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‘You really miss the connection’ OU community expresses concerns, hope as university prepares for return to in-person classes at full capacity amid strong vaccine rollout
RYAN POLK @ryanpolkou
OU faculty and students shared their concerns and readiness to return to campus following an announcement sent by OU President Joseph Harroz discussing the university’s plans for the fall 2021 semester. On March 2, OU President Joseph Harroz announced the university’s plans to resume in-person courses at full capacity for the fall 2021 semester. According to the announcement, the decision is being guided by advice from OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler and was made possible by OU’s vaccination efforts. According to OU’s COVID-19 dashboard, 5,715 vaccination series have been completed by OU Health Services at this time. According to the announcement, the university will still monitor COVID-19 infections in Oklahoma, “ensuring that all appropriate health and safety measures are in place.” “We know that this will be an adjustment for many, and many of our return efforts remain a work in progress,” Harroz wrote in the announcement. “We will communicate additional updates for our summer and fall operations in the coming weeks and months.” OU anthropology professor Tassie Hirschfeld said she has yet to hear from the university regarding further information about the fall semester. Hirschfeld said she has rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, and recognizes both benefits and drawbacks in returning to in-person courses. “The isolation of being home all the time is one source of stress, but the risks of being around people is another. I’m very comfortable and familiar with the isolation stress, and so the people stress will be something different that I’ll sort of have to figure out as I go,” Hirschfeld said. Hirschfeld said she feels uncomfortable being indoors with others who are unmasked. If there
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are no new COVID-19 cases on campus or in Oklahoma after the fall semester begins, though, she said she would feel comfortable going maskless in the future. OU communications freshman Claire Grace said she is unconcerned about campus returning to full capacity if masking requirements are enforced in classrooms. Grace has health concerns, including asthma, a vitamin D deficiency and a blood type that is suspected to be highly susceptible to COVID-19. She decided to live at Cross apartments during her freshman year, rather than the traditional dorms. “I do feel comfortable with being in-person, but as long as ... we stay vigilant with masking and with social distancing. Without that I would not feel comfortable,” Grace said. Even if the university does not require masks, Grace said she will be wearing one. OU Director of Media Relations Kesha Keith wrote in an emailthere has yet to be a decision made on whether a campus-wide mask mandate will continue through the fall semester. “The university will seek the counsel of our health professionals, including (Dr. Bratzler), and
consider current CDC guidelines to determine safety protocols for the fall,” Keith said in the email. OU meteorology junior April Allen said she believes the university made the announcement too soon, considering the existence of multiple virus variants. Allen, who is registered with the OU Accessibility and Disability Resource Center and works in a pharmacy retail store that performs COVID-19 testing, said she is currently enrolled in online classes to reduce the exposure she could bring to campus or work. Allen said she also feels concerned for those who are immunocompromised or need accommodations and wonders if Zoom will still be provided to those students. “I would love to see a more systematic approach from the university. … Just offer more options to everyone, regardless of whether they’re registered with the (ADRC). Not everyone can get the documentation — some people can’t even afford health insurance.” Keith wrote in the email students who want a fully online or remote schedule will need to discuss it with their advisors. “For fall 2021, there will be
more online and remote courses available than were available prior to COVID-19,” Keith wrote. “The availability of an all-online or remote schedule will be dependent on the student’s required courses and available online and remote courses in their area of study.” Allen said she feels masking enforcement has been “lacking” at OU, and she is scared many people won’t be getting the COVID19 vaccine. OU professor of history and women’s and gender studies Sandie Holguin said she would like to see vaccinations being enforced at a university level, where students, faculty and staff are required to provide documentation of their vaccination. According to an Apr. 11 NPR article, some universities are requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for the 2021 fall semester, including Rutgers and Duke universities. OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler said, in a previous interview, it’s unlikely OU will require COVID-19 vaccinations. It is possible some university-sponsored activities like studying abroad will require vaccination. Joyce Coleman, OU Rudolph C. Bambas professor of medieval English literature and culture
and director of the Center for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, said she feels comfortable with campus plans for the fall and thinks the campus vaccination program has been good. If given the option to teach online, Coleman said she would rather teach in person. “You really miss the connection,” Coleman said. “The atmosphere of people together trying to learn, trying to discuss (and) understand things.” For instructors who do wish to teach online for the upcoming session and semester, Keith wrote faculty can request an online or remote format for the summer and fall with their chairs and directors. “The goal is to offer most classes in an in-person or blended format,” Keith wrote in the email. According to Harroz’s announcement, the university is remaining optimistic toward the fall 2021 semester but is still encouraging everyone to continue taking proper COVID-19 precautions. “To help us keep making strides forward, we urge you to continue practicing healthy behaviors, including masking, frequent hand washing, and social distancing; to get vaccinated when you are eligible; and to keep supporting one another through this challenge,” Harroz wrote in the announcement. Hirschfeld is also encouraging the OU community to stay vigilant during this time. “So far, at least the students I’ve interacted with, are being very conscientious and very thoughtful about protecting themselves and protecting each other, and I just hope that that goes forward because I don’t think we’re quite out of the woods yet,” Hirschfeld said. “So, I just want to encourage everybody to hang on. I know everybody’s tired of it, but I just encourage people to hang on a little longer, and hopefully, we can really start to put this behind us.” ryan.e.polk-1@ou.edu
Adult businesses find growth, support Owners see success despite challenges posed by pandemic SAM TOMPKINS @samanthatonkins
Despite social media rumors, Suger’s on Campus Corner is not closing — it just changed ownership. “It was literally turnkey,” said Elizabeth Shuler, the club’s new proprietor. “We took over that morning and (were) prepared to open that weekend.” Shuler began operating the club in September 2020. However, a month later, a tweet from Twitter account @SugersNorman claimed the business would be closing. “Remember us … Tell our story through your memories … and through your memories we will live on. Goodbye friends,” the tweet read. Shuler said the account is not associated with the club and that Suger’s never discussed closing. “We just think maybe an OU kid … created a Suger’s account because if you look at it, it’s pretty inactive of an account,” Shuler said. “And it goes back pretty far with just random tweets that make no sense to the business.” The tweet gained popularity though, and Shuler said the club was “bombarded” with phone
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The alley on Campus Corner where Suger’s is located on April 15.
calls from people wanting to commemorate the business. “It made us realize how much of an impact Suger’s has had in Norman, on Campus Corner,” Shuler said. “We started getting phone calls from so many states away saying, ‘We hear you guys are closing. How do I buy a shirt?’ ‘How do I buy a bumper sticker?’ ‘Like, when’s the last day so I can come in before it’s closed?’” Shuler said the overwhelming support shocked her, especially in the middle of a pandemic. Local adult businesses such as Suger’s and Adam & Eve on Main Street have adjusted operations to follow COVID-19 guidelines and keep customers safe. And, despite the pandemic, these businesses have seen a steady flow of customers and support from the Norman community. Suger’s has made several adjustments to follow COVID-19 guidelines. There are fewer tables on the floor to allow for social
distancing and hand sanitation stations spread throughout the club. “That is the utmost importance, that not only our staff feels, but that our customers feel safe as well,” Shuler said. Shuler said the business has had “ebbs and flows” during the pandemic. Governor Stitt’s November 2020 executive order, which forced bars to close at 11 p.m., hit Suger’s hard, as the club does 70 percent of its business after 11 p.m., Shuler said. “It was hindering to our revenue, but we’re past it,” Shuler said. “We’re back open again — full hours.” In addition to these pandemic changes, Shuler has also worked to modernize the club, bringing the drinks menu and the decor up to date. “We just wanted to breathe life into it,” Shuler said. Shuler said she was glad to be able to keep the business
women-operated, and said it provides a sense of “security and safety” for the workers. “(Employees) were able to feel safer working in an environment to advance whatever they’re doing,” Shuler said. “A lot of these kids are going to college too, and they just felt safer that it’s working under a woman.” Suger’s is a staple of the OU community, and Shuler said she has not had any problems with negative feedback since she took over. “It’s like it’s tradition. If you’re going to go to OU, you will go to Suger’s. … Everybody I’ve met has to have that experience, girls and guys,” Shuler said. “One friend leads to the next friend that says, ‘I celebrated my birthday here.’ ‘I turned 21 here.’ ‘I celebrated my anniversary here.’ ‘We celebrated college exams here.’” Other adult-oriented businesses in Norman have also been impacted by the pandemic in surprising ways. Lennox and Andrew RyersonGonzalez are the owners of Adam & Eve on Main Street and another location in north Oklahoma City. Lennox said they got involved with the Adam & Eve franchise seven years ago. After moving to Oklahoma from Arizona, Lennox said the adult stores were smaller and more conservative than he was used to. “Everything magazine-wise
had little stickers covering privates,” Lennox said. “You couldn’t display anything that was phallic shaped or anything like that. It seemed like everything in the stores were just pretty much basic, and the people behind the counter just didn’t have any interest in educating the consumer when they were purchasing a product.” Lennox said he wanted to open a store that could work to negate the stigma surrounding adult stores while also providing a level of sexual education for its customers, and the Adam & Eve business model reflected the kind of store he wanted to run. At the start of the pandemic, the Norman location was closed for a month due to the city mandate, but the store in Oklahoma City remained open. Andrew said there was confusion as to whether the store qualified as an essential business. “I’m going to say that we are essential, but there’s definitely things about what we do that are probably not essential, Andrew said. “But certainly, I feel like we proved that we are essential as time went on.” Lennox said the store saw a “dramatic increase” in customers. At first, they assumed the increase was due to other stores not being open, but even after the mandates were lifted, business did not slow see ADULT page 2