale resolution right now,

Talk Back “If you could take anything to go from the caf, what would it be?”

he should move on and focus on things he actually has control of. SGA has created plenty of resolutions in the last couple of years, but students haven't seen the benefits of much action. This year has the potential to be different, so hopefully things get done. It's time that SGA at least does a few small things that will benefit the current students, rather than putting all their time and effort into one or two big things current students may never see completed, if they're ever even approved.

"Sandwiches and cookies. Mama June makes them with love"

"An entire box of cookies”

Dylan Mobley acting senior

Carlos Sanchez English sophomore

“The burgers and fries”

Melissa Campbell music theater freshman

“All the chocolate milk. All of it.”

Andrew Reynoso kinesiology senior

“Stir-fry Wednesdays”

“Chicken pesto pasta. The portions are generous and it’s delicious.”

Kinsey Gary nursing freshman

Lucas Haupert acting senior

Captain America ‘worth doing a bit of homework beforehand’ I'll admit something a little embarrassing, I was pretty late to the game for seeing Captain America: Civil War, or alternatively if you'd like, Avengers 2 and a half. So far it’s the highest grossing film of 2016 and very likely to stay that way, but it took until early September for me to finally sit down and watch it, so please forgive the lateness of this review. Was it worth the wait? For the review probably not, but for the movie? Definitely. The 13th film in Marvel's Cinematic Universe is

directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars most of everyone's favorite superheroes. Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, The Winter Soldier, Vision, actually this list might be shorter if we list superheroes that don't show up in Civil War. There's a nice blend of heroes we've come to know and love, and newcomers who bring some exciting new blood to the Marvel Universe. The film focuses on the rift that develops among the Avengers when the United

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

Nations wants to turn the group from its own independent organization into a division that works only when called upon by world leaders. The Avengers are split on whether or not to sign the agreement, with Iron Man and Captain America leading the groups for it and against it respectively.

Civil War is truly less of a Captain America solo adventure and more of a prequel to the next Avengers movie. While Captain America is front and center for most of the action, Iron Man and the rest of the gang get a good chunk of screen time and their own moments to shine. The movie is flat out fun, with

great action sequences and hilarious interactions between all the heroes, even when they’re fighting on opposite sides. It feels less like a comic book movie and more of a special event, which works in its favor but also against it. The fight scenes are definitely the highlight of the movie, but you can’t shake the feeling that nothing is really at stake and that the whole film is just to set up more Marvel movies. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with that and it’s still a great way to spend a couple of hours, but in the end it simply feels like a con-

tinuation and less like its own story. Overall Captain America: Civil War is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a fun action movie with likeable and interesting characters. Don’t go into it expecting too much more, and also do yourself a favor and brush up on the other Marvel films, or else some key jokes and storylines may go right over your head. Not many movies are worth doing a bit of homework beforehand, but this is one of them.

Columnist warns students of worrying, anxiety Anxiety is the most ignored but most common mental health problem to have, in my humble opinion. Oftentimes statistics and percentages are thrown our way to make us have some kind of revelation, but does being told that anxiety is the most common health disorder make it too surreal to believe? When I heard these statistics throughout my teen years, I always immediately thought about how I couldn’t relate. I didn’t have anxiety. How could I? I’d always count myself among the small percent. The average folks. A friend of mine recently sat down with a bucketful of stress piled up in her

head and unloaded everything in a much needed explosion of emotions. It was three weeks into school and she was already feeling the pressure of multiple anxieties pushing up against her from all directions. I listened, I nodded, but the one thing that I tried to be the most conscious of was restraining myself. During the whole conversation, I tried to keep my mouth shut as often as I possibly could. And it was helpful, because in my experience, I have noticed that oftentimes people with anxiety are not looking for a solution to their problem. They’re just stuck in the middle of processing what the issue actually is. Once they’ve identified it properly, they can usually solve it on

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

their own. But I started to wonder why I had somewhat of a grasp on what to do to help comfort and calm my friend’s anxiety. For a couple of months I’d actually been wondering about something that had never occurred to me before. I started to ask myself, and family members, if it could be possible that I had mild anxiety. And the more I began to read articles and talk with others that had anxiety, the

more I started to see my “excessive worrying” as something that wasn’t a funny little quirk in my personality. Even after naming it, it was still hard to believe that I could claim something like that. I almost felt like I wasn’t entitled to it. But some days, when I have to write lists of every single thing that I have to get done before I can start doing it, it makes sense. Especially when I can be known to rewrite that list multiple times

in a day. But anxiety is something that everyone, especially college students, should be keeping their eyes peeled for. A family member of mine, who we’d all pegged as an “excessive worrier” like me, started taking anxiety medication when she started physician assistant school. And the crazy thing about that is that it isn’t uncommon for PA students to take anxiety medication, even if they’ve never had any history of being anxious previous to starting PA school. What this means for college students is that anxiety is no exclusive thing. It’s easily developed by the most highly functioning people. It’s also sometimes difficult to detect, and with me, look-

ing back on my life, I notice that anxiety was something that was prevalent, but went unidentified until I was 19 years old. Now, this doesn’t mean that every case should be medicated. I don’t take medicine, nor do I feel like I should. Sometimes in college we go at such a rigorous pace that we don’t really notice what’s going on in our bodies. Even if it’s not the first semester that you’re going through, that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a highstress environment. So take a minute and breathe, write a list and make sure you’re listening to your body, because we all get a little anxiety every now and again.

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 Wear red in support of Phi Gamma Delta's (FIJI) United Service Organizations philanthropy week Service from 1-2 p.m. in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel Dr. Ryan Robinson's tuba recital from 8-9:45 p.m. in Petree

Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

Brenda McDaniel University Center

FRIDAY FIJI's "Phi Gamma Melta" from 7-11 p.m. in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

OCU Orchestra Concert from 8-10 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

SATURDAY G.O. OCU from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Great Hall in Tom and

SUNDAY Intramural flag football from 2-3 p.m. on the intramural sports field

MONDAY Phi Mu's "Miracle Week" begins with a movie night at 8 p.m. on the quad

to Employers" from 12:30-1:15 p.m. in Room 215 of DulaneyBrowne Library

p.m. in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center

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

Support Phi Mu's philanthropy week by eating at Roxy's Ice Cream Social from 5-10 p.m. at 1732 N.W. 16th St.

Phi Mu's game night from 8-10 p.m. at the Phi Mu house

TUESDAY Career services's "How to Talk

WEDNESDAY Etiquette dinner from 5:30-6:45

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

September 21, 2016, Volume 110, Number 30

Editor-in-chief: Miguel Rios Web Editor: Maleyia Vaughn Lifestyles Editor: Sage Tokach Photo Editor: Elina Moon Community Manager: Lauren Berlingeri Photographers: Courtney Beyer,

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

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

The Student Publications staff welcomes unsolicited material and let-

Columnist: Madelyn Parker 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.

September 21, 2016

news

Ali Wonderly Student Publications

Building strong girls, appetites Celia Tedde, music theater/vocal performance sophomore, leads OCUpella in a rendition of “Potential Breakup Song” during Gamma Phi Beta’s Pancake Palooza on Sept. 17. The event concluded the organization’s Building Strong Girls Week, which is the sorority’s philanthropy week. Their philanthropic partner is Girls on the Run. Above: Jessica Martens, music theater/vocal performance sophomore; Maddie Williams, dance sophomore, and Kristen Grooms, dance freshman, prepare batter during Pancake Palooza.

Housing updates: New heating, air system in Banning first of many improvements Megan Carter STAFF WRITER

Banning Hall residents may notice a change in their air conditioning system this academic year. “We installed a new heating and air conditioning system in Banning this summer,” said Kevin Culbertson, coordinator of housing operations. “It partially replaces the water pipes.” The new heating and air system is a major update for Banning Hall, he said. “There are steam pipes to all the buildings on campus for hot

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water,” Culbertson said. “Banning had a steam pipe system to heat water for the radiators as well. During the winter, we would have to switch over from chilled water to steam to get heat into the rooms. Then, in the spring, we’d have to switch back to chilled water. “Residents didn’t have control over whether they had air conditioning or heat because it was a centralized system. You couldn’t just flip on a switch and switch from air to heat. “It was a several day process.” The new system is much more efficient, and students

seem to like it much better, Culbertson said. “Students used to say they could smell a kind of moisture, but that’s gone now,” he said. “Last year we had about 12 work orders for leaking pipes and non-functional units just during the move-in period in August. This year, zero. It’s because the new system is working so much better.” The new system in Banning is set to be the first of several dorm updates across campus. “We assessed the dorm needs to see which one needed an update more than the others,”

Housing officials plan renovations to improve dorm aesthetics Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

Housing officials are planning Walker and Banning hall renovations with architects. Walker was built in 1968 and Banning was built in 1958. Though both have had renovations to plumbing, air conditioning and facilities, they have not yet been aesthetically revamped. “We have had stuff done to the dorms in the past, but it was more just things we think that the students expected of us, nothing to overhaul the attractiveness of the dorms,” said Kevin Culbertson, coordinator of housing operations. “We think students do want the aesthetics worked on.” Officials are in the preliminary stages of planning renovations. They are working with architects from Design+Build Group (DBG),

We have had stuff done to the dorms in the past, but it was more just things we think that the students expected of us. Kevin Culbertson coordinator housing operations

a commercial construction company in Oklahoma City. “Everything is open for discussion, whether it’s renovating floors or furniture,” Culbertson said. “We are getting designers to help us put something in writing.” The possibility for renovation came after housing came out on top of the prioritization list. This meant housing updates were a priority for university officials, so it became a focus for them. There is not a set budget for this project because the extent of the job is being evaluated. “Once we get an idea of the

scope of the work, we can let admin know so they can give us the go ahead,” Culbertson said. Ja c q u e l i n e S c h n e i d e r, dance senior, said she used to live in Walker Hall. “I’m glad they’re fixing it up,” she said. “I wish they had started this before I got there.” Housing officials plan to have model rooms created next year, so the university has a standard to build off of.

Culbertson said. “Banning Hall was at the top of the list. We’re hoping to update others, like Walker and Draper, soon.” The updated system uses an entirely different means of cooling the building than the old water pipes. “We installed a refrigerant system, like in a residential house,” Culbertson said. “The refrigerant cools the building, and we don’t have to have chilled water pipes.” The new air conditioning system is also more energy efficient. “We tested the new air con-

ditioning on the hottest day of the year,” Culbertson said. “It was 105 degrees. We set the thermostats to about 68 degrees, and the system was able to cool all the rooms working at half capacity.” After testing the air conditioning, facilities removed the chilled water system. “We’re waiting to get rid of the steam heating pipes and radiators until we can test the heating later this fall,” Culbertson said. “We’re confident it will work.” Thanks to the new thermostats, students can set the tem-

perature in their rooms. Before they only had the choice of setting the fan on low, medium or high. Madison Bowes, entertainment business freshman, said this change is convenient for students. “It’s nice,” she said. “It makes it more comfortable to live there.”

~~`` THE ~~``

ORIGINAL

SANDWICH

DELIVERY ~~ ~~ GUYS!

Campus cable service to allow live streaming on personal devices Nicole Waltman STAFF WRITER

Many students are confused about what they need to do to get cable in their rooms. OCU’s cable provider, Cox, is offering a new service called “Contour” that requires a box for cable usage. The system will eventually live stream, so each student will be able to log into their account and access the cable through personal devices, said Michael Burns, director of housing and residence life. “Both traditional cable and IPTV will be available, but we anticipate dropping the wired September 21, 2016

cable in the future,” Burns said. Burns also said that, in addition to the current cable stations, there is a library of movies and shows that will be available. “As we approach the launch of the product this month, we will let you know more about what to expect and instructions on how to access the cable,” he said. Students can expect to wait 48 hours for the cable to completely install after they receive a box. Harrison Langford, acting sophomore, said he was skeptical at first because there were not enough boxes for everyone. When the new stock arrived,

though, he liked the benefits. “Now that we get to have our own boxes, I think it’s great,” he said. “It’s nice to have basic HD cable, which we didn’t have last year. And it will be super nice to have the Contour because instead of having to go out in the living room and watch on the TV, I can watch on my laptop in my bed.” The boxes are available in the housing office and can be picked up between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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news Music professor trains to run 50 miles for scholarship Taylor Rey STAFF WRITER

Dr. Erik Heine, associate professor of music, is competing in an endurance challenge to raise money for a scholarship. Heine will compete in a 12-hour endurance challenge is on Oct. 22 in “24 The Hard Way,” an annual race in Bluff Creek Park. He has a personal goal of running at least 50 miles before the end of the day. His motivation for the challenge is to raise money and provide a scholarship to incoming students. Heine originally got the

idea after doing a 24-hour run two years ago to raise money for the Special Friends Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, a rare disease Heine’s son has. After the race, he decided he wanted to run again. “I started thinking, I want to do this again, not just to do it, but for a good reason,” he said. “So I started talking to Dean (Mark) Parker in December about my idea and he called me back and said, ‘the more I think about it, the more excited I get.’” The Deb Heine Endowed

Scholarship is named after Heine’s late mother who supported his music a l c a re e r throughout Dr. Erik Heine his life. “I was originally a chemistry major, but decided to change to music my sophomore year and I remember how scared I was to tell my parents,” Heine said. “I remember being on the phone and I held my breath for what felt like 15 seconds after I told my parents and my Mom just said ‘okay.’ She was always the musical

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one and she really pushed me to continue my music growing up.” Heine created the scholarship and has so far received donations from six individuals for $1,260 and pledges totaling $3.20 per mile. Heine said he hopes that the scholarship will continue to help students attend OCU even after he’s gone. “When you’re younger, everything is about what you can do for yourself, but as you get older, it’s about what you can do for others,” Heine said. “This really isn’t about me, it’s what I can do for students. Yes, tuition and fees are expensive, but I want to

Save the people

give this money to someone who really needs it and help them.” To train for this challenge, Heine gets up before dawn to run before he takes his children to school. In the past four weeks, he has run 237.6 miles and an average of 8.5 miles daily. His longest run was two weeks ago on Sunday. He ran 22.72 miles in three hours. Emily Holguin, music theater sophomore, said she is impressed with what Heine is doing. “He’s so funny and so sweet. He always goes above and beyond for other people,” she said. “If we need help in class, he always makes himself available and he

even makes calendars to work around our schedule,” she said. Anyone is welcome to donate to the scholarship. “What people don’t realize is that even 10 cents a mile really adds up. A quote that has really stuck with me is that ‘little by little, a little becomes a lot,’” Heine said. For more information on the scholarship and to make a donation or a pledge, go to www.okcu.edu/endurancechallenge or email Heine at eheine@ okcu.edu.

Elina Moon Student Publications

Students portray inmates and guards in the finale of OCU Stripped’s production of Godspell, reimagined in a women’s prison. The show had performances Sept. 16-17 in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. Above: Sam Schneider-Behen, music theater senior, sings “All Good Gifts” during OCU Stripped’s production of Godspell. The next OCU Stripped production is Heathers and has performances March 31 and April 1.

Study Abroad sponsors mission trips to the Bahamas, Belize Megan Carter STAFF WRITER

Students will have the opportunity to go on two international mission trips for the first time. The first trip is Jan. 1-7 to Belmopan, Belize. The second trip will be to the Bahamas in May. Students will do construction work on both trips. The first one will be at a Methodist high school in Belize and the second on homes in the Bahamas. Students can receive one hour of course credit for going on one of the mission trips. “This year the trips are being offered concurrently through the study abroad office,” said the Rev. Dr. Charles Neff, vice president for church relations. “The students will meet for class once before the trip and once after the trip and have a reflection paper on the trip.” The base cost of each trip is $700. If students want to take the trip for course credit, there is an extra charge of $500 for tuition. The extra tuition cost will be covered by full tuition scholarships or the block tuition rate if the trip is within the 16 credit hours allowed. “We’re able to keep the costs for the trip low because of a grant

Relationships form, some of them blossom into friendships. Many of our students come away with lasting friendships in these foreign countries. Rev. Dr. Charles Neff vice president church relations

we receive from the Woodworth Estate through the United Methodist Church,” Neff said. “It allows for about a $500 scholarship for each student, so the cost for them stays at $700, which is about the cost of the airline tickets.” Belize and the Bahamas are both English-speaking countries. “It allows our students to enter into relationships with our hosts and the people they encounter much faster than in a non-English speaking country,” Neff said. “Relationships form, some of them blossom into friendships. Many of our students come away with lasting friendships in these foreign countries.” Oct. 1 is the deadline to register for the Belize trip, with a $250

refundable deposit. The Bahamas registration deadline most likely will be March 1. Many students are already showing interest in the trips and have registered to go. “I am excited about the trip because I love experiencing new cultures and having the opportunity to serve others,” said Madison Snow, biomedical science sophomore. Brooke Irwin, nursing junior, said she is excited about the chance to serve in a foreign country. “I’ve always had a passion for missions,” she said. “I started going on mission trips when I was 12 years old, and I have loved every single one of them. I believe that it’s very important to give back, and not only do I get to travel, but I also get to help others in need. To me, that is so rewarding.” KC Curry, religion freshman, said she feels a higher calling to go on mission trips. “I mainly want to go because it’s what I feel called to do,” she said. “I’m really excited to see how the people of Belize go about daily life and be there with them.” There will be a nursing school trip to Belize at the same time as the Belize mission trip, led by Pam Boeck, clinical nursing instructor.

Officials update rule on two show limit for performers Chandler White STAFF WRITER

With the sheer amount of artistic involvement on campus, it’s not unthinkable that there is a limit placed on the creative energy of the student body. One such limit is a newly-implemented rule in the school of theater, stating that students may only be cast in two shows per semester. Lance Marsh, theater professor and head of performance, said the rule was instated for two reasons. First, to ensure that performances and rehearsals don’t subtract from classroom priorities, and, second, to allow more opportunities to students who beforehand received no performance work throughout the whole semester. “We have 200 theater students, 150 acting students, and yet there’s still a large number of students that don’t get to work,” Marsh September 21, 2016

said. “We want to allow there to be a more equitable dispersal of roles.” Though effective as of this semester, the limitation of performance opportunities is not a new rule. The restriction was always set at two, but this altered and reinstated version of the rule also includes student-run and off-site productions, with the sole exception of the OCUedge stage readings. OCUedge is a series of staged-readings that happen every year. It’s an extension of the TheatreOCU season, but is usually composed of more modern and edgy plays. “It’s really just correcting an oversight,” Marsh said. “If you do eight weeks of performance and rehearsal off-site and you still do two shows here on campus, that’s too much performance work, we think.” Some performance students said being in more than two shows can be more trouble than it’s worth.

“If you are putting your heart and soul into those two shows, you really shouldn’t have the time or energy to do another one,” said Franziska Harms, acting junior. Student reactions to this re-implementation are mostly agreeable. Tyler Malinauskas, acting sophomore, said he thinks the rule is fair. “I find it to be appropriate and fair for incoming freshmen to get roles,” he said. “It gives them a better opportunity to get cast their first year, as well as everybody else.” Marsh said the results of this rule have already shown to be beneficial. “I’ve already seen that more different students have been cast this year than in any semester since I’ve been here,” Marsh said.

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Senior Defender Syrina Lopez steals the ball in the Stars’ match-up against Oklahoma Wesleyan on Sept. 13 at Stars Field. The Stars were defeated, 1-2. Their next game is 1 p.m. Saturday against Bellevue (Neb.).