Welcome Class of 2016!
Oral Roberts University • Aug. 17, 2012 Photo by Austin St. John
relevant news to the forefront of the paper as well as encourage student participation in our various news forums. We also invite faculty to extend their discussions beyond the classroom and stimulate dialogue about current events through our opinion pages. So, if you’re out and about and you see something you’d like others to know about, let us know. Have a wonderful year, and stay connected. Being involved in the news is important. Keep it real, kids! - Amy Lecza, Editor-in-Chief
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A note from your 2012-2013 SA president differently than done in the past. Our first event, Partiestival, is scheduled on Friday the 17th. There will be sand volleyball, Josh’s Sno Shack, a climbing wall, an iPad giveaway and the first 300 students will recieve a unisex tank top. Make sure to come out and get involved! - Dan Holman, SA President 2012-2013
SA Staff 2012-2013
of Oral Roberts University. Our mission is to serve the ORU community with accurate and relevant media content, integrity, creativity, and a focus on continual improvement.
Advisers W. Kevin Armstrong Journalism warmstrong@oru.edu
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If you’re new to ORU, welcome. If you’re returning, welcome back – and, before you even ask, “No, we still can’t park in Lower Lot!” Ever since I decided on my college major (journalism) as a senior in high school, people have been telling me “journalism is a dying field.” Well, I disagree. Journalism is just
changing. When something newsworthy happens, I don’t “turn on the news” as my parents did when I was growing up. I check Twitter. I go to Facebook. I turn to online sources I trust. As my sources of news have changed, so have those information channels at ORU. The Oracle is no longer just a newspaper like it was my freshman year. It’s now a multi-dimensional student media center disseminating news of the day online (oruoracle.com), through Facebook (ORU Oracle) and Twitter (@ORUOracle).
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2 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE
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Harbor
2012
Photos by Austin St. John
Clockwise from top left, student leaders welcome new students to ORU during Harbor 2012, an event designed to help incoming students move into their dorms and register for classes. Photo 1, left to right: Tim Theriot, Janey Ebener, Tim Schliewe, Adam Mullenix, and Joseph Neville. Photo 2: Mark Farah. Photo 3, left to right: Amber Vanderburg, Ariel Dominquez, Joel Nicholas, Lindsay Thomas, and Jon Baker. Photo 4: Jon Grogan. Photo 5: Joe Edens.
THE ORACLE • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • 3
Green family donation funds more campus renovations Dozens of buildings given substantial changes, more energyefficient systems put in place Construction crews and campus operations employees stayed busy this summer razing, replacing and renovating parts of nearly every major building on campus, thanks to another $10 million gift from the Green family of Oklahoma City. This marks the fourth consecutive year the ORU Board of Trustees chairman and his family’s charitable foundation have given $10 million each summer for capital improvements. This year’s gift also includes an additional $10 million for renovating CityPlex Towers, which are owned by the university. ORU generates revenue through leasing offices throughout the 110 floors of combined space in the 60-, 30- and 20-story buildings immediately south of campus on 81st Street. This summer’s combined $20 million in grants from the Green family will cover work that already has been completed this summer as well as construction projects that will continue through the fall and into the spring. Rehabbing the 30-year-old CityPlex Towers will take another 18 months to finish. Tim Philley, ORU’s chief operations officer, and George Perkins, director of campus grounds and maintenance, recently sat down with the Oracle to offer an overview of how ORU’s campus is being updated.
Construction Updates Armand Hammer Alumni Student Center: Construction remains on schedule for a planned opening in January, Philley says. He estimates work is about 70 percent complete. This marks the first entirely new building on campus in several decades. Ground was broken last January, and
most of the steel was in place by the time students left for this summer’s break. “They’re buttoning up the outside of it,” Perkins says of the building, with mechanical things in place, such as plumbing and electrical systems. Crews are starting to erect drywall inside. Parking in Lower Lot will continue to be restricted until the project is completed. Philley says the university has raised $11 million for the building, which includes $8.5 million for construction and the rest for furnishing it with high-tech equipment to entertain students. Perkins points out that the center will feature “the largestscreen television in the state of Oklahoma.” The Hammer family of Los Angeles and the Cardone family of Philadelphia gave the largest financial gifts toward the project, which will be built debt free. Stovall Administration Building: Current students and staff refer to this three-story structure as the Personnel Building. When renovations are complete in October, the building will officially bear the name of a prominent ORU family who made a sizable financial investment in this project. “It’s going to look like a modern-day office – 2012 standards,” Perkins adds. For example, it now has an elevator, allowing workers to move more easily between floors, and the building features a main entrance on the west side to better serve customers seeking employment, benefits, reimbursements and a host of other financial services. A sidewalk also has been added along Evelyn Roberts Drive, aiding pedestrian traffic from the Aerobics Center parking lot (Lot E). Many of the employees who work in the Personnel Building have been moved temporarily to CityPlex Towers and will remain there for the first part of the fall semester until renovations are completed. Visitor Information Center: While the Praying Hands and Avenue of Flags serve as a marquee
Dean Helland Ministries Outreach to Mormons
Visit my Website where you can find Bible-based tools to witness to Mormon family and friends • View the online article “My Visit with Two Mormon Missionaries”--Published in 12 languages •
www.deanhelland.com Dr. Dean Helland, Doctor of Ministry, ORU • Former Book of Mormon Believer
4 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE
Photo by Mark Moore/ORU
The Personnel Building is now the Stovall Administration Building and has received modern improvements and a new interior. entrance to the university on Lewis Avenue, most traffic enters and exits the campus via 81st Street, according to Philley. That’s why a security office and information center has been installed at the corner of University and Evelyn Roberts drives in Parking Lot E. Philley says the small center serves three purposes: (1) Provide maps and directions to campus visitors, (2) Better secure the center of campus at night, and (3) Increase security for the Mabee Center parking lot. A security guard or campus worker will be stationed inside the center during the day and at night. Motorists will not be required to stop except during special events, when parking is restricted. He adds that the gates are not directly tied to students’ 1:30 a.m. nightly curfew. A security guard will be able to monitor any unauthorized motorists trying to access the
Continued on page 5
38,000 ORU ALUMNI HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU: 1) Make the most of your time at ORU. 2) Let God radically change your life. 3) We are cheering for you! Photo by Mark Moore/ORU
The Braxton dormitory has been torn down with the exception of the lobby. forth to Howard Auditorium for theContinued from page 4 ater productions. main part of campus during those Howard Auditorium: Theater few restricted hours. Security of the lovers rejoice! The gold dimpled commuter parking lot also will be dome is getting a major overhaul enhanced by the addition of four inside, most noticeably a “top of the more video cameras, which Philley line” sound system. The renovation says should reduce the number of vealso includes modernizing the ticket hicle break-ins experienced in recent booths, bathrooms and lighting. Philyears. Also, the most famous speed ley says the work is still under way bump on campus, known affectionand will be finished midway through ately among students as “Mount the fall semester, in time for the first Oral,” has been removed from the stage production of the 2012-13 area where motorists enter the comseason. The work will total almost muter lot off University Drive. $500,000, with half of that being Braxton Dormitory: It’s gone! The invested in the sound system alone. only thing left standing of Braxton Dorm improvements: The elevais the original lobby. Philley says it tors have been modernized in EMR. contains about 4,000 square feet of All the residential beds have been respace, which will be used to store placed in Frances and Michael. Each theater props and equipment. Until of the dorm directors’ apartments now, those things were stored in have been refurbished with new CityPlex Towers, making it cumbercarpet, tile, paint and fixtures. Most some to transport them back and
ARMAND HAMMER ALUMNISTUDENT CENTER OPENS EARLY 2013!
ORU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION & OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS 918.495.6610 ALUMNIORU.EDU ORU.EDU/ALUMNI
Continued on page 6 THE ORACLE • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • 5
Continued from page 5 of the dorm lobbies also will be outfitted with new furniture, although it has not yet arrived. Also, during Christmas break, the air-conditioning units will be replaced in Gabrielle, Michael and Frances. Timko-Barton: The building that houses music education classrooms and practice facilities has new carpet, and the 1960s-era tile in the performance hall has been replaced by a modern stained concrete finish. Graduate Center: The carpets have been replaced on the second and fifth floors. Library: The children’s library on the fifth floor is being upgraded to a glassed-off area of its own. The Holy Spirit Research Center on the fifth floor of the main library also has been upgraded. It now features a climate-controlled vault on the first floor of the BRC next to the Archives Room where older documents can be safely preserved. Biology lab: Another lab has been upgraded on the first floor of the GC. This is the next phase of work that began last year to modernize science labs. Soccer practice field: Work has been completed on a regulation-size soccer field so that the men’s and women’s soccer teams can practice on it and not place unnecessary wear and tear on
the field at the Case Soccer Complex, which was upgraded a year ago. Aerobics Center: Additional window tinting treatments have been installed to cut down on heat and humidity. Saga: The dining facility in the Hamill Activity Center operated by Sodexo will feature a new salad bar facility. It should be installed by late August, after classes have begun. The $160,000 piece of restaurant equipment will provide a modern look to the food offerings, Philley says, and improve drainage for the refrigeration system. Deli: The restaurant on the third floor of the Graduate Center features a new stained concrete floor, but stay tuned for more improvements. New booths, tables and chairs are coming soon, Philley promises. Prayer Gardens: The roofs of the base of the Prayer Tower feature new vegetation. The coils that cool the inside temperature of the Prayer Tower also are being replaced, and that will require some substantial work on the first floor, Philley says. Redundant (electrical) loop: Huh? This might not mean much to the average campus dweller – until the power goes out. Philley says this is a $500,000 expense that helps power plant operators shift electricity from one part of campus to another when the power goes down temporarily in
a particular building or area Mabee Center: Returning students might not notice this immediately but the carpet on the first floor has been ripped out and replaced with a stained concrete surface that now mirrors the second floor walking areas. Christ’s Chapel: Ever exit the third floor of the GC near Financial Aid and cut across the grass to walk to chapel? A new sidewalk is planned to make that path permanent. Philley says that work will come sometime later this fall. CityPlex Towers: OK, this is the granddaddy of all the construction under way because it involves some painstaking high-wire acrobatics, the latest technology in energy savings and a year and a half to complete. In layman’s terms, all of the windows – and that’s A LOT of glass – on the three office towers and the center atrium will have the “curtain wall” resealed using specialized tape. This will help keep moisture from entering the buildings around the window panes as well as keep the airconditioning and heating from escaping the building. In addition, the glass “points” of the buildings will be replaced, as well as the glass ceiling on the atrium. The points extend from the top to the bottom on three sides of each of the buildings. Last summer, the Susie and Wesley towers went under construction for new bathrooms.
TONIGHT 5:30 p.m.! 6 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE
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Tulsa explodes with deals for cheap Wednesday fun By Amy Lecza Happy Wednesday! Check out these cheap eats to get you through Humpday – • $3 burgers and fries at McNellies located downtown. Our advice? Splurge for the sweet potato fries upgrade – they’re amazing. McNellies is located at 409 E. 1st St. • $2 puffy tacos at Elote. These tacos are served on a lightly fried puffy shell and piled high with lettuce, tomato, cheese and the meat of your choice. Elote is at 6th and Boston. • Head just a few steps across the street to Mod’s Crepes,
where gelato is $2 on Wednesday nights as well. You can choose from a variety of fresh, cool flavors. Our favorite is birthday cake. Can’t beat that! • If you’re still hungry, find your closest Village Inn and get a free slice of pie! There are a few Village Inns in Tulsa27th and Harvard, 52nd and Yale and 71st and Memorial. • If you’re not in the mood for burgers or Mexican, take a drive downtown to Yokozuna. There’s happy hour sushi half-price from 3-6 p.m. as well as $3 edamame. The happy hour pricing is
in effect from 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday as well as Friday and Saturday nights from 10 p.m.midnight. On Monday, pork buns are $1 each. Yokozuna is located at 2nd and Detroit. Scan this code with your smartphone for a comprehensive list of participating Eagle Bucks sites, locations and contact info:
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Research Participants Needed in a Brain Imaging Study of Depression The Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, Okla. is currently recruiting participants for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) study of depression. Participants must have been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. We are also recruiting healthy individuals and individuals with Anorexia Nervosa. Participant Requirements: • Female • Ages 14 to 25 • No history of an eating disorder • Body Mass Index of 18.5 to 25.0 • No psychiatric medications within 3 weeks of scanning (6 weeks for Prozac); participants will NOT be asked to stop current medications. • Right-handed • Native English speaker
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THE ORACLE • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • 7
Brookside, left, Utica Square, center, and Woodland Hills, right, are three of the many shopping and dining districts around Tulsa.
Internet Photos
Tulsa shopping hot-spots sure to deliver By Hannah Covington Brookside: 31st and Peoria Avenue Brookside boasts specialty boutiques, art galleries, markets and distinctive restaurants for those looking to walk and shop in one of Tulsa’s prettiest areas. Great thrift store options starting around 41st—including Quality Thrift—make for fun shopping for thrifters. A variety of outside dining options provide a way for students to enjoy Tulsa’s cooler evenings—if and when they ever arrive. Some other restaurants in the area include Pei Wei, Old School Bagel Café and Blue Moon Bakery and Café. For those in the mood for CherryBerry but not in the mood to see a bevy of other ORU students, grab some froyo at the Brookside location. Local Table provides a great value dining experience that makes use of local foods and produce in their homestyle recipes. This area also offers one-stop art shops where buyers can check out the artwork and studios of local artists.
Woodland Hills Mall: 71st and South Memorial Drive Located right off of 71st, Woodland Hills is Tulsa’s largest and most diverse shopping center, anchored by Dillard’s, JC Penneys, Macy’s and Sears. With two levels, hundreds of stores and a mid-sized food court, Woodland Hills has something to satisfy for every shopper. Have an Apple that needs repairs? Visit the Apple Store in Woodland Hills, the nearest one to campus. Tulsa Hills: Highway 75 and 71st As Tulsa’s newest major shopping center, Tulsa Hills offers a large selection of clothing stores, bookstores, and restaurants. Need some last minute dorm décor or electronics? Make a stop at the Tulsa Hills Bed Bath & Beyond, Michaels, Target, Best Buy or Radio Shack. Shopping Options: Deb Shops, Dress Barn, Famous Footwear, Marshalls, Maurices, Payless Shoestore, Rackroom Shoes, Ross Dress for Less, Rue 21, Books A Million, Jewelry Galore and GameStop Restaurants: Buffalo Wild Wings,
8 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE
Chili’s, Piatto Cucina Italian Restaurant and SmashBurger Utica Square and Cherry Street: 21st and South Utica Avenue Utica Square sits in the center of midtown Tulsa, an area famous for its beautiful gardens and upscale shopping. With stores like White House/ Black Market, Coach and Saks Fifth Avenue, Utica Square offers the type of merchandise that some of Tulsa’s larger shopping centers lack. Students wanting to grab a bite at one of Utica’s premier restaurants or get a coffee at Queenies or Starbucks can enjoy one of the outdoor summer concerts taking place every Thursday night until Aug. 30. Located half a mile from Utica Square on 15th Street, Cherry Street offers some of Tulsa’s best bistros, coffee shops and sidewalk shopping for students looking to escape the hustle and bustle of more commercialized areas in favor of an intimate, eclectic and “small town” feeling locale. The Coffee House on Cherry Street is a favorite spot among ORU
students to burrow in on a sleepy Saturday with their homework and favorite drink in tow. Jenks: With its quaint streets and smalltown charm, Jenks provides a different kind of shopping experience in the Tulsa area. If you want something unique and cheap to outfit your dorm, bypass Target in favor of one of Jenks’s distinctive antique stores. Also located in Jenks is the Riverwalk Crossing, where students can walk, eat and catch the newest releases at Riverwalk Movies. Blue Dome District: Between 1st & 7th St, Elgin Ave & Red Fork Expy Located near downtown, the Blue Dome District offers ORU students an opportunity to get off campus and enjoy a great selection of small shops and distinctive restaurants, including the Irish Pub McNellie’s, Dilly Deli, El Guapo’s, Joe Momma’s Pizza and Candy Bar. While in the area, students can also catch a ballgame at ONEOK Field, the home of Tulsa’s minor league baseball team, The Tulsa Drillers.
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ORU’s athletic teams won’t be logging as many miles on the road this year, thanks to the school’s move to a new conference. On July 1, the Golden Eagles officially joined the Southland Conference, a move that was first announced last October. ORU will play its first league competition Sept. 13 when the Golden Eagles volleyball team travels to Huntsville, Texas, to face Sam Houston State. Athletes should get used to heading south of the Red River to perform against schools in the Lone Star State. A big reason for the move, according to Athletic Director Mike Carter, is that it will save time and money. ORU competed in the Summit League the past 15 years, regularly traveling to face conference foes in the Dakotas, Utah, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. The other nine members of the Southland Conference are located in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. They include: Central Arkansas, Lamar, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State (La.), Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “We weren’t pursuing options. We were very content in the Summit League,” Carter said during a press conference last year. “But this move, we feel, is in the best interest of our student athletes.” The move also should help establish a strong presence in an area where ORU heavily draws recruits. “This is an outstanding benefit in recruiting for athletics and academics,” said Carter. ORU dominated athletics in the Summit League, claiming 140 regular season and tournament championships and nine Commissioner’s Cups in 15 years. Two ORU programs completed their tenures in the league having never lost the championship: the women’s golf and baseball teams. Last year, ORU won regular season championships in men’s basketball, women’s tennis and baseball. The Golden Eagles also won three tournament titles in women’s golf, women’s tennis and baseball. The Southland Conference sponsors championships in 17 sports, and ORU will compete in 15 of them. Carter said the conference move does not suggest that ORU will be adding a football or softball team, at least not anytime soon. The one sport at ORU not offered in the Southland Conference is men’s soccer. ORU’s team will continue to compete in the Summit League for now. The Southland Conference will add Houston Baptist to the league in 2013-14, and this summer Southland officials made site visits to Abilene Christian, the University of New Orleans and the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio) for possible expansion. ORU was the most recent addition to the conference after the exit of Texas State, the University of Texas - Arlington and the University of Texas – San Antonio.
Golden Eagles attend and compete in London 2012 Games Thousands of ORU students, staff and faculty helped make this month’s Summer Olympic Games the most watched television event in American history. A few lucky ORU students got to watch events live while seated in Olympic Stadium or other London venues. Among them was junior biomedical chemistry major Maisha Mitchell, whose brother Maurice represented Team USA in the men’s 200 meter sprint. She and her other brother and parents cheered on Maurice as he competed against the world’s fastest men in one of the Olympics’ marquee events. Mitchell transferred to ORU this month from a community college in Kansas City. She also joined the ORU women’s track team and will compete in the 400 meters this year. Mitchell’s brother Maurice won his preliminary heat with a time of 20.54 seconds but finished fourth in the semifinals, just missing
a chance to race against Jamaican Usain Bolt, who won the gold medal. “Just being with my family was the highlight,” Mitchell said. “It was really cool.” The Kansas family arrived Aug. 1 in London and stayed in a hotel near the Olympic Village. They received an invitation to visit the athletic dorms one day but spent most of their 10-day visit watching events in the Proctor & Gamble pavilion, which was created exclusively for the families of American athletes. That’s where she rubbed shoulders with American gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber as well as track stars Dee Dee Trotter and Lolo Jones. Mitchell said London was amazingly crowded. “There’s so many people,” she said. “I don’t think I could live there. It’s like a big New York City but 10 times bigger.” ORU senior Nathan Porter agreed that London was extremely busy, but he
Photo by Mark Moore/ORU
Maisha Mitchell attended the London Games.
10 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE
added that the city was clean and orderly. The writing major from Bowie, Md., didn’t know he would get to attend the games until just a few weeks before they began. “My mom has been saying that she wanted to go to the Olympics since I was a kid,” Porter said. “She ran track when she was younger but never made it to the Olympics, but she still wanted to experience the event. She would talk about her desire to go a lot, but my siblings and I never took it seriously. Then this past December she bought tickets and wanted to take my dad as a surprise. At the last minute, he ended up not being able to go, so I was the fill-in.” Porter and his mom spent four days in London and saw the last evening of track and field events: men’s 5,000 meters, women’s high jump, men’s javelin throw, women’s 4x400 and men’s 4x100. ORU was represented by two international athletes who competed in this year’s games. Prince Mumba, a 2007 ORU graduate, carried the flag for his home country of Zambia in the opening ceremonies and raced in the men’s 800 meters. Mumba, who was inducted into ORU’s Athletic Hall of Fame last December, was an All-American during his time at ORU and still holds the school record of 146.14 in the
Courtesy Photo
Nathan Porter and his mother enjoyed the track events.
800 meters. Mumba entered the Olympics this year having won the gold medal at the Manchester Parks Grand Prix Series, but he didn’t fare well in his preliminary heat. He finished seventh in his only race and 42nd overall. Dominique Allen, who graduated from ORU last May, represented Great Britain on the women’s basketball team. It was the first time the nation had qualified in the sport, and the Brits finished 0-5. Allen played 2 minutes in the opening game against Australia for her only appearance on the court. ORU women’s basketball teammate Georgia Jones, who is from Manchester, tried out for the Great Britain squad but didn’t make the final cut. One other athlete who nearly made the trip to London was ORU senior pole vaulter Jack Whitt. He won the NCAA outdoor pole vaulting championship in Des Moines, Iowa, in June but finished eighth overall in the U.S.
Olympic Trials. Only three U.S. vaulters went to London, but Whitt was selected as an alternate because he had cleared 18 feet, 9.25 inches during a meet. Alternates do not travel to the Olympic Games unless a member of the official delegation has to drop out due to injuries or other circumstances. “My chances were better than usual with two (members of the U.S. squad) hurt or injured,” Whitt said. One member of the U.S. squad is 39 years old and another is 32. Whitt said one of them had a torn Achilles tendon and the other was fighting through tendinitis in his knee. None of the three Americans medaled. A French vaulter claimed the gold medal by jumping almost a full inch higher than Whitt has ever cleared in competition. The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Whitt hopes to be there. “That’s the ultimate goal,” he said.
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THE ORACLE • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • 11
12 • Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 • THE ORACLE