Vol. 53, No. 9
The Saturday an ebola crisis hit GC 6 Page 6 Campus elections begin Page 3
Inside look into “Unplanned” Page 12-13
Tulsa, Oklahoma • April 5, 2019 • www.oruoracle.com
Read all about it Page 18
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03/31/2019.
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Abby Nusbaum (far left) and Karina Salcedo (left middle) are running together for student office, as well as Aleah LaForce (far right) and her running mate, Garrett Maddox (right middle). / Photos provided by candidates
Meet the candidates for Student Body President by Faith Wilson and Jennifer Lupinacci Online News Editor and Staff Writer
Abby Nusbaum and Karina Salcedo On Monday, campaigning for ORU’s Student Body President began. Posters of Abby Nusbaum and Aleah LaForce popped up around campus featuring their platform points and running mates. Nusbaum announced her candidacy bid for Student Body President in an Instagram post last week. Her running mate, sophomore political science major Karina Salcedo, is up for Vice President as they run under the slogan “together, to the uttermost.” Their campaign will focus on “student, spiritual and social.” Nusbaum, a junior international community development major, transferred from a community college in Texas. During the last two years, she has led two outreaches, gone on a healing team to Zimbabwe and is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Communique. “I love people, and my heart is for people,” said Nusbaum. “One thing I’ve noticed [during my time at ORU] is how much I love being able to relate to people in different pockets of ORU.” Nusbaum says her visions for ORU are to
bridge the gap between administration and students and to raise the bar for excellence. “Encouragement is powerful,” said Nusbaum. “Encouragement is life to people, but there’s a balance between encouragement and speaking truth.” Her platform is trifold: create excellence within student life, spiritual life and social life at ORU. Some of her ideas for improving the campus include adding sweet tea to Chick-Fil-A’s menu, chapel notes in the student life app, hosting apologetics training events, friendly club competitions, adding a pingpong intramural team and fostering discussions about improvements for campus with various club and organization leaders. Aleah LaForce and Garrett Maddox Also in an Instagram post last week, Aleah LaForce announced her intent to run for Student Body President alongside her running mate Garrett Maddox, a sophomore CIT major. With the slogan “Let’s celebrate!” the two are emphasizing the celebration of diversity, sustainability and life in their campaign. LaForce, a junior government major, has served in Student Association since last August. She has
also served in missions and outreach, the Resident Advisor program and has been active in her major by attending many conferences and competitions. Since her first day on campus, she knew she wanted to serve in student government. “Around September or October, I really started praying and fasting about [campaigning] more seriously. I thought that this was my heart. I desire to just be authentic and serve the students,” said LaForce. She hopes to highlight mental health during her presidency. LaForce and Maddox prioritized research and how surrounding colleges encourage mental health. “We want to make [mental health] a comfortable topic to speak about to your friends because once you open the cut, you can see the wound,” said LaForce. Diversity also represents one of LaForce’s goals. Each month, she hopes to highlight four different countries’ cultures out of the 108 countries represented at ORU. A forum with Nusbaum and LaForce will occur this Monday, April 8, in Zoppelt auditorium. Voting will be live on Vision this Tuesday, April 9.
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 3
New additions coming to the College of Business by Elliot Smith Web Design/Staff Writer On March 8, Jim and Crystal Stovall made an appearance in Chapel to present the university with a check for one million dollars. Jim Stovall is the author of “The Ultimate Gift,” “The Ultimate Life” and “The Lamp,” all of which have been made into major motion pictures. He is also the founder and president of the Narrative Television Network, which is a network that makes television and media available to the visually impaired. The Tulsa Community Foundation recognized the importance entrepreneurship has on the community and has matched the donation with a grant for $500,000 to further the progress on the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship. The Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship will be the new home for many entrepreneurs, new and old, and include a cornucopia of resources such as a program for new businesses to work and grow, temporarily called start-up incubators. They will provide services to allow young entrepreneurs every advantage—anywhere from
training managers to keeping track of logistics. But most importantly, this new facility will offer the opportunity to foster a community of likeminded students, professionals and entrepreneurs, united by their sense of hustle. It will become a community that provides a network of valuable individuals who can help one another positively impact our local areas, business industries and ultimately, the world. “We envision the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship will provide the essential knowledge, skills and ethics needed to equip ORU students to engage the world’s biggest challenges with God’s best solutions,” said Stovall. In addition, there are several new majors and specializations that will be introduced, such as entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, alongside new classes in the banking sectors and portfolio management. With this generous donation, ORU’s College of Business hopes to make impactful moves into the days of tomorrow. Jim and Crystal Stovall presented ORU with a million dollar check. /Photo provided by Chris Humphrey
Welcome back, Wallace’s giant bee by ChaeWoon Yoo Print News Editor suddenly found alive and well in It is said that bees provide every third bite of food in the human diet. A popular quote attributed to Albert Einstein states: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” The honey bee plays a vital role in the survival of humans. There are about 20,000 species of bees present in the world. Most people only know about the fuzzy bumble bee, the honey foraging honey bee or even the scary stinging wasp (not in the bee family). It’s hard to keep up with one type of bee species let alone 20,000, yet much to scientists’ surprise, the world’s largest bee, thought to have been extinct for almost 40 years, was
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Indonesia in late February. This newly found bee, called Wallace’s giant bee, is four times larger than the average European honey bee. It measures up to 1.5 inches long and even has a pair of huge mandibles, or “pinchers,” like that of a stag beetle. Unlike other bees, the Wallace’s giant bee uses its mandibles and burrows within termite nests to raise their young. “It’s a type of carpenter bee,” explained ORU’s very own Entomologist, Dr. Hal Reed. “It’s a solitary bee. Solitary bees will make a series of individual nests and put their larva in it. Many might be in the termite mound but they’re not cooperating in a social sense. They’re not like our social bees, the honey bees or the bumble bees.” The Wallace’s giant bee was originally discovered in 1858, then
disappeared for over a century until it was found again in 1981. After being put on the Global Wildlife Conservation’s Search for Lost Species program, people have been keeping a special lookout for this giant bee. On a recent expedition in the northern islands of Indonesia, a special team of four found the lost bee. “It was absolutely breathtaking to see this flying bulldog of an insect that we weren’t sure existed anymore,” said Clay Bolt, a natural history photographer who specializes in bees. So if you ever get the chance to face a Wallace’s giant bee, ask it, “Ya like jazz?”
Illustration by Jonathan Wescott
The curse of Columbine How the school shooting at Columbine became the blueprint for future shootings by Nina Lange Editorial Editor It’s 70 degrees Fahrenheit. A warm day with a cool breeze in Littleton, CO. The students at Columbine High School sit behind their desks, chins in hands, watching the minute hand tick down to lunch “A.” Eric Harris sits outside in his 1986 gray Honda Civic, waiting for Dylan Klebold to arrive. Once he does, they both position their cars to face the cafeteria’s exit in anticipation of fleeing students. What happens next has been reported on, analyzed, studied and talked about since that fateful day in 1999. The names of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were slapped on newspapers and spoken about on every news channel across the country. To many, the two shooters of Columbine High School were seen as horrific boys, but to some, they were seen as idols, heroes and martyrs, even twenty years later. Even though Columbine wasn’t the first school shooting—nor the first or deadliest of that year— it seems to have sparked a chaotic chain reaction of similar events. As of 2015, there were 74 known copycat cases since April 20, 1999. Even Adam Lanza, who killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, was found to have a spreadsheet of the Columbine event on his computer as well as a copy of the entire official investigation. “Columbine was not the first modern school shooting, but it put school shootings on the map,” said Jeff Kass, author of the 2009 book “Columbine: A True Crime Story.” “In that sense, it’s a really tough and sad thing to say, but I think Columbine opened the door not only for these school shooters, but to the adult mass shooters as well.” Sociologist Ralph Larkin studied 12 major school shootings in the eight years after Columbine. In eight of the cases, the shooters referenced Harris and Klebold. In 11 of the school shootings that happened outside of the U.S. between the years 1999 and 2007, six of them were versions of Columbine. Columbine was given more media attention than any other mass shooting before it, and much of it was focused on the two teenage gunmen. The narrative explaining the boys’ action was that they were mistreated at school and sought revenge on their bullies. Psychologist Peter Langman, who has spent much time studying mass shootings, especially Columbine, has said that Harris admired Adolf Hitler and his
beliefs on viewing others as “inferior beings.” During the shootings, Harris wore a black trench coat and a t-shirt with the words “natural selection” printed across the chest. “Columbine is perceived by many as an uprising of the oppressed,” said Langman. “But that’s not how [Harris] was looking at the attack. He wrote about wanting to get rid of all the stupid, inferior people, but because of how it was portrayed in the media, about two bullied kids, that perception is still very much alive.” According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, nearly 28 percent of students in grades 6-12 experience bullying. “Global Online Subculture Surrounding School Shootings,” a Finnish study by Jenni Raitanen and Atte Oksanen that was released in 2018, researched the subculture that was interested in mass shootings. In that subculture, there were four subgroups: researchers, fangirls, Columbiners and copycats. Of these four, the copycats were “the o n l y subgroup explicit ly interested in replicating the acts.” “The common denominator among almost all our interviewees named Columbine as one of the most important shootings for them,” said Raitanen and Oksanen. “Because [Harris] and [Klebold] are easy to relate to,” explained one of the interviewees. “I’m sure in real life they were nerdy, geeky
and not as cool as they pass themselves off as, but many people, kids especially, can see themselves as either them or friends of theirs. They like the same music, play the same games.” Sociologist Nathalie E. Portman has studied the videos created by post-Columbine shooters and has found a reoccurring theme of images. There seems to always be a moment in the recording where the shooter points his gun directly at the camera, then his temple, and spreads his arms out wide with a gun in each hand. The clip ends with a close-up shot and a wave goodbye. “School shooters explicitly name or represent each other,” Portman writes. “[There is one shooter who] points out that his cultural tastes are like those of ‘Eric and Harris’ [and another who] uses images from the Columbine s h o o t i n g surveillance camera and devotes several videos to the Columbine killers.” Harris and Klebold were portrayed as depressed, a l i e n at e d a n d mentally disturbed in the media, and investigators are finding that young men who feel depressed, alienated and mentally disturbed are following in the fatal footsteps of Columbine to get the revenge and attention they believe they deserve. Illustration by Alejandro Contreas
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Students solve crises in simulation by Faith Wilson Online News Editor It was March 30. Several leaders from different countries met at the U.N. to do damage control on an explosion that resulted in dozens of fatalities. At least, in theory, that is. This was the Global Crisis Stimulation—an annual event hosted by ORU where students embody world leaders and solve international “crises.” GCS gave students an opportunity to see how the political landscape runs on an international scale. Saudi Arabia, China, the United States, Russia and other countries were represented by students. The different facets and roles of each member of the countries’ government were also represented. Prior to GCS, students studied up on their respective countries to accurately role play. Because China has good relations with Russia, this was represented in the simulation, up until the last hour of the simulation when China took over Russia. Nathan Snuffer, the lead organizer for GCS, is proud of how far the simulation has come since its early beginnings. Students from Cottey College, the University of Central Oklahoma and Booker T. Washington high school came to participate in this year’s events. Snuffer hoped that students would leave knowing
more about the world. “The world isn’t a nice, sweet place,” said Snuffer. “They think stuff happens separate from each other, when in reality, crises especially happen simultaneously through communication or when you’re on the brink of war.” Through takeovers, nukes and kidnappings, GCS Command Center kept participants busy and on the lookout for other countries. Memos of problems were handed out to countries as the hours went by, with each hour representing a day. Aside from countries, students representing AP News, The New York Times and The Wire tweeted out updates via Twitter. An Observation Task Force was also an integral part of the day, where students represented human rights and gave aid to the countries. Fellow coordinator Heather Snow encouraged students to join in next year. “Be involved, no matter what your major. We’ve had nurses, other colleges and high school students involved. Not everyone here is in government,” Snow said. Snow explained that GCS was growing. With eighty participants this year, other colleges around Oklahoma are interested in sending students next year, including the University of Tulsa. Theo Elisha, a sophomore international relations
major, represented the prince of Saudi Arabia. He believed the simulation was not only good for career building but also for learning about communication. “It’s made clear the lack of communication as things go up the chain of command, like a game of telephone. It’s definitely made clear how little is communicated between subordinates and superiors,” Elisha said. Elizabeth Wilkie, a junior dance performing arts major who served as France’s ambassador, used the opportunity to train for her future goal of working internationally. “You gain more knowledge on different crises happening around the world, even though it’s a simulation,” Wilkie said. “I think GCS helps give knowledge about how different governments work.” Alyssa Harris, a junior Christian counseling major who represented AP News, enjoyed the experience and encouraged others to apply next year for GCS. For all majors, there was something to gain. “It’s cool how you get bits and pieces from different sources that mostly line up. It encourages me to keep up with the news,” Harris said. From assassinations, tsunamis and the overthrow of a government, GCS took students through authentic international trials that must be dealt with through good communication skills.
ORU hosted the annual Global Crisis Simulation on Saturday, March 30. Students were encouraged to study about the countries they represented prior to the simulation and to treat each crisis as if representatives and leaders of their respective countries during the event. / Photos by Jonathan Rodriguez
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Why America feels so divided Even freedom has a price. by Cicely Rubottom Editor-in-Chief During the ruling of the civic-military dictatorship over Uruguay in 1973 to 1985, there grew a surge of “musica popular” in Latin America—which means “the music of the oppressed people.” One band, named “Canciones para no dormir la siesta,” was a children’s band that wrote children’s music with double meanings to protest the government. Uruguay and other Latin American countries were united under music that protested what was going on in the government—it was their voice when they had none. Many people consider America today to be one of the most divided political climates in history. But why do we feel this way when just over 50 years ago, Americans were so divided that there were separate bathrooms, separate water fountains, separate schools based solely on skin color? In comparison to the American society during the civil rights movement, Americans are not more divided, but perhaps they feel that way because they are less unified. All throughout history, when a group of people undergo oppression, they become bonded through that fight—specifically, through music and protest songs. When oppression seeks to break a society, music is often the glue that unites it and the historical tool of measurement that shows just how oppressed a society was. Just a few years before the citizens of Uruguay were brought together under the oppressive dictatorship, Americans were fighting back the same way Uruguayans
did—through music. Protests songs during the civil rights movement were incredibly popular and often sung together in crowds as a way of both protesting and banding together. “We Shall Overcome,” was known as the anthem of the civil rights movement sung at rallies, concerts, strikes and protests. “We shall live in peace someday; deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome someday,” echoed through crowds of American citizens during a time of great change and turmoil, creating a veil of homogeneity over deeply-oppressed individuals. Today, 84 percent of Americans believe the United States is divided, according to a survey for the BBC by Ipsos Mori. The survey also found that the countries that feel the least divided are Saudi Arabia at 34 percent and China at 48 percent—two countries also considered to have some of the most repressive governments in the world. How could Americans be more divided today than they were during the civil rights movement, more divided than Uruguay under an aggressive, civic-military dictatorship and more divided than the citizens of Saudi Arabia and China? Americans are experiencing more freedom than ever before—with legal rights having just relatively recently expanded to the LGBTQ community, black
people, other ethnicities, women and more. The freedom of America has divided Americans. Today, there are few to no songs for Americans to unite under to speak out against the government. Instead, there is the collision of differing opinions on various political and social policies, but that is because we are not oppressed. We are just divided. There is no civil war, there are no governmentissued mass murders, there is no oppression, only division that we’re free to have. And with that, people voice their judgments through platforms like Twitter and Facebook that can reach thousands in a matter of seconds—no matter how ill-advised the opinion may be. “Music was for a time a powerful counter-cultural force,” wrote The Guardian. “Whereas Billy Bragg and his generation would have strapped on their guitars and headed for a street corner to make their point, today’s discontents prefer Facebook and other social media.” But these unifying protest songs of past decades stemmed from cultural and political oppression. The problem has changed and so has the solution. There’s no telling how and if music would be able to unite American culture again the same way it used to. In this way, America may truly be the most divided it has ever been, but only because it is as free as it has ever been—free enough to not have to use the secret weapon of music and free enough to be as rash and divided as social media allows people to be today. And as America dynamically progresses toward more freedom and fights for more rights, Americans may come to realize that even freedom has its price.
Illustration by Alejandro Contreras
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 7
The Oracle has it covered, in more ways than one. / Photo by Cicely Rubottom
Oh, you don’t read the paper?
Photo by Nina Lange
50 things to do with the paper besides read it by Kayley Forshey Managing Editor We all know most of y’all don’t read this, no matter how much eye contact I make while shoving The Oracle in your hands as you scurry away after Chapel. I’m not trying to be pushy, but yes, I know I’m pushy. So yeah, some of you don’t read it. That’s fine. But here are 50 other things you can do with the paper besides read it, so now you have no excuse but to reluctantly take it from my child hands. 1. Any arts and crafts (I’m not artsy, so use your imagination and some Mod Podge.) 2. Wrapping paper 3. Endless supply of ransom note letters 4. Something for your pets to potty on 5. Use it to hide your face when spying on your crush in Saga. 6. Conversation starter. Just say, “Did you read that article in The Oracle? Yeah, me neither.” 7. Paper snowball fight 8. ORU-specific blackout poetry 9. Impromptu blankets for when you’re waiting for your bedding to wash and dry 10. Put it on your coffee table to make it look like you keep up with current events. 11. In dire situations, toilet paper 12. In non-dire situations, toilet paper
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Leave a few copies in your bathroom for when you forget your phone. 14. Practice your grammar skills, and mark any grammatical errors with a red pen and give us a grade. 15. Lay down copies at your front door as an informative doormat. 16. Make a hat (Google it). 17. Shred it to make confetti for your next party. 18. Cut out random articles and put them in the bathroom stalls for pooping readers. 19. Roll one up into a mega-phone; yell at your friends. 20. Paper airplane contest 21. Book cover 22. Desk cover 23. Newspapers are good for covering most things, actually. 24. Motivational poster (Ask Miqueas Barreiro for details.) 25. Paper t-shirt (I don’t know; it’s possible). 26. Use as protection for your walls and floors when painting. 27. Use as protection from the rain, but only if it rains for like three seconds. 28. An uncomfortable bed 29. A last minute, lowkey-lame gift 30. Egg drop competition
13.
Carry around a ridiculous number in your hands so that if you trip, you can throw the papers up in the air. When the cloud of papers distracts everyone, you can crawl away and feel embarrassed in peace. 32. Wrap everything your roommate owns in an epic prank. 33. Build a kite. 34. Use them as a background for a photo shoot. 35. Make a papier-mâché piñata. 36. Shelf lining 37. Fire kindling 38. Fireplace logs (You’ll need a lot.) 39. Cheap rags 40. Protect outdoor plants (Google it.) 41. Bedding for a hamster or chick or something 42. Wrap flowers in it. 43. Unscrewing a broken light bulb 44. Compost 45. Origami 46. Envelope (Annoy the mailman.) 47. Roll it up into a weapon; hit your friends for not reading the paper 48. Place mat 49. Funnel (like one of those magic trick funnels—Google it.) 50. Or you could just read it, like a normal person.
31.
Make saga healthy again by Cicely Rubottom Editor-in-Chief
Cue quirky introduction about the student body’s agreement on the saga struggle. They’re trying, so we can too. We still have have options, people. Here are some from a senior who’s seen and tried it all: 1. Make a mean salad. Yeah, salad, I know. But hear me out. Grab a plate, load up some romaine lettuce with bell peppers and other like-veggies, and drizzle it with some ranch dressing (you’re allowed to add dressing and still keep it healthy. Don’t let the health nuts shame you otherwise). Ask for one or two grilled chicken patties from the grill and add them to your salad. If there’s some rice at one of the stations, and there usually is, add that in for some fiber. It’s colorful. It’s delicious. It’s healthy.
2. Ask for your meal without the sauce. Most meals are pretty healthy until the sauce is loaded on top. Instead of avoiding the full meals all together, just ask the workers for a healthier version of it. Get the chicken alfredo without the alfredo and, boom, 600 calories saved. 3. Replace your routine cookie. Instead of making your final round back to the dessert table, grab a banana, your preferred fruit or some yogurt with granola. They’re yummier than you remember; I promise. But we can’t be expected to be perfect. Cookies are delicious, and there’s no shame in indulging sometimes. Try eating in moderation by eating only one cookie or even just half. Baby steps, baby. 4. Eat the right cereal. In saga, cereal is practically as obligatory as an after-meal mint. And
I don’t even need to go into how much sugar is loaded in most of those cereals, and I’m betting you don’t want me to. The healthier alternative is located next to the beloved, often-empty almond milk dispensers, shunned by its sugary nemeses. Both Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are healthier options when selecting a cereal. I recommend getting the plain Cheerios and drizzling your own packet of honey on top—it adds a good texture and taste. Plus, you get to control the amount of sugar on top. 5. Explore new breakfast options. Do I even need to tell you to skip the waffle and biscuit bar? My go-to meal for breakfast in the dining hall is two hard-boiled eggs, some oatmeal or grits and yogurt. It leaves me feeling energized and like I did some good for my body. Plus, all that time spent peeling the eggs helps you eat slower.
Mason divides the book into four parts with each section describing the attributes of a “woke” church. Awareness. Mason argues that we should be aware of the “overarching truths” that unite us as the family of God, including the relationship between the gospel, reconciliation and justice, justice in God’s character, justice and the Bible and justice as the character of the church. Acknowledgment of the truth. The author postulates that the American church must look back on its history and acknowledge the hard truths about racism for healing to begin. He reveals the sheer negligence and participation of the church concerning racism over the years. He argues that we should have “sober thinking,” which should lead us to lament the devastation of sin in our society. Accountability. Mason proposes that we have a great “opportunity to
reclaim our roles as light and salt” in the world. He argues that we should speak the truth to one another in love so that we can effectively deal with the problems of racial injustice in the church and in our communities. The author believes that we should incorporate prophetic preaching into our churches, and he also provides us with a three-level visionary framework for how the church should deal with injustice. Action. The author argues that believers should spend less time arguing about what’s going on in our society and spend more time engaging the issue of injustice in our communities or we’ll miss out on “redemptive opportunities.” Mason suggests 10 practical action steps that churches can utilize to bring healing and justice into our communities. He ends the book with a beautiful tour of
Book review: “Woke Church” by Olusiji O. Oluloto
Staff Writer
“Woke Church” is a thoughtprovoking book about the issue of racial injustice and its consequences in the church and in our society. The book was written by Pennsylvania pastor and author, Eric Mason. The term “woke” is a common term used in popular culture, which means to be “socially aware of issues that have systemic impact” and to be “able to connect cultural, socio-economic, philosophical, historical, and ethical dots.” Mason borrows the term “woke” and redeems it to refer to believers who have been awakened from “sin’s effects and Satan’s deception.” This enables the Church to be aware of sin and challenge it whenever it arises—the sin in this context is implicit and explicit racism. He believes that the church should always “be woke.”
Eating healthy in college can be a challenge, but don’t lose hope yet. Photo by Cicely Rubottom
the book of Revelation to reminds us of what the future holds for us as believers and to energize us to continue fighting for racial justice and unity because all ethnicities will be united in heaven, worshipping God. The book was a wonderful, insightful and convicting read. Mason wrote this book with the heart and mind of a pastor, theologian, historian and social reformer. The book addresses the difficult topic of racism in a non-judgmental, loving and truthful way. The author reminds us that racial injustice is still a current issue, not just a thing of the past, and there is still a long way ahead of us. Mason reminds us that God always wants the church to remain united and “woke.” It’s a must read for everyone.
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 9
Photo by Camden Swan
The laundry thieves of EMR
by Gabriel Jaggernauth Staff Writer Has your laundry gone missing? Do your clothes magically disappear? If you live in EMR, this might have happened to you, and it may not be the fault of the dryer eating your sock. Several students residing in EMR have reported their laundry disappearing or gone missing in the process of getting their laundry done. Currently, no culprits have been identified but EMR residents are asking that something be done. Some have suggested adding cameras in the laundry room to monitor and potentially catch whoever is responsible for these thefts. Taylor Smithson, the hall director of EMR, said it is illegal to place security cameras in any part of the dorms, including the laundry room. However, Smithson did provide suggestions to prevent thefts such as monitoring your clothing by staying in the laundry room. He also suggests keeping a timer and retrieving your laundry as soon as it is done. Some other precautionary measures include: getting a unique laundry basket and doing laundry when the laundry room is not busy. It should be noted that any student charged with a felony such as theft will be immediately suspended, and conviction of a felony is an automatic suspension. It is also a violation of the honor code, which all students are required to sign. Living in dorms can have many benefits, such as the short walk to class and the opportunity of living right next to friends, but incidents such as these brings about the negatives for on-campus living.
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Check out the free musuems at Tulsa’s First Friday Art Crawl tonight. The crawl starts at 6 p.m. Photo from Oracle archives
Stuff to do this weekend by Kayley Forshey Managing Editor
Friday Night Tulsa’s First Friday Art Crawl is tonight from 6-9 p.m. Pack all your friends in a car and head downtown to enjoy the free museums, galleries and studios showing off local art. Support local artists and maybe see some fireworks toward the end of the night.
Saturday Morning/Afternoon HPE doesn’t get any easier, but luckily, ORU offers 10 percent extra credit for those who participate in a run. Tomorrow, April 6, at 8 a.m., strap on your running shoes and your favorite white t-shirt and get ready to run the Color Run Tulsa. Participant packages start at $14.99, or you can volunteer to help out. Sign up at thecolorrun. com and get those extra credit points before the semester ends. Check out the Cherry Street Farmer’s Market Saturday morning for locally sourced fruits and vegetables. The market is open from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on 15th and Peoria. There will also be live music, food trucks and plenty of Tulsa’s favorite vendors. Most vendors prefer cash but some accept debit and credit cards.
Visit the Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art on 71st Street. Tickets start at $13, but Groupon is offering a 50 percent off deal for this weekend. Doors open from noon to five on Saturdays and one to five on Sundays. Sherwin Miller features Jewish art pieces that depict Jewish history and culture, broadly and specifically in Oklahoma. The Gilcrease Museum is hosting a “Slow Art Day” on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for anyone seeking relaxation through art. The event is free and the Gilcrease encourages visitors to slow down, sip some tea and browse slowly throughout the museum, taking in each art piece deliberately and calmly. Three “slow art” experiences are available for viewers on this chill day.
Saturday Night Saturday night is Luchador Night at Elote Café in downtown Tulsa. Inside the restaurant, Elote hosts a Luchador wrestling, complete with costumes and over-the-top duking-it-out. Check out elotetulsa. com for photos and descriptions of each wrestler and pick who you’ll cheer on at the event. Grab some tacos and elotes and enjoy the Lucha Libre. Maybe even try channeling your inner Nacho Libre (Nachoooooo!) while you’re there.
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April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 11
An “unplanned” part
Kayla Williams, an ORU student, finds herself working on a full-length feature film. by Kayley Forshey Managing Editor “For the briefest moment, the baby looked as if it were being wrung like a dishcloth, twirled and squeezed. And then it crumpled and began disappearing into the cannula before my eyes. The last thing I saw was the tiny, perfectly formed backbone sucked into the tube, and then it was gone.” Abby Johnson, once the youngest regional director of a Planned Parenthood clinic, witnessed an abortion, and her life changed forever. The above quote comes from her memoir detailing her life as she became a pro-life activist after seeing an abortion with her own eyes. Johnson grew up in a pro-life home but began volunteering for Planned Parenthood in 2001 during her college days. She worked her way up and was eventually named regional director of the clinic in Bryan, Texas, until she resigned in 2009. “Unplanned” follows her journey from prochoice to pro-life advocate. Released on March 29, 2019, “Unplanned,” a Pure Flix film, has already outperformed expectations, hitting number four on the U.S. Box Office chart during its first week and a 93 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Directors Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon have been working with Johnson on the film for over six years, producing and filming in Stillwater, OK. One of ORU’s own students found herself on set with the title of Production Assistant, scrambling to help where she could. Kayla Williams, a first semester senior cinema, television and digital media major, believes that if someone really wants something, they’ll go out and get it. “Those who truly want to move up will find a way,” said Williams. Williams had dreamed of working on a real feature film set since she was young, especially after watching the film and behind-the-scenes extras of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” After meeting a fellow ORU student, Ethan Norvell, who later worked on the “I Can Only Imagine” movie, Williams found her way into the feature film industry. She happened to meet the son of one of the co-producers on the film, Jason Stafford, through their mutual connection in Norvell and immediately asked for his contact information. “I was like, ‘Give me your dad’s email!’ And he
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did. So I just nicely emailed his dad and said, ‘Hi, I’m from ORU. I want to help,” explained Williams. “I told him what my major was, what I could do, and I just told him, ‘Anything you need because I want to do this. Whatever it is—if it’s coffee, I don’t care.’ And to this day, Mr. Stafford has been absolutely amazing in pushing me into the feature film world.” With this opportunity came hard work and long hours. Williams worked 12- to 14-hour shifts for as many days as she could fit in her schedule. “I went out for about six days. For five days I was a production assistant, which might sound really amazing—it’s the bottom of the totem pole, but you gotta start somewhere,” said Williams. “To me, it was amazing. I had the best time these 12-hour days just watching what was going on on set.” Williams was able to experience firsthand how a full-length feature film set operates. “It’s a ton of waiting, a ton of asking, ‘What do you need me to do? Can I get you anything?’ It’s not a lot of sitting; it’s always being ready to do work,” said Wi l li ams.
“ Yo u ’ r e one of the first people there and one of the last people to leave. It’s not an entirely thankless job because a lot of people start out as PAs [production assistants] and work their way up. It’s definitely a long and grueling job, but if you love that, then you know you’re made for the industry.” Her love of filmmaking was only reiterated by the long hours and tough tasks; Williams knew she was made for the industry. “I think my favorite part is the Halloween scene. There was this cute, little 3- to 5-year-old girl who would run down the block in her little bumblebee outfit, complete with wings and face paint, and grab candy from somebody’s house,” said Williams. Williams knows there is a stigma around “Christian movies” but knew while she was on set that this movie was different. “A co-directed film was really interesting to watch—every now and then, they’d let me in the director’s tent, which I think was a God thing, being
able to sit in there for a few scenes and watch what was going on. And then the real Abby Johnson is sitting right there in tears, crying because she is watching these pivotal moments and you know she’s reliving what happened for her.” Williams had the opportunity to connect with one of the co-producers, Sheila Hart, over spring break in L.A. at a meeting they both happened to be attending. Hart told her that this movie was making waves and being requested. According to Hart, usually about 150 theatres will request a movie like this, Christian funded and made, but “Unplanned” has been requested by over 2,000 theatres. “It’s not exactly a feel-good movie, but at the same time, you still leave feeling pretty good,” said Williams. “It definitely surpassed the expectations that I had for it. For me, I’m extremely thankful and grateful to promote the film and to do it from two different persectives, as both a viewer and a maker.” The movie has also been met with opposition and backlash. It was given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for the few graphic scenes depicting abortion. “We consider the MPAA’s current standards to be deeply flawed, insofar as they allowed scenes of remarkably graphic sex, violence, degradation, murder and mayhem to have a PG-13 rating, whereas our film, highlighting the grave dangers of abortion in a straightforward manner, is considered dangerous for the American people to view,” Solomon and Konzelmann said in response to the R rating. However, the rating hasn’t deterred viewers, as shown by the box office numbers. “Unplanned” is now showing in theatres across the U.S., including the Tulsa area. Though Williams’ own part in the movie may seem small in comparison to the hundreds of names listed in the credits, she knows God brought her this opportunity to be be part of a movie and a movement. “I look at it and I’m like, ‘Wow, God, this is something I didn’t plan,’” said Williams. “It’s something that I have been trying to work to for years, and I think the most beautiful part about it is the fact that, for me, it was unplanned. It was something that was not necessarily on my radar, that I helped to bring to pass, but it was definitely a God thing that I couldn’t make happen. You know, I was a small part, but I’ve seen God get so much glory out of it already.”
“Unplanned is the true story of Abby Johnson, who was once a rising star in the Planned Parenthood world. It’s about how prayer and love impacted her life and changed her into a staunch advocate for pro-life.” – Kayla Williams
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 13
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The rocky history of the gray wolf
Like a dog—just with a bad rap by Cicely Rubottom Editor-in-Chief I went hiking with wolves up the rocky sides of Colorado this spring break—partly because of how epic my “Two Truths and One Lie” game would be, but also because it turns out wolves are really, really cool. After I bombarded the volunteers with a hundred questions to estimate the likelihood of one of the wolves being overcome by their nature and turning me into their next meal, I learned a lot about wolves. Just like their habitat, the wolves have a rocky history—specifically, the grey wolf. Long ago, there were almost half a million wild grey wolves roaming America. But there were so many at the time, they were considered to be destructive pests, even by ole Theodore Roosevelt who was known for his environmental activism. So, more than a hundred years ago, the U.S. government placed a bounty on the wolves. By 1960, grey wolves had been nearly driven to the brink of extinction. And by 1974, they were the newest addition to the Endangered Species List, and America began to welcome their slow rehabitation.
Beginning with the Magic Pack, the first noted grey wolf pack to cross over into America, they slowly regained their place in the woods, growing from 300 to more than 4,000 in the last 30 years. Now, wolves are even being domesticated—which isn’t necessarily a good thing, according to Colorado Wolf Adventures, which offers packages for people who want to take a hike and learn all about wolves to fund their survival. The organization owns and takes care of five wolves, which are practically giant dogs at this point. All the wolves were rescued from hostile, domesticated environments where people thought they could raise them like dogs too, but soon learned they were never intended to be anything other than wild creatures. These wild animals would never hurt people offensively, but their place in the ecosystem is prominent. And it makes one wonder—what happened to the ecosystems during the sudden wolf hiatus? In what ways were the environments affected by the roller coaster of wolf population, a keystone species? One way to measure this is by monitoring their
prey’s behavior. Wolves prey on elk, and the sudden decline in wolf population changed the way the elk behaved. Typically nomadic, the elk became much more comfortable without their biggest predator around and began to stay in one place longer, eating vegetation in large spots all at once. This caused the populations of Aspen trees, Cottonwood trees and Riverside Willows to decline. Many beavers and songbirds depend on Riverside Willows, so this affected their populations as well. Since the reintroduction of wolves, the Yellowstone park has been able to see a large increase in these trees and animal species again. So, if wolves taught us anything, it’s that when we put a bounty on a keystone species, we’re affecting a lot more than just that species. There’s a whole world to consider. With gray wolves back and at it, you may encounter one someday. If you do, remember: they don’t attack people; just maintain eye contact and back away slowly. I don’t know who needs to hear that one, but you’re welcome.
Making friends with wolves while hiking Colorado’s Garden of the Gods isn’t too hard. / Photos provided by Cicely Rubottom
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Before you yell, “Are you blind?!” How to referee like a decent referee by Miqueas Barreiro Staff Writer
Illustration by Alejandro Contreas
“That’s a technical!” she screamed from her lawn chair on the sideline. She turned to the other parents sitting next to her. “I can’t believe he didn’t call that! It was totally a technical!” I couldn’t help but think of how ridiculous she sounded. As a referee who has officiated many recreational and competitive games, I had heard parents yell a lot of things (some of which we cannot print here), but this one was especially absurd. Why? Because a technical is a foul in basketball, and we were watching a soccer game. I haven’t watched a live soccer game since I quit refereeing. Every time I went to a game, I left feeling angry. Either the crowd had maltreated the referee for a call that I knew was correct, or the referee would botch his job so badly that I wanted to run on the field and take over myself. I couldn’t win. While I can’t help make referees better, I can share my knowledge of the game so that, while you might still yell at the referee, you will at least know what you are talking about. I will be referencing the International Football Association Board’s Laws of the Game, which is the authoritative manuscript for all FIFA and United States Soccer Federation games and can be found online. 1. Direct Free Kick (DFK) versus Indirect Free Kick (IFK) This one is easy. DFKs are always for contact fouls, like charging, punching, head butting, tackling, tripping, biting or spiting. IFKs are for pretty much everything else. You can tell when the kick is an IFK because the referee will hold their arm up in the air until the ball is touched by a second player. If the ball goes into the goal when the referee’s arm is still up, no goal. There is one more foul that results in a DFK, but it’s so often misapplied, it will get its own section: 2. It’s “handling,” not “hand ball” Even the most seasoned referees get this one wrong. Law 12: Fouls and Misconducts specifically states: “Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with the hand or arm.” Basically, the ball can touch the hand, but the hand can’t touch the ball. So next time the whole crowed starts screaming at the ref for a no-call, be
thinking to yourself, “Did the hand move to the ball or the ball to the hand? Did the player have time to react or was the ball unexpected?” 3. Drop ball This doesn’t happen often so a lot of people get it wrong. When play is stopped for some reason and no team has committed a foul, like if a cat runs onto the field and interrupts play or someone lands on their head after failing at a bicycle kick, it is re-started with a drop ball. The biggest misconception is that the referee must have one player from each team at the drop ball. Law eight states: “Any number of players may contest a dropped ball” and that “the referee cannot decide who may contest a dropped ball or its outcome.” This line also invalidates the common but illegal referee practice of rolling the ball to the goalie, since that would be deciding the outcome of the dropped ball. So feel free to yell at the referee if they do that. Go ahead. I give you permission. 4. Offside Just kidding. There is no way to explain a law so convoluted and misunderstood in the limited space the Editor-in-Chief has given me. Just go look up Law 11 yourself, or leave the referee alone. They are doing the best they can (most of the time). In fact, the assistant referee’s (the one with the flag running up and down the sideline) primary job is to keep track of the offside line and see if a player is in an “offside position” or is guilty of an “offside offense.” Yes, those are two different things. No, I will not explain the difference. I already told you I wouldn’t. I hope you don’t think I want you to yell at referees. I have been to many games that could have better been officiated by a crew of deaf, blindfolded monkeys, and I yelled the loudest. (I also did it in Spanish, which is slightly more intimidating.) My aim is to have you yell in an educated manner, and not make a fool of yourself when you channel your inner soccer mom.
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 15
Love the players, even if you hate the game by Faith Wilson Online News Editor The first two years of my high school career consisted of stressing over numerous projects and obnoxiously long memorizations. This, however, was broken up by reprieves of going to basketball, volleyball and track meets. The memory of throwing on face paint and screaming at the top of my lungs with my other classmates is one of my favorites from high school. Once junior year rolled around, I rarely went to any sporting event the school had. Most of the people I knew on the teams had graduated, and I had lost the passion to come and support because I honestly didn’t care if they succeeded. I went to my friend’s volleyball games to support her, but after volleyball season ended, so did my desire to attend the games. The only ORU sporting event I went to was a soccer game last August in which one of the girls on my wing played. I haven’t gone to a sports game since. However, I recently found that my roommate will be a chaplain on the basketball floor in Claudius next year. We both plan to be at every game we can attend. Now, let’s be clear, I couldn’t care less about sports
in their truest form. I don’t care who is going to lose to the Patriots this Super Bowl or what March Madness is. I care about seeing people I love have success in doing what they love. The athletes I have interviewed this year have all said a similar thing: they hope to not come off as intimidating or unapproachable to other students. While the community between athletes is strong, most hope to make connections with
people outside of the team. Next semester, my roommate and I plan to be the embarrassing moms who show up to their kid’s game loaded with posters, face paint and chants to outrival any cheer team. I encourage everyone to get to know an athlete and support them in doing what they love because uplifting passion is always worth the effort.
Build community outside the normal bubble and attend an ORU sporting event. / Photo by Jonathan Rodriguez
Granny plays basketball better than you by Hannah Nelson Staff Writer
The “granny shot” might look silly and unorthodox, but if it works, who cares how it looks, right? /Photo by Jeremiah Adu
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He stands at the free throw line and dribbles twice. Gripping the sides of the basketball, he holds it slightly between his legs and bends his knees. Bringing both hands up in one fluid motion, he releases the bal,l and it gracefully spins into the basket. Rick Barry was the master of the underhand free throw—also known as the “granny” shot. His stats speak for themselves. He was a 90 percent free throw shooter over the course of his entire career, and in his 1978-79 NBA season, he only missed nine free throws. The underhand free throw is an unconventional but highly successful free throw method. Players who have adopted the technique greatly improve their percentages over time. Canyon Barry, Rick Barry’s son, used the underhand free throw and shot an 86 percent average in his last years playing for the University of Florida Gators. NBA player Chinanu Onuaku brought his average from 46.7 percent to 72.4 percent within his first three years playing college ball after adopting the method. So why don’t we see more players shooting the
underhand free throw? “When we were kids we shot it like that, but you don’t see it anymore today,” said Sarah Garvie, a player on the ORU women’s basketball team. Garvie continued, “I don’t know if it will become a trend in college basketball because it’s not pleasing to the eye. A pretty shot is nice—it has a follow through. It’s not just like throwing it up from below your legs.” She was taught her whole life to put her “hand in the cookie jar” and follow through with the shot, arm up in the air. Now that she is this far into her career, Garvie believes trying a new way of free throws will throw off her rhythm. “Once you get your rhythm down and can hit five for five and 10 for 10, you kinda keep that same pattern when you go up to the free throw line,” said Garvie. Nevertheless, Garvie gave the shot a try and made it on her second throw. As the statistics show, the “granny” shot works, and Garvie agreed it could be useful. “If you’re not a good free throw shooter, it’d be good maybe to try something new,” she said. “I wouldn’t do it, but if it worked for somebody—I mean hey, whose to tell them how to do it?”
A note to non-readers Four reasons you should pick up a book
your own two feet, and it’s right at your fingertips. Meet new people, explore the world and travel through time anywhere you are. All you have to do is turn the page.
3. Learn stuff.
Sterling Zoe Rubottom Digital Media Editor “I don’t read” seems to be the people’s choice of response as I pass out the newspaper on Fridays. I’m not offended that you don’t want the paper, but it is interesting to me that people feel so confident admitting that they don’t read, especially as college students. I want to properly preface this by saying I love movies, okay? Way more than books. But I’ve grown an appreciation for reading and have learned to enjoy it. Key word: learned. Hear me out, you literate non-readers.
1. Work your brain.
My primary motivation for reading is that it exercises my mind. It is not easy—it requires patience and effort and attention. But I encourage you to make reading a priority, because it may help strengthen your patience, effort and attention for everything else. Your mind is the most complex organ of your body and is literally the HQ for everything that keeps you alive, so don’t forget that it needs attention too. Instead of sitting the book on the shelf because it’s “too much work”—add it to your workout routine. Run then read so you can train your whole person. 2. Step outside your world. As “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin said, “A reader lives a thousand times before he dies…the man who never reads lives only one.” Reading gives you the opportunity to escape your daily life and walk in someone else’s shoes. Even if it’s nonfiction, it helps give you a unique perspective of our universe that you might not experience with
If you know me, you know I love incorporating unique words in my daily language. After I learn a new word (from reading, of course), I try to create a habit of implementing it into casual conversation until it becomes a loyal member of my vocabulary. This is how I’ve reached the point of also including “just google it” in my daily language, as people often ask me what a word means that I’ve used. This is the third reason I enjoy reading, because it makes me sound a lot smarter than I probably am. It is such an interesting experience to open your mind and venture into someone else’s, to understand their perspective and their ideas. It helps you learn how people think, and the reasons behind their behavior that will aid you for the rest of your life.
Illustration by Alejandro Contreras
4. Take your time.
Remember: there is no rush. I always hated reading for school because the timeline was too fast and I couldn’t read at my own pace and fully enjoy it. I rarely finished the books or even got halfway through them for class because I like to take my time. I’ve been reading the same book for the past two years, and I’m in the middle of two others. It’s like I’m on a journey with each story that I can revisit whenever, wherever. Yes, it’s work—as I mentioned before. But reading is also a great way to relax. Sure, you could put on a facemask, take a bubble bath, drink some Kombucha and listen to Hozier, but if you really want to promote mental wellness and self-care, start reading. In conclusion, I think that reading should be for everyone. If you “don’t like reading,” you probably haven’t read enough to discover what you enjoy. So give it a chance. It may take a while to find your “type,” but in your journey judging covers and skimming prefaces, you will eventually find the one that you can’t quite put down.
Stop hopping; jump in and serve
There are many ways you can serve in the church, so find what works best for you.
Staci McCoy Lifestyle Editor If you are anything like me, you have friends known as “church hoppers.” They tag along with a group of friends to an 11 a.m. service, get a feel for that church’s culture and try a new church the following week—for three years now. Perhaps, they switch up the church live stream playing on their MacBook and try out “bedside-Baptist” church. The concept of church hopping is especially prevalent among ORU students, considering the sea of incredible churches to pick from. I believe the intention behind testing out churches is respectable because people desire to find a church they love and connect with. But after a couple years of on-and-off church attendance, it sort of looks like a lazy version of attending church. Maybe you aren’t that person—you’re the one who arrives early to the 9 a.m. service and stays late to shake the pastor’s hand. You just adore the lobby vibes, worship, pastor and the automatic bathrooms, but you aren’t particularly interested in holding a “You Look Great!” sign in the parking lot (a.k.a, the most advertised form of volunteering). There’s a magical satisfaction in consistently choosing to be poured into from a single community of people. That’s an admirable thing to enjoy, but are you pouring back into that community? Of course, there are different levels of serving at a church, some requiring multiple hours a week and others requiring only an hour every other month. Alongside commitment levels, there are different departments within churches to serve in (creative departments, youth service, children’s church etc.). That being said, it’s not hard at all to find an enjoyable and manageable church niche. ORU offers a plethora of ministry opportunities, and I’ve done my fair share of them, including
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ORU Missions & Outreach and Prayer Movement. These programs are incredible and stretching, but I have witnessed the difference between these and volunteering in a church. Serving in the house of God shifts your focus outward, whereas other opportunities often focus inward. Although the push to get involved within a church comes from a place of “giving back,” I’ve found that the Lord blesses the sacrifice of time and energy. There comes a reward (heavenly and earthly) from surrendering your time to support the church. In addition, serving in a church will bring you a community within the congregation that otherwise would not have formed. When I started serving in my church’s youth group, not only did I get to pour into students, but I also met peers and leaders who poured into me. After sacrificing time (literally, so much time) and energy into the youth ministry, I never feel drained because that is where the Lord placed me, meaning he sustains me through all the chaos of dramatic junior high students. I’ve also had my fair share of jumping headfirst into the ultimate volunteer position in the church: internship. Interns dedicate hours upon hours of behind-the-scenes labor with the reward of private recognition and self-growth. After holding this position, I found an appreciation for the Average-Joe volunteer because they truly support the church in ways he or she doesn’t realize. After developing close friendships and learning the ins-and-outs, I gained a deeper love and respect for my church, especially for the staff and congregation. Instead of feeling like a crowd, it felt like a family (ironically, this is the youth group’s motto). I’m not only excited to hear the pastor speak, but I’m also excited to engage with the church family and serve in any spot needed, which is sometimes just chatting with a teenager and inviting them to a youth service. Every position I’ve served in has uncovered a fresh perspective of my church and introduced me to people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. If I was drowning in assignments, serving my church didn’t increase my load, but rather provided me a temporary escape from college life. Wherever the Lord calls you to serve, He knows how to keep you afloat in the midst of juggling everything college throws at you. Your church, I assume, is different than my church, so the areas of serving might look different. A
few areas open for volunteering inside my church are greeters, ushers, service coordinating, connections, book store, cafe, first-time desk, parking-lot team, outreach teams, production teams (backstage, actor, make-up, etc.), hospitality, kid’s church, specialneeds kid’s church and, somehow, many others. So don’t cop out by thinking you won’t find your niche. Don’t allow yourself to believe that volunteering in a church is limited to middle-aged adults or the students with “theology” or “church” in their major’s title—yes, I said that. Serving in a church is just as beneficial for the student majoring in engineering as it is for the student majoring in ministry and leadership. Whether a freshman or super senior, there’s never a wrong time to try out the wonderful world of serving in a church. It’s easier and more beneficial than some make it out to be—don’t let the posterchild volunteer convince you that it consumes your life and requires an endless supply of skin-tight black jeans. First, you need to find a church that makes you excited, not just the one your roommate or friend group attends (unless that’s the one that excites you). Second, get to know the church and its programs, factoring in your talents and future plans. Finally, jump on in—you’d be surprised what happens when you dive right into an area of serving instead of dipping your toe in the water. College life takes a toll on students—I get it—but life never slows down, so deciding to serve inside a church now will immensely influence how you spend your post-graduation life. Don’t allow your college experience to revolve around being a “student” but let it be a time to develop a love for serving in the Lord’s house.
Exercising your weaknesses
Olusiji O. Oluloto Staff Writer During a Christian singles event, author and counselor Terry Ewing asked a man to talk about his girlfriend with whom he was considering making a deeper commitment. The man started talking about her strengths—like her beauty, intelligence, caring nature, honesty and strong faith. However, Ewing wasn’t satisfied. He believed that an important ingredient was still missing before the man could make a deeper commitment to his girlfriend. The young man couldn’t figure it out. Ewing said he was looking for her weaknesses. Ewing
believed that how she dealt with her weaknesses was an important key to success or failure in a relationship. He argued that until you knew a person’s weaknesses and how they dealt with them, you don’t really know the person well enough to make a longterm commitment. Whenever I bring this dating concept up to some of my friends, it is not taken that seriously. We don’t like to talk about weaknesses and struggles because we think that equals being negative. We prefer to hide our weaknesses from everyone or act like others don’t have them. Even when we talk about our struggles, we talk about them in the past tense, after we’ve overcome them. Think about it. When is the last time you boasted in your weaknesses? Being weak is part of the human and Christian experience. It’s amazing how many people are shocked or hurt when someone they love, admire or respect falls or stumbles. The fantasizing of our heroes as perfect people—even though we claim to know in theory that no one is perfect—breeds unrealistic expectations. A lot of the disappointments that we have in our relationships wouldn’t exist if we changed our perspective. We also struggle with this in our relationship with God. Many of us prefer if God used our strengths
rather than our weaknesses. Yet God wants to use your weaknesses as much as he wants to use your strengths. The problem with exclusively focusing on our strengths is that it leads to self-sufficiency, which leads to pride and other sins. Our weaknesses and struggles remind us that we always need God’s help to live a godly life, and we can’t do it on our own. We passionately like to quote Philippians 4:13, which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Remember that the emphasis isn’t on “I can do all things” but on Jesus’ strength. Jesus is the hero; not us. Also, if you are not weak then why do you need his strength? Jesus isn’t a backup to your strength. He is your strength. We need God today as much, and even more, than we needed him yesterday. We don’t stop needing him because we have conquered our many sins. We need to learn to acknowledge our weaknesses before God so that we can receive his gracious strength in all areas of our life. Admitting your weaknesses is not being negative; it’s being realistic and humble.
So you think you got game? way to connect with friends. If you use it right, you can even make some money off of it. I don’t know why the statement, “Video games will rot your brain,” gets tossed around a lot. The stories in some games might be violent or boring, but playing games like Kirby and Yoshi is a good way to relax. Games also get your adrenaline pumping, such as competitive first-person shooters Gabriel Jaggernauth Staff Writer or Super Smash Bros. There are also games like the Ace Attorney Series or I remember when I got my first the Professor Layton Series for those gaming console at four years old. It was who like to solve puzzles. a Gameboy Advance SP, and I loved I love how games bring people playing on it. When I heard about the together—especially when they’re new consoles that were coming out, I not too competitive. More fun, casual knew I had to jump on the bandwagon games might do this the best—those of gaming. To this date, I own every games that are simply fun to play. It’s single Nintendo console. games like Just Dance where you can I love gaming. It’s a great stress have casual fun even if you can’t dance reliever, and it makes for an awesome and maybe fall down while trying.
Your friends might make a playful comment, but you all laugh it off and continue having fun. These games encourage teamwork to complete a goal, and I personally love games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty for that aspect. It’s cool to have your headset and voice chat on, coming up with new strategies to outdo your opponents. My friends and I have bonded a lot through playing games like these despite living far away from each other. I never thought anyone could make money off of video games, but back home for a school festival, one of the most popular moneymakers came from the video game booths. Students were charged a fee to play games with each other such as Street Fighters, FIFA or Mario Kart in a room. I even ran a booth like that for my church festival. If you do it right,
it can be a success. You can also trade awesome stuff with other players. Pokémon is an example of this. Because it is hard to catch Pokémon, trading makes it easier to grow your collection with rare Pokémon for a small fee. There are even competitions you can enter if you are good enough. Flying Tee had a Smash Bros and Mortal Combat tournament recently with prizes. If you think you have what it takes, go for it. And even if you don’t win, it’s always fun seeing other players pit it out. The possibilities are endless. Get a Nintendo Switch if you want to, or if you’re eager and unwilling to wait for the next generation of consoles, get an Xbox One or a PS4. Even a gaming PC for some games will work. Try it, and you may find something you love.
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 19
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y o u r p u rc h a s e (with ORU ID)
(Cannot be combined, Use code: “ORACLEMAR”, Exp. 4.30.19)
Take Online Classes this Summer with ORU Enroll today! Steps to Register: 1. Go to vision.oru.edu and log in 2. Select Summer Term 3. Choose your courses 4. Register! Choose the subject that doesn’t have Distance Learning in the title.
For questions or help registering, please contact Student Success: 918.495.6912 success@oru.edu
April 5, 2019 • Oracle • 23