Spring break edition

THE CAMPUS

Spring Fever:

March 9, 2016 – Volume 110 Issue 20

Students spend the break on campus

Due to things like expenses, athletics and convenience, some students will stay on campus during Spring Break.

While classes are out for the week, university housing will remain open, but the caf and Alvin’s Café will close.

The Dulaney-Browne Library will close Saturday and Sunday but will operate during the weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Dexter Hudson, tuba performance sophomore, said he is content to stay inside and relax during the break.

“I stayed around here last year during Spring Break, and I enjoyed recuperating,” Hudson said. “It was nice to finally take a mental break.”

Oklahoma Children’s Theater scheduled a spring theater camp during the break, since the week lines up with Oklahoma public schools’ Spring Break.

“I will stay in my dorm and work at the children’s theater instead of going home,” said Caroline Hawthorne, acting freshman. “I’m apparently going to be teaching a magic class.”

The baseball team will stay on campus to practice for their game against Southwestern Christian at 6 p.m. March 18 at Jim Wade Stadium.

“The first weekend of break is parents’ weekend,” Junior Pitcher Ken Williams said. “Other than that, I’ll be hanging out with my teammates and catching up on sleep.”

Though some other athletes get time off for the break, the wrestling team plans to keep conditioning and working.

“We all better work out over the break,” Freshman Wrestler Daniela Flores said. “You know we’ll all be eating a lot, especially if we’re around campus without school.”

Since dining options on campus are closed, student can use the Stars Advantage program to receive discounts from businesses near campus.

Visit MediaOCU.com to learn more about the program and see discount options.

There are other nearby activities for students staying on campus to do during Spring Break, such as: – The Oklahoma City Thunder will play two home games. The first is against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7 p.m. Friday and the second game is against the Portland Trail Blazers at 7 p.m. Monday. Both games are at Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W. Reno Ave. Tickets can be bought at ticketmaster.com, nba.com or stubhub.com. Ticket prices vary.

– The Myriad Botanical Gardens in Bricktown, 301 W. Reno Ave., features a 17-acre botanical garden that includes the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory. The conservatory is a 224-foot living plant museum featuring palm trees, tropical plants, waterfalls, and exotic animals. The outdoor gardens are free, but admission to the conservatory is $8.

– The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, presents three to four museum-organized exhibitions, including national and international traveling exhibitions. The museum also has rotating exhibitions such as Illuminations: Rediscovering the Art of Dale Chihuly, featuring blown glass from the American artist. Students tickets are $10 with a current student ID. Many members of the campus community encourage students to spend time outside during the break.

“Ordinarily, I’d recommend walking in nature, even on campus, as much as possible to appreciate the budding trees,” said Dr. John Starkey, religion professor. “The trees are already budding this year, but I’ll still probably spend most of my time with them. The other day, I found a Shumard Oak acorn near Walker Hall. They are beautiful and rare in these parts, so I was excited to find out that we had a Shumard on campus.”

One student recommends an off-campus outdoor destination.

“The Wichita Mountains have great hiking trails and camping areas,” said Alanah Hosford, cell and molecular biology sophomore. “If you’re into scrambling up rocks, it’s the place to go.”

The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, 20539 state Highway 115, has 15 miles of designated hiking trails through an oak forest where hikers can see wildlife such as bison, prairie dogs and birds. The refuge is free to enter.

“I’ll be going camping at Turner Falls for a few days with some other Fijis,” said Carlos Sanchez, English freshman.

Turner Falls Park in Davis, Okla., features a 74-foot waterfall, rock castles, picnic sites, hiking trails, swimming areas, and caves. Admission is $4.

Rachel Necessary, acting freshman, will be gone during Spring Break, but has suggestions to offer to those unable to leave campus.

“Go swimming in the Cokesbury pool,” Necessary said. “I also recommend dizzy races on the quad, where you spin around a bunch and then try to run in a straight line.”

Visit MediaOCU.com for a list of other places students can go during Spring Break.

By: Lifestyles Editor Sage Tokach, Web Editor Maleyia Vaughn and Emily Wiley, editor-in-chief.

Student Publications

Science Museum Oklahoma, 2001 N.E. 52 St., offers exhibits created to “enrich people’s lives by revealing the wonder and relevance of science,” according to their website, sciencemuseumOK.org.

Admission is $14.95. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The museum is about 15 minutes from campus.

Student Publications

The Oklahoma City Zoo, 2000 Remington Place, is home to 1,900 animals, including 54 endangered or threatened species on 119 acres, according to their website, okczoo.com. The zoo offers giraffe and bird feedings, a petting zoo and paddle boats.

Admission is $8. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

The zoo is about 15 minutes from campus.

Talk Back “What will you do during Spring Break?”

“I’ll probably be on the Internet a lot. I might be coming back here to practice.”

“Staying here and working my three jobs.”

Samuel Key music education freshman

Harold Wayne music theater sophomore

“I’ll be going with my old church youth choir to sing to the homebound.”

“I’m going home and going to Six Flags. Also camping.”

Catherine Simmons vocal music/psychology freshman

Courtesy of Flickr

Admission is $39 for an all-day pass. Hours of operations are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Abby McBroom music education sophomore Continued on Page 2

M MEDIAOCU.com

RIVERSPORT Adventures, 725 S. Lincoln Blvd., offers activities for students, including sliding down the 72-foot Sky Slide or trying the 700-foot SandRidge Sky Zip across the Oklahoma River.

The Boathouse District is about 15 minutes from campus.

Relieving stress

Follow us on Twitter @MediaOCU

Batter up

Like us on Facebook at MediaOCU

See photos from Stress Relief Week.

Catch up on this week’s baseball and softball games in sports updates.

Celebrating Shakespeare

Read about students remembering the 400th anniversary of the playwright’s death.

Follow us on Instagram @media_ocu

opinion Editors commend administration for revised registration process Wa k e u p e a r l y, s o r t through classes and hope to get in the classes you need before they fill up. That was the past experience of many students when registering for classes.

We ran an editorial last semester asking university officials to reexamine the process students used to enroll in classes. It seems officials heard student concerns and made a change to the system.

Now, instead of a thousand students going online on the same day to fight to get into the same class, the process is split into five days to allow students to enroll based on their classification.

See Page 3 for more on the new process.

The new system is good for students because it

removes the competitiveness from registration. Seniors no longer have to worry about classes they need to graduate filling up before they have a chance to register.

Juniors must wait a day longer to enroll, but they have another year to take the class if it fills up.

The change also takes away the extra stress involved with registration. It should be a top priority for administrators to remove as much stress as possible from students.

The new process is a good thing. We commend university officials for listening to the needs of students.

Students should be a priority when administrators make decisions. This change shows that officials care about students and listen to our needs.

But this should not stop

Talk Back (cont. from Page 1) “What will you do during Spring Break?”

“I’m going to Colorado to hang out with the buffalo and my roommate, who’s not a buffalo.”

with enrollment. There are other areas in need of improvement like the housing selection process and food service. Officials and administrators should take students into consideration in every matter. Positive changes should not be as rare as they are. We hope officials make more changes after listening to students.

As students, it is our responsibility to voice our concerns when we see areas in need of improvement. If you are sent a survey, take the time to complete it and give honest feedback. Officials do listen to students, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.

Ali Bryant biomedical science senior

“Going to a punk show”

Brayden Stonecipher guitar performance freshman

“I’m going to Tulsa with a bunch of Phi Mus to just run around.”

Madison Eggemeyer entertainment business freshman

“Going to Eufaula to spend some time at the lake” Landon Beathard biochemistry sophomore

“I’m going home for the last time.”

Sara Anderson dance management senior

“I can’t afford anything, so I’m going home and spending time with my family.”

Paul Wright acting sophomore

Editor recommends podcast to manage technology Technology often is an overwhelming but necessary aspect to my life.

My phone rings, dings and buzzes at me all day, mostly with information I could live without. Without technology I would be out of the loop, unable to keep up with fastpaced society.

That is not to say there isn’t room for improvement in how I use technology.

The podcast Note to Self, which examines the way we use tech, did a special fivepart series called “Infomagical.” “Infomagical” is list of

challenges aimed at helping listeners overcome information overload.

Information overload is the feeling some get when they are overwhelmed by the amount of email, news, alerts, and other information thrown at them.

The five challenges are: 1. Work on one thing at a time.

2. Tidy up your phone by cleaning up your apps.

3. Consume only information valuable to you.

4. Have a seven-minute conversation on the phone or in person with someone.

John Hiller is a religion senior from Ringling, Okla.

He enjoys running, spending time with his fiancé, Hannah, and sarcasm.

5. Choose a long-term information priority.

The challenge with the biggest effect on me was to work on one thing at a time. My Internet browser home screen is three tabs and I can easily open six or seven. I bounce between my two emails, Facebook and cat videos.

To complete that challenge, I don’t stop what I am doing to reply to an email or check a Facebook notification. I finish my task to completion. I feel much more efficient when I work.

My other takeaway from the series was to clean up my phone. For me, this meant

turning off those annoying red numbers that pop up counting your notifications. The goal, according to “Infomagical,” is to turn your phone into a tool you use as needed, not a place you lose yourself for an hour to make red numbers go away.

These simple changes helped me to be conscious of how I use technology and how much information I consume. After completing the challenges, I don’t feel less busy, but I do feel less anxiety.

The episodes were short, less than 15 minutes, as to not overload you with information

to help you overcome information overload.

I listened to the series through iTunes, but if you listen though the Note to Self website, project.wnyc. org/infomagical, you can sign up to take the challenge and track your results to see how changing the way you consume information affects you.

More than 25,000 people participated in the “Infomagical” challenge. Of those who participated in the survey, 71 percent felt less overwhelmed by the end of the week, according to wnyc.org.

Critic finds spy film ‘action-packed, hilarious’ You may think that a comic book movie would not do well with an R or PG-13 rating because youth audiences represent most of the ticket sales for these movies, but R-rated Kingsman: The Secret Service proves otherwise.

Directed and written by comic book movie veteran Matthew Vaughn, along with Jane Goldman, Kingsman

follows “Eggsy Unwin,” a troubled teen played by somewhat unknown Taron Egerton. After falling in trouble with the law, “Eggsy” calls a number from a medallion he was given by one of his late father’s colleagues.

Colin Firth plays “Harry Hart,” the colleague who gave Eggsy the medallion and a member of Kingsman, an “independent international

Danielle Petersen is a music theater senior from San Jose, Calif. She likes playing the violin, playing with her cat and watching films.

intelligence agency.” While Hart takes Eggsy in, Samuel L. Jackson’s “Richmond Valentine,” an environmentally

conscious villain with a lisp, raises suspicions after a slew of politicians and celebrities go missing.

The action, like the film, is gloriously over the top and doesn’t bother to take itself too seriously. The lone disappointment is Sofia Boutella as one of Jackson’s henchmen. Her acting is not terrible, but she does not have the necessary spice or sex appeal. Her bladed prosthetic legs do boost her appeal though.

Despite this minor flaw, the film is hilarious. When

you combine a mildly speech impaired villain who hates blood with a troublemaking hero with a quick and clever wit, the result is pure comedy.

Kingsman starts fast and keeps on the gas pedal for the whole ride. The trip is short on plot, but Vaughn’s directing makes up for it. I recommend this hilarious, action-packed film!

rehearsal hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center

American Spirit Dance Company Spring Show at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts 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.

WEDNESDAY Cafe Evoke Sip Truck for Stress Relief Week from 8-10 p.m. along the street south of Oklahoma United Methodist Hall THURSDAY Chapel with Hannah Lampi, religion senior, as speaker at 1 p.m. in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

Softball vs. Ottawa (Kan.) at 2 p.m. at Ann Lacy Stadium Baseball vs. Grand View (Iowa) at 3 p.m. at Jim Wade Stadium Solveig Neseth’s junior voice recital at 6 p.m. in the small rehearsal hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center American Spirit Dance Company

Spring Show at 7 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center Erica Punch’s junior voice recital at 8 p.m. in the small rehearsal hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center FRIDAY Baseball vs. Grand View (Iowa) at 2 p.m. at Jim Wade Stadium

Arden Walker’s senior music theater recital at 6 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center American Spirit Dance Company Spring Show at 8 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center Derrek Wallace’s graduate tuba recital at 8 p.m. in the small

Megan Silberstein’s graduate opera recital at 8 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center SATURDAY Baseball vs. Grand View (Iowa) at 10 a.m. at Jim Wade Stadium

MONDAY Spring Break, no classes. University open.

TUESDAY Spring Break, no classes. University open.

Columnist advises to wake up earlier to improve productivity Can’t there be more hours in the day? We often ask ourselves that question, but I made extra time by waking up earlier.

After I joined the rowing team I had to wake up at 5:15 every morning. Before, I hit snooze at least six times, which led to rushing to get ready for class, skipping breakfast and starting the day grumpy. My extra time

in the morning improves the rest of my day.

Waking up early correlates with better grades, helps you sustain a healthier diet, enhances your productivity and gives you better mental health, according to research done by the University of Texas in Austin.

I have found each of these things true for myself. My productivity soars on days

Tatum Nelson is a mass communications/religion sophomore from Tulsa, Okla. She enjoys spending time with her sister and eating tacos. !

I wake up early. I can get a head start on my day and my afternoon to do list is lighter.

I feel more refreshed when I wake up, and I am doing

better in my classes.

I have formed a morning routine that makes me a happier and more productive person.

THE CAMPUS

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Photographers: Donovan Lawson, Andrew Robling Staff Writers: Prisca Lynch, Elina Moon, Taylor Rey Columnists: Tatum Nelson, Madelyn Parker Film Critic: Danielle Petersen

dent about my day and less stressed.

Admittedly, I still dread setting my alarm clock so early that I wake up before the sun, but these early mornings are worth it. They improve the rest of my day.

Waking up 45 minutes early on the weekends alone for an entire year gives you 195 extra hours to spend doing whatever you please.

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.

March 9, 2016, Volume 110, Number 20

Editor-in-Chief: Emily Wiley Web Editor: Maleyia Vaughn Lifestyles Editor: Sage Tokach Multimedia Editor: Miguel Rios Photo Editor: Ali Wonderly Copy Editor: John Hiller Community Manager: Lauren Berlingeri

After practice I have time to eat breakfast with the team and go to my room and do my daily devotional. Sometimes I just sit and think about what the day has in store for me.

No matter what it is I do in the mornings, I’ve already accomplished something by the time I head to my first class, which I wasn’t able to do when I slept in. It makes me feel useful, confi-

The Student Publications staff welcomes unsolicited material and let-

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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 SciDigitally signed by Newsroom DN: cn=Newsroom, o, ou,Submitted items may appear on MediaOCU and in the print edition. ences. email=ehwiley@my.okcu.edu, c=US The first issue of The Campus is free. Each additional issue costs 25 Date: 2016.01.09 13:22:47 -06'00'

cents. Contents copyright, 2016. All rights reserved.

March 9, 2016

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news

Registration changes to lower competitiveness, confusion Elina Moon STAFF WRITER

University officials have c h a n g e d t h e e n ro l l m e n t process to address issues that arose last semester during registration.

Officials split registration for summer and fall classes to five days instead of three.

Enrollment will open for honors and graduate students April 4. Incoming seniors can register April 5, juniors on April 6, sophomores on April 7, and open enrollment for undergraduate and graduate students

will be April 8. Enrollment opens at 7:30 a.m. each day.

The purpose of the fiveday enrollment period is to alleviate some of the competitiveness and confusion that came with enrollment last semester when many students tried to enroll in one course at once, Registrar Charlie Monnot said.

“Last enrollment period for the Spring 2016 semester, all three sections of the integrated science lab course were filled within the first five minutes of the junior/senior enrollment day,” Monnot said.

“This enrollment period

This enrollment period we are assigning each class level their own enrollment day. We hope this will alleviate the rush and give us time to open new sections if needed.

Charlie Monnot registrar

we are assigning each class level their own enrollment day. We hope this will alleviate the rush and give us time to open new sections if needed.”

Lindsay Steinburg, acting freshman, said the old registration system forced her

to stop what she was doing when enrollment opened to get into classes.

“I was at pom that morning and our coach let us stop practice and register for classes,” she said. “We all ran our 2 miles and then sat down at our laptops and

registered.”

Even though registering for classes several months ahead may seem early, there are advantages to this, Monnot said.

“Many students are not around for the summer, so this allows them to schedule their classes while still on campus,” he said. “If students have questions or problems, they will be able to get help more easily now than during the summer.”

Since there are fewer students on campus during the summer, there aren’t as many course options as there are during the traditional

academic year. There are 65 courses offered in the summer compared to 891 in the fall.

Mo n n o t s a i d h e s u ggests students enroll the day enrollment opens for them.

“If the course does fill up, you can always talk to the department to see if there might be another section opening or if they can place you on a waitlist for the course,” he said.

Sororities allowed to wear letters during recruitment Miguel Rios MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Women in sororities now can wear their Greek letters during recruitment.

In the past, sorority members had to disassociate and remain neutral as to not influence women going through recruitment.

Recruitment usually lasts from early April to August, which is five months when the women must abstain from wearing shirts, sweaters, jackets, and anything with their Greek letters.

The perception was that this rule allowed the most open opportunity for potential new sorority members, said Levi Harrel, assistant director of student development and Panhellenic adviser.

“The former way of thinking was that it allowed them to answer questions for potential new members or women who are new to the

university going through the process in a more fair and unbiased manner,” Harrel said.

The rule was changed to match trends taking place nationwide for years, he said.

“It was inauthentic,” Harrel said. “Our members couldn’t post pictures on Facebook if they were wearing their organization’s letters. They couldn’t be completely themselves and so we’re asking young women to join a system, but they actually haven’t met these women yet.”

The real motivation during recruitment is to get new women to consider all their options and keep an open mind to be placed in the best house for them, he said.

Madelaine Heigele, vocal performance sophomore, said she thinks this is a positive change.

“I am honestly so happy about that change,” she said.

“Mainly because most of my T-shirts are Alpha Phi shirts,

but also because I feel like we can show our pride in our sorority as well as Pan.” Pan is short for Panhellenic Council, which represents all sororities on campus.

The Panhellenic Council voted to rule out neutrality during the Jan. 29 meeting, according to the meeting’s minutes on OrgSync.com.

Three members from Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Phi and Gamma Phi Beta sororities, and two members from Phi Mu sorority voted unanimously.

The new policy will go into effect for formal recruitment in 2016.

The Rho Gammas, who usually guide women through recruitment, still will not be allowed to wear letters.

“Our Rho Gammas are still disassociated, but they have hours upon hours of direct interaction with the women,” Harrel said.

Donovan Lawson Student Publications

Belt it out

Alumna Kelli O’Hara performs at “An Evening with Kelli O’Hara” on Feb. 29. The event was a charity dinner and concert to help raise money for the Meyers Theatre for Young Audiences. The theater has partnered with OCU for four years to provide opportunities for elementary school children to attend theatrical performances for free.

Officials invite students’ siblings to experience university life Emily Wiley EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Ali Wonderly Student Publications

Comfort food

John McInturff, accounting sophomore; Elijah Stark, film production freshman, and Lucas Haupert, acting senior, cook and serve during FIJI’s “Phi Gamma Melta” on March 5 in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel.

The event was part of FIJI’S Red Cross Week. They offered unlimited grilled cheese and tomato soup for $5. The men of FIJI raised about $600 from the event to go to the Red Cross.

Students will have the opportunity in April to bring their siblings to campus to see what university life is like.

Student affairs is hosting the first Sibs Day on campus where students and their siblings can participate in field day activities, watch a movie and attend a baseball game.

“We are just giving the opportunity for our siblings to come to campus and experience the life that we live,” said Levi Harrel, assistant director of student development. “We want to show them the life that we have here, have some fun, do the things that we do.”

Siblings also will join students for two meals in the caf in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center.

“Eating meals in the caf, which may not seem cool to us, but I think to younger siblings it will be very cool to them,” Harrel said.

The field day will include activities such as three-legged races, volleyball and gunnysack races. Officials have not decided what movie will play in the evening.

Siblings as young as 12 years old can attend Sibs Day and there is no maximum age limit for siblings. The cost is $20 for a student and their siblings. The cost includes two meals for the sibling and a T-shirt for each.

Officials set the minimumm age at 12 years old because they are still trying to see what will work for OCU’s campus, Harrel said.

“Looking at a liability standpoint we have to put some parameters in place,” Harrel said. “Some universities do their Sibs Day as an

overnight thing, but we decided that since it is our first year that we needed to just see what will work first.”

Kacy Smith, exercise science junior, said she is excited for Sibs Day. “I have already signed my sister up,” she said. “It will be nice to spend a day with her and I know she is super excited.”

Sibs Day is scheduled for April 9, check-in begins at 10 a.m. in Shdeed Lounge in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Students can register by going to okcu.formstack.com/ forms/sibs_day_registration.

“We are going to see what goes well and hopefully grow and develop for next year,” Harrel said. “I encourage everybody to sign up and register. It’s going to be a great time.”

Clara Luper, American Indian merged with OCULeads Tatum Nelson STAFF WRITER

Three scholarship programs coalesced to bring together student leaders from diverse backgrounds.

Clara Luper, American Indian and OCULeads scholarship programs merged to form the President’s Leadership class.

Russ Tallchief, director of student engagement, inclusion and multicultural programs, said students involved with the programs were informed of the changes at the beginning of the fall semester.

“The programs were not cut,” he said. “The programs were March 9, 2016

merged to form a cohesive leadership class that includes students from diverse backgrounds.”

Some students still are unaware that the programs merged though, leading to rumors that they were cut completely.

“There have been too many changes to keep up with everything. At times, it felt like the program was falling apart altogether,” said Jessica Vasquez, political science/philosophy senior and Clara Luper scholar.

The Clara Luper and American Indian scholarship programs already had partnered. These programs joined OCULeads to form the leadership class. Vasquez

There have been too many changes to keep up with everything. At times, it felt like the program was falling apart altogether.

Jessica Vasquez political science/philosophy senior

said there has been a need for revitalization of the Clara Luper program.

“It sucks because I really enjoyed my freshman and sophomore year under the program, but now I feel like the program is hardly present,” Vasquez said. “I hope the changes bring the entire program back to life.”

The three programs were

formalized into a living/learning community in Walker Hall dormitory.

Through the living/learning community, students participate in co-curricular activities conducted outside the classroom, Tallchief said. The program includes a liberal arts seminar course focusing on leadership.

Only incoming freshman in

the program will take the new LAS and live in the living/learning community.

The academic requirements to maintain the scholarships remain the same, but the program has removed the mandatory 150 hours of community service.

Financial aid packages remain unchanged. Clara Luper and American Indian scholars receive full tuition, meals and housing.

Students in OCULeads receive $1,000 a semester in tuition.

There are nearly 100 students in OCULeads and 98 Clara Luper and American Indian scholars on campus.

Despite the decision to synthesize the programs, the current

Clara Luper and American Indian scholars have elected to continue some community service activities, including their annual Toyland Ball this past December, which is a toy drive to benefit the children of Positive Tomorrows, a private, tuition-free elementary school serving Oklahoma City’s homeless children.

The students are collaborating on Fire and Water, a ceremony to commemorate the end of the year for the freshman class, scheduled for April 20.

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g n i S g n i r p S Lyric Crisler, early childhood education sophomore, and Hannah Helbig, music composition junior, represent the nursing school during Alpha Chi Omega sorority’s Spring Sing performance March 2 in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center. The sorority took home first place with their performance of a “riff-off” between different groups of students and faculty across campus.

Ali Wonderly Student Publications

Student organizations compete in annual competition Sage Tokach LIFESTYLES EDITOR

Students performed with their organizations last week during the 69th annual Spring Sing competition.

Blue Key Honor Society organizes Spring Sing each year.

Any student organization can compete by putting together a 10-minute long skit that features live singing.

“For some organizations, Spring Sing is a bonding activity between members, and for some, it helps them find pride in their organizations because they are representing themselves on the stage,” said Kristine Bachicha, dance management senior and Spring Sing coordinator. “The themes of some skits also often focus on life on campus, showcasing what OCU is all about.”

Six Greek organizations competed at 8 p.m. March 2 in Petree Recital Hall. Judges awarded: – 1st place to Alpha Chi Omega sorority, – 2nd place to Gamma Phi Beta sorority and

– 3rd place to Phi Mu sorority.

“It’s always really great to see what the other organizations have put together each year,” said Lauren Greb, dance senior and Alpha Chi Omega member. “Spring Sing was such a great experience that allowed me to bond with my sisters, and we really came together and killed it, winning our first ever 1st place trophy for the event.”

Audience members voted Alpha Phi sorority “Best in Show.”

Students voted via Twitter poll after the performances.

“I love Spring Sing because I get to know my sisters a lot better,” said Madelaine Heigele, vocal performance sophomore and Alpha Phi member. “I also loved how they did the Best in Show award.

The support from the school voting was amazing.”

OCU Improv performed sketches for the audience while the judges tallied scores.

Spring Sing collects donations for a specific philanthropy each year. This year, every competing organization was asked to bring at least 10 school supplies from a provided list to donate to City Rescue Mission, an organization dedicated to helping the homeless

community with food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities.

Spring Sing began as “May Day University Sing” in 1948, when Milton Kreuger, a student at the time, had the idea during a snowstorm.

Through Blue Key Honor Society, Kreuger organized his event, advertising it with bookmarks, posters and direct mail to students.

University staff set up 150 chairs outside Clara E. Jones Administration Building, and organizations performed on the lawn. While judges tallied scores, the audience joined the performers in community singing.

The location and month changed, but most of Kreuger’s vision is still in effect.

“Spring Sing was quite the adventure. In the end, it was totally worth it,” said Lindsay Steinberg, acting freshman and Phi Mu member. “I am so incredibly proud of each and every Phi Mu in the cast, and I wouldn’t have wanted to make my directing/choreography/writing debut with any other group.”

Jordan Yates, acting freshman, dips Nic Rhodes, economics junior, during Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity’s Spring Sing performance. Some of the fraternity’s

Ali Wonderly Student Publications

song choices included “A Whole

The women of Alpha Phi sorority perform during Spring Sing. Alpha Phi’s skit showed the women searching all over

New World” and “Hello.”

campus for their lost graduation robes. In the end of the skit, it was revealed that one of the women had taken all of

Donovan Lawson Student Publications

the robes to the dry cleaner. Alpha Phi was awarded “Best in Show.”

Zack Travers, business administration junior, sings “Stacy’s Mom” during Kappa Sigma fraternity’s Spring Sing performance. Kappa Sigma also sang “Wagon Wheel” as a suggestion from Ali Wonderly Student Publications

Sarah Lapaz, music theater junior, smiles for her performance of “Gale” during Phi Mu sorority’s Spring Sing skit. The sorority chose a Wizard of Oz theme for their performance, which included the song “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

March 9, 2016

the crowd. The fraternity was third place for “Best in Show.”

Ali Wonderly Student Publications

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