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OUDAILY
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OU President James Gallogly hugs Professor Emeritus George Henderson after the Martin Luther King Jr. choir concert Jan. 21. Henderson delivered a speech honoring Dr. King, and Gallogly opened the concert by addressing the racist video incident.
OU community speaks on handling of racism W
Students seek change beyond administration
NICK HAZELRIGG • @NICKHAZELRIGG
hen OU senior Kobie Ellis was sent a video depicting a white OU student using blackface and a racial slur on Friday, his reaction was a simple one: A genuine lack of surprise. “Nobody was really surprised,” Ellis said. “It was just like, again? Really?” After the racist video, which depicted OU students Olivia Urban and Francie Ford, circulated on Twitter last Friday, black students like Ellis felt a striking lack of shock at the outright racism. Ford was expelled from OU’s Tri Delta sorority the next day. Both women have now withdrawn from OU. Nearly four years after OU shut down its chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon after members were recorded singing a racist chant, this new instance of racism on campus has left OU students of color with the same feeling — not enough has changed. “If you go on the South Oval and ask someone in the black community, LGBTQ community, Latino community, Asian community, Native community, all of them are going to say they don’t feel welcome everywhere on campus,” Ellis said. “They’re going to say they don’t feel comfortable everywhere on campus. And this whole situation? They’re not surprised. It’s a systemic thing.” Hours after the video began to circulate on Friday, OU President James Gallogly released a joint statement with interum Associate Vice President for University Community Jane Irungu. The statement quoted Martin Luther King Jr., made mention of students’ freedom of expression and said the students had offered to apologize. The statement condemned the video but did not explicitly say it was racist. Gallogly gave a press conference on Martin Luther King Jr. Day addressing the situation and said it “may have been oversight” to not originally refer to the video as racist. OU Black Student Association President Taylor Wilson said
Gallogly’s original statement Friday was “very disappointing.” “It really wasn’t enough. It wasn’t direct enough in condemning the action,” Wilson said. “I mean, it was an act of racism, and you need to say that. It was a racist act. (Gallogly) kind of insinuated that an apology is sufficient, which it never is — more needs to be done.” Gallogly said at the press conference the university would work to make diversity training more impactful and review OU’s code of conduct. In several interviews, former OU President David Boren has pointed to the university’s response to the SAE incident in 2015 as one of the moments from his presidency he is most proud of. In the wake of the incident, OU created the office of University Community and instituted mandatory diversity training for incoming freshmen. But after nearly four years, the blackface video is one of many instances of racism involving OU students. In 2017, a picture circulated of a white OU student dressed as Pocahontas. Last semester, a member of Beta Theta Pi was expelled from his fraternity for using racist rhetoric on Campus Corner. Wilson said it’s clear that not nearly enough has been done at OU to stem the tide of systemic racism. “There’s diversity training during Camp Crimson, which isn’t that serious, and if you don’t go to that one, you have take a five-hour course,” Wilson said. “It’s not very effective, and research has shown diversity training has the opposite effect of what it’s supposed to do. And the office of University Community gives students a space to express issues, but much more needs to be done.” The Black Student Association, in response to the blackface video, sent OU a list of demands that Wilson said is similar to the requests made by OU Unheard See COMMUNITY page 2
T “There’s been proper outrage. We’ve been out here — if OU doesn’t do anything, then we can’t do anything.”
-Kobie Ellis, OU senior
JORDAN MILLER • @JORDANRMILLERR
he two OU students who filmed a racist video on Friday have withdrawn from the university, but members of OU’s black community believe the university still has a ways to go before real change begins. OU President James Gallogly addressed the university Monday afternoon after the students voluntarily withdrew, and said he talked with students and community groups on what changes they want to implement to prevent further racist incidents. “This type of behavior is not welcome here and is condemned in the strongest terms by me and by our university,” Gallogly said. “This behavior does not reflect the values and principles of our university, our community and our state.” Gallogly said he did not meet with the two women, identified by The Daily as Olivia Urban and Francie Ford, but that they have “deep regrets” for their behavior and have issued a written apology. The university is also investigating the possible participation of an unknown third student and will see what kind of role they took in the video to figure out if any possible consequences from the university are necessary. The Daily has not seen a copy of any apology as of yet. The university had limited options as to legal steps it could take, Gallogly said, since the activities in the video did not take place on campus and were not related to a university activity. He said the students did have the right to film this video under the First Amendment, but that he will work with the university’s lawyers and student groups to broaden the ability to use the Student Code of Conduct. “This is a situation, while legal, people should choose much better judgment, recognize the kind of personal damage they can do to others,” Gallogly said. “We do have the Student Code of Conduct ... but I want to be very clear: this is not just about how we punish
people. This is about affirmative steps the university should take to prevent these things in the future.” Gallogly acknowledged that this is the second major racist incident in several years, and that shows it must be a symptom of something systemic. He also said he met with many different groups and about 25 students on Sunday for two and a half hours to discuss the incident and further steps the university might take, and to advise on the remarks he made today. “This is not just an issue related to our black students — it’s an issue related to all students,” Gallogly said. “Since that time, I’ve also been making a number of calls to campus leaders and community leaders talking through things I may not know that they want to tell me.” With this being the second major racist incident at OU in the past five years, Intervarsity Black Campus Ministries leader Joshua Davis said it will be on Gallogly to bring real change. “I think we will be better and closer, but unless real change happens where there’s stuff written about changes that will come on campus, I don’t see much changing,” Davis said. “We’ll be closer now, but two months from now people will forget about it and it’ll be the same thing ... it’ll be interesting to see what happens in our near future.” Gallogly said the two students involved could see that “our culture rejects this kind of activity,” and were surprised by the reaction of state and national news. “Simply put, this type of racist video has no place here or anywhere else,” Gallogly said. Gallogly said that more will be done to prevent this type of behavior in the future. “This is a chance to speak about what we represent. It’s also a chance for a new beginning,” Gallogly said. “It’s a call to See CHANGE page 2
2
• January 22-23, 2019
NEWS
Nick Hazelrigg, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily
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OU President James Gallogly speaks at a press conference about the racist video Jan. 21.
COMMUNITY: Continued from page 1
following SAE. The list included a zero-tolerance policy for racism, an increase in multicultural faculty and staff and additional financial aid for AfricanAmerican programs. Ellis said in his time at OU, he’s witnessed firsthand the lack of movement on the issue of racism on campus. “As far as what OU’s done since SAE, it hasn’t been enough,” Ellis said. “OU Unheard gave OU a report card a year after SAE, and OU failed across the board. That hasn’t changed since I’ve been at OU — I’m a senior now, and it still feels that way.”
CHANGE: Continued from page 1
action. I see that there are additional steps that we need to take.” Intervarsity Black Campus Ministries leader Skylar Thomas said the incident was important in
The report card Ellis referred to was released by OU Unheard on the one year anniversary of the SAE incident and examined OU’s infrastructure and support systems for black students. OU failed to score above a C in any of the fields. Professor Emeritus George Henderson shared Ellis’ lack of surprise regarding the video, as well as his disappointment. Henders on, a fr iend of Martin Luther King Jr. and a member of the first black family to own property in Norman, said it’s the responsibility of OU administrators to effect change, but that there were no foolproof ways to prevent incidents like this at a university. “It’s sheer folly to expect the students to be the ones driving the change in this
situation,” Henderson said. “Bottom up in situations like this never works very well, especially when the responsibility and ability to make change comes from the top down.” Henderson said students should make clear to the administration what they wanted to see change and commended Gallogly on meeting with student leaders, including Wilson. However, Henderson cautioned OU students seeking harsher penalties for Urban and Ford and said the situation presented a teachable moment. For Wilson and Ellis, expulsion of those involved in the video would have been the necessary step to stop the spinning wheel of racism at OU, which Ellis said involves a brief period
of outrage, followed by few consequences and the event being forgotten about. “These sorts of things flare up and then sort of taper off,” Ellis said. “It feels like hopelessness — minorities all know we’re going to be marginalized. It is what it is. We know greek life is going to exist, and we know they’re going to do what they do. We try to do something about it, but if the administration won’t do something about it, then what can we do?” Wilson has met with Gallogly and said she can only hope the administration is being receptive to the needs of minority communities. “From here on out, it’s up to the university to set a precedent for how they w i l l re s p o n d a n d w h a t
consequences they will enforce,” Wilson said. Ellis said he didn’t want the students to have the opportunity to withdraw and instead preferred the university use the opportunity to show this behavior is not to be tolerated. “We don’t want them to leave on their own terms. We want them expelled,” Ellis said. “It’s a zero-tolerance policy on this campus.” Gallogly said the university didn’t have the recourse to expel the students due to the fact the incident took place off campus. Henderson said the incident gives students an opportunity to practice the love Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about. “It’s a test. It’s always a test. Nonviolence and reconciliation — the basic
concepts of love and acceptance,” Henderson said. “These are our moments of truth. It’s easy to talk about implementing Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to reconciliation. It’s difficult to practice it.” Though Ellis hopes for change on campus, he admits his hopes are not high that this event will effect change in the long run. “We try to change things. We make our voices heard,” Ellis said. “There’s been proper outrage. We’ve been out here — if OU doesn’t do anything, then we can’t do anything.”
reminding Gallogly that black students still face challenges. “I heard that he was trying to put more people on campus that look like us, to help us feel more at home and more safe in spite of that situation,” Thomas said. “We just want to feel important on campus, and I’m glad that this happened
— this shows him that we are still important, that racism still exists. We want to be here and be accepted just like everyone else.” Thomas said students hope to build unity from this incident and prevent similar ones in the future, but they are not dependi n g o n a c t i o n f ro m t h e university.
“We hope for the best, we pray for the best, but not relying on (the administration),” Thomas said. “Among the students, with each other, we just pray for unity so that we can fight it ourselves. Let’s really try to get to the root of racism.” Gallogly said students have asked him to participate in the Rally to Stop
Racism Tuesday on the South Oval, and that he will attend. “Race acts, hate crimes, hate speech, should not be tolerated,” Davis said. “If anybody commits acts of racism and it’s found to be public on social media, whether they did it in private or in public on campus, they need to be held
a c c o u n t a b l e a n d t h e re needs to be repercussions for doing so. I feel like the president should give a speech, walk with us, but really truly show his solidarity with the OU community.”
Nick Hazelrigg
hazelriggn@gmail.com
Jordan Miller
jordan.r.miller-1@ou.edu
Hate speech protected by First Amendment Women involved in racist video safe from expulsion JORDAN MILLER @jordanrmillerr
Although many believe the university has the authority to expel students for offensive speech, constraints by the First Amendment often prevent any action. The students involved in the racist video that was circulated on Friday – identified by The Daily as Francie Ford and Olivia Urban – have withdrawn from the university, according to OU President James Gallogly. During the SAE incident in 2015 when former OU President David Boren issued an intent to expel two students, the students actually withdrew before the expulsion could take effect, OU legal counsel Anil Gollahalli said.
Gollahalli said in order for the university to be able to legally take action, the speech used in the video had to “affect the learning environment for people on campus,” or be threatening to campus, which were determined not to be present in the video. “So, we were really very much limited in what we w e re ab l e t o d o f ro m a disciplinary standpoint,” G ollahalli said. “ That’s when we worked with the president to figure out what type of positive aspects we could make forward on.” The university did have the authority to take action against two students in 2015, Gollahalli said, because SAE was an affiliated organization, the racist chant was taught within the pledge class specifically, the incident happened on a sponsored trip and there were references to lynching. The university also had “objective evidence” from phone calls and social
media and others that people “truly felt a fear to be on campus,” so the learning environment was impacted, Gollahalli said. “Given those circumstances, we felt that we had enough to move forward, regardless of the First Amendment because there’s obviously, like I said, certain speech that’s not protected,” Gollahalli said. “So an intent to expel was ultimately issued. My recollection is both students withdrew before that expulsion was able to take effect.” According to Oklahoma State communications law professor Joey Senat, although the students’ language in this latest video is offensive, their First Amendment rights take precedence over any student code OU has in place. “You can’t have a student code that violates someone’s constitutional rights,” Senat said. “They cannot require you to say, ‘Well, if you come to school you give
up your rights.’ No – not at a public university.” The video may violate Section II subsection 1 of OU’s 2017-2018 Student Rights and Responsibilities Code, which covers abusive conduct. The section is defined by the following: Unwelcome conduct that is sufficiently severe and pervasive that it alters the conditions of education or employment and creates an environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating, harassing, or humiliating. The frequency of the conduct, its severity, and whether it is threatening or humiliating are factors that will be considered in determining whether conduct is abusive. Abusive conduct includes verbal abuse, physical abuse, or holding a person against his or her will. Simple teasing, offhanded comments and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not amount to abusive conduct. Although the video would
be considered hate speech and may violate the code, since it is non-threatening, Gollahalli said the university cannot take action without violating the students’ First Amendment rights. “Hate speech – while vile and abhorrent – is still protected speech,” Gollahalli said. “There are very limited circumstances, but we’re ... fully committed to protecting and expanding our student code to the limits of those boundaries as they may have been interpreted by the courts.” Senat said he cautions students who want someone else censored, since then that same censorship can be used on them. He pointed to the case of a student who was sent home for wearing a Black Lives Matter hoodie two years ago in Deer Creek. “What something is nebulous and hard to define as so-called ‘hate speech’ quickly becomes ‘Black Lives Matter is hateful and
racist,’” Senat said. “I don’t agree with that, but there are plenty of white folks in this country who apparently do.” Senat said that he would suggest students take action through counter-speech, since the university can technically not take any form of punishment toward the two students in the video. “I understand why (students) are angry, I agree with them being angr y, they should go protest in front of the sorority house, they should march in the streets and say why they think this is stupid, why this is wrong, why this was hateful, why they are hurt by that speech,” Senat said. “But that’s a big difference from having government step in and censor somebody, punish somebody for speech.” Jordan Miller
jordan.r.miller-1@ou.edu
NEWS
January 22-23, 2019 •
‘I am woman, hear me roar’ Women’s March OKC focuses on need for equality
Nick Hazelrigg News Managing Editor Julia Weinhoffer Engagement Editor George Stoia Sports Editor Siandhara Bonnet Culture Editor
CHARLEY LANZIERI @charlanzieri
During a 43-degree Ok la homa af ternoon, crowds began gat hering in front of the state Capitol building. A group of indigenous peoples in their bright ribbon skirts smeared red paint on their hands and faces. Soon, people of ma ny gender ident it ies bega n to arrive clutching homemade signs with words like “No more stolen sisters” or “Women belong in all places decisions are being made” scrawled on the front. Starting at noon on Jan. 20, activ ists gat hered in front of the Oklahoma state Capitol building to show their support and desire for improving women’s rights in the U.S. The march focused on bu i ld i ng oppor t u n it ies for all women and ending v iolence against women — indigenous women in particular. The Ok lahoma Cit y march was led by Matriarch, an activist group that promotes the social welfare of Native women through education and communit y building, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women group, which is a group fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples. Ayanna Najuma, a human r ig ht s ac t iv i st w ho ha s worked with many different groups, said she came to share her experiences as a human rights activist. “It didn’t ask whether you were female or male, black or white, physically or intellectually challenged. It was a piece of paper that was given to us at birth that said you were entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Najuma said. Najuma said there is no equality until everyone has health care, women have equal pay for equal work and women are able to have equal opportunities. She said she hoped the march and its speeches would be a call to action for everyone to get out and make a difference. “Following (the Women’s
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A man holds a sign that reads “I’m with her” at the Oklahoma Women’s March in OKC Jan. 20.
March) on Facebook is not t he sa me a s bei ng here today,” Najuma said. “It’s not the same as calling our elected officials and telling them what we want and how we want it.” Najuma said she has been an activist since she was 7 years old, when she participated in the sit-in at the Katz Drug Store in Ok lahoma City in 1958. “I never thought I would have to stand here 60 years later and talk about equality,” Najuma said, “to throw the word of racism into the t rash aga i n a nd sex ism into the trash again in 2019. When is that going to stop?” Debbie Brooks, an education reform activist, also spoke at the event. Brooks, who spent part of her life as a school principal, said women shou ld be empowered and speak up for themselves. Brook s ta l ked about a derogatory bumper sticker she encountered a few days before which she said showed a vulgar depiction of a woman, and how she thought it was disgusting that women still had to deal with that lack of respect. “It’s objectifying our bodies,” Brooks said. “Women demand respect. A re you going to stand up for
yourselves? Next time you see that truck are you going to roll down your window and say no?” A long w it h discussing t roubles all women face every day, the Oklahoma Women’s March chose to highlight the specific troubles of indigenous women and transgender women during the speaking events. Ol i v i a Gr a y, d i r e c t or of Osage Nation’s Family Violence Prevention Department, came to the march to discuss violence against women. “We need to be here for those victims regardless of race, gender identity, addiction status, criminal history or all those other things that other people use to divide us,” Gray said. “I ask you to be here today for one another.” Gray specifically wanted to talk about violence against indigenous women, and said indigenous women in America are 84 percent more likely to be physically abused in their lifetime and 56 percent more likely to be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. “I would ask all of you to remember who you are. Find your power. Hold on to that power. Especially to my indigenous relatives,” Gray
An attendee flies a flag above the Oklahoma Women’s March in OKC Jan. 20.
said. “We came from the survivors. We came from the strongest, the fastest, the smartest. We’re here for a reason, and this has to stop today.” With her four daughters and four granddaughters behind her on stage wearing traditional indigenous ribbon skirts and painted red hand marks over their faces, Gray spoke of building a better world for her granddaughters. “We know what this world has in store for us. What is not acceptable is what this world has in store for these two,” Gray said, pointing to her two youngest granddaughters. “If something substantial doesn’t happen today, they’re going to live through what the rest of us have lived through.” Ca r men Ma r ie, one of the members of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women group, said their red painted hand represents the blood on the hands of the justice system when violence against indigenous women goes uninvestigated, and the red hand over their mouths symbolized indigenous women being silenced. “We are looking for society to even out the prioritization of people, and we really want to look at the amount
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of indigenous women, boys and girls this is happening to, especially to transgender women in the indigenous community,” Marie said. Marie said there is a different way the legal system processes indigenous people’s cases. She said when someone goes missing in Canada and America and they have a “high-risk lifestyle,” which could be include anything from living in poverty to having some sort of addiction, law enforcement treats them as less of a priority. “T here a re over 5,0 0 0 m i s s i n g a nd mu rdere d Indigenous women in the United States, and yet only 166 are in the national federal record,” said Jordan Ha r mon, pla nner of t he Tulsa Women’s March. “Ask yourself what you can do to help racial and criminal justice reform.” Harmon said in Tulsa, black people are three times more likely to face police violence than any other group. “I committed to attend every city council meeting where the public was asking the city council for a public hearing for why this is happening and what the solution is,” Harmon said. “Every council meeting where that item is on the agenda, I am going to be there, and when I am there, I see a sea of black faces asking the council to take their lives seriously, and I want to see white faces in there next time.” Brooks ended the event w ith a call for women to continue making their voices heard. “In reference to the Helen Reddy song, I am woman, hear me roar. In numbers too big to ignore,” Brooks said. “And I know too much to go back a nd pretend, ‘cause I’ve heard it all before, and I’ve been down on the floor, and nobody is ever going to keep me down again.” Charley Lanzieri
lanzieri.charlton@gmail.com
160 Copeland Hall, 860 The Oklahoma Vleet Oval Daily isVan a public forum, the University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice and an entirely student-run publication.
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Sara Naismith, of Norman, watches the Women’s March speakers with “Me Too” written on duct tape over her mouth Jan. 20.
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A sign reads “Women are our history” at the Oklahoma Women’s March in OKC Jan. 20.
VOL.104, NO. 3
© 2018 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢
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• January 22-23, 2019
OPINION
Julia Weinhoffer, engagement editor dailyeditor@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDaily
OU needs clear racism policy KARLOS HILL
Guest columnist
Editor’s note: This stor y contains graphic and racist language. For the second time in as many years, the OU community has garnered national headlines for some of its students posting anti-black hate speech on social media. While the OU student’s recent blackface social media post is an isolated incident, it sits inside a context of other events. We should remember that lesser known instances of anti-black hate speech have occurred, not just the recent blackface video or the Sigma Alpha Epsilon “hange them from a tree� video. There was a December 2018 incident in which an Oklahoma State student who was visiting Norman wrote “Nigger� on a receipt in Logie’s on Campus Corner after being served by a black female w a i t re s s. In Nov e m b e r 2016, there was an incident involving an OU student whose GroupMe posts featured a mass lynching with the caption “I Love America� and called for a “daily lynching� of a black person. Taken together, these incidents illustrate an ignorance of African American history that should never be associated with any institution of higher education. They also demonstrate a callous dismissal of black students on our campus. With this context acknowledged, I stand in solidarity with the Black Student Association’s call for a zero-tolerance policy on the dissemination of racist hate speech by any OU student, faculty, or staff. Full stop. Whether we like it or not, anti-black hate speech on our campus that spills into the national headlines has created a public perception that our beloved OU community harbors a racially intolerant culture. In 2015, even though I was not yet a faculty at the University of Oklahoma, I applauded
then-OU President David Boren’s swift and decisive response to SAE, but I believe, as does the Black Student Association, that the work that was started in 2015 remains incomplete. I believe a clear, transparent, and zero-tolerance policy specifically geared toward the willful and malicious dissemination of racist hate speech by any OU student, faculty, or staff. A policy will help redefine our public perception, but more importantly it should not be a mystery how leadership will handle racist hate speech when it occurs on our campus. I commend our students for planning and gathering in response to this racist hate speech, but protests and rallies should not be needed to clarify where we stand as a community in relation to racist hate speech. In the interest of creating a truly inclusive community, we owe it to our students to take this necessary step. As chair of African and African American Studies, I pledge to redouble my department’s efforts to offer courses to the OU community that expose and explain historical and contemporary racism, as well as the anti-racism movements that have sought to make our society more inclusive. It is high time for a clear and unequivocal policy that is enshrined in the OU Student Code of Conduct regarding how the University of Oklahoma will deal with the willful and malicious dissemination of racist hate speech by OU students, faculty, and staff. It is time to come together as one community to do this important work. Karlos Hill is the chair of OU’s Department of African and African American Studies. Karlos Hill
karlos.hill@ou.edu
PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Karlos Hill is the chair of the African and African American studies department at OU. Hill is advocating for a change in OU’s Student Code of Conduct to include a zero-tolerance policy regarding hate speech by students, faculty and staff.
HOROSCOPE
CORRECTION
By Eugenia Last
In the Jan. 17 print edition of The Daily, the photo on page 1 was incorrectly attributed. The photos used in the photo illustration should have been credited to freepik.com and Hannah Saad from The Crimson White. The Daily regrets the error.
Copyright 2015, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
my friend’s got mental illness
To a friend with mental illness, your caring and understanding greatly increases their chance of recovery. Visit whatadifference.samhsa.gov for more information. Mental Illness – What a difference a friend makes.
Previous Solution
Monday - Very Easy Tuesday - Easy Wednesday - Easy Thursday - Medium Friday - Hard
Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Have some fun, make personal changes and express your true feelings. If you make way for new beginnings, you’ll get a chance to use your AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -Consider your talents and skills and skills and talents creatively. how best to apply them to the current market. A partnership will turn VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Put a limit on your spending and stay out to be advantageous. Positive focused on what’s important to change is heading your way. you. Personal change may not be PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Live wanted, but it will turn out to be beneficial. and learn. Experience is a great teacher, and by participating in LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -events you’ll discover your skills Updating your look or sharing and attributes. Trust in yourself, something special with a loved one not in someone who is being will help you gain perspective and manipulative. encourage you to walk away from ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Follow disruptive influences. your heart and do what makes you SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Takfeel good about who you are and ing a business trip, engaging in what you have to offer. Refuse to let anyone put demands on you or talks or dealing with matters that are causing you grief will put your interfere in your plans. mind at ease. Change will come at a price. Weigh the pros and cons. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -Protect personal information. Work SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) at your own speed and focus on what you do best. Second-guessing -- Personal gain should be your your ability will put you in a vulner- focus. Physical fitness, better health able position. Don’t limit what you and financial stability should be your goals. A romantic gesture will can do. improve your life. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Focus on home, family and important re- CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) lationships. Protect yourself against -- Accept the inevitable and keep those who are trying to interfere in moving forward. Arguing won’t your personal life. Think before you help you get what you want; it make a change that is likely to give will only slow the process. Trust in yourself, not an outsider. someone else the upper hand. FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2019 ASTROGRAPH by Eugenia Last
CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Look at every angle and consider what’s in your best interest. A partnership should be carefully considered. Joint ventures are likely to take a sudden turn that will leave you holding the bag.
Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg January 22, 2019
ACROSS 1 Silver of FiveThirtyEight 5 Restroom, briefly 8 Dalmatian mark 12 Wet, melty snow 14 Singer Amos or Kelly 15 Had on 16 Short time out? 18 Senate staffer 19 A liar may spin one 20 Top-shelf 21 Response to “You’re a liar!� 23 Programmer’s problem 26 Scribbles hastily 27 Capitol insiders 28 “Preach!� 30 Port-auPrince locale 32 ___ Gala (annual NYC event) 35 Pokemon imperative, or hint to 16-, 23-, 45-, and 56-Across 39 “Special� or “covert� follower 40 Standards 41 Bana of “Troy� 42 31-Down insert 1/22
43 Shot that uses the backboard 45 It’s tossed after a nuptial ceremony 51 Disinclined (to) 52 Home, in Hidalgo 53 “___ the season ...� 55 Palm starch 56 Unanticipated piece of good fortune 59 Eve’s partner 60 Extreme angers 61 Mimic’s gift 62 Julia’s role in “Ocean’s Eleven� 63 Short ___ sweet 64 Dreary color DOWN 1 “Don’t open in the office� letters 2 Soothing creams 3 Powerful plane engines 4 Winter hrs. in Boston 5 Solitary sort 6 Animal pairs’ boat 7 Germanic invader of Rome 8 Hindu wise men 9 “Your ___ being?�
10 Surgeon, informally 11 Braces’ places 13 Marriott competitor 14 Fey of “SNL� 17 Bowls over, say 22 “Kate and ___� (’80s sitcom) 24 Wingdings, for one 25 “Beowulf� and “The Aeneid� 28 In the past 29 Beatles hairdo 30 Start to go? 31 PIN-entering place 32 Sales specialist 33 Giant Manning 34 Mom’s specialty, briefly 36 Diarist Nin
37 Julius Caesar’s first wife 38 Restaurant window posting 42 They go in old PC trays 43 In use, as a phone line 44 Jordan’s only port 45 Attended 46 Give the slip 47 Impressionist Edgar 48 Secretly looped in 49 Sturdy shade trees 50 Princess party crown 54 Vodka brand 57 Large decorative vase 58 Dungeons and Dragons genre, for short
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“They’re Getting Away� by Ross Trudeau
NEWS
January 22-23, 2019 •
PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY
OU President James Gallogly shakes hands with former OU President David Boren. Gallogly and Boren have had to handle racist incidents during their times as president.
How 2 presidents respond to racism Gallogly, Boren react to blackface video, SAE incident EMILY MCPHERSON @emcphersonok
After a racist video involving two OU students, one of whom was wearing blackface and used a racial slur, went viral on Twitter, people began to draw comparisons to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon incident of 2015, when a video emerged of a chant that alluded to lynching and also used a racial slur. But there is one clear difference: the way OU President James Gallogly’s a d m i n i s t rat i o n ha s re s p o n d e d t o t h e b l a c kface video versus the way then-President David Boren responded to the SAE video. “To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you,” Boren said in a March 9, 2015, tweet, the day after the news of the video broke. “You are disgraceful. You have violated all that we stand for. You should not have the privilege of calling yourselves ‘Sooners.’” Boren also announced the university had severed all “ties and affiliations” with the SAE chapter, effective immediately. Ga l l o g l y a n d i nt e r i m Associate Vice President of the Office of University Community Jane Irungu also released a statement on Twitter on Jan. 18, 2019, the day the news of the blackface video broke. “We are saddened and offended that even on the eve of such an important holiday for our nation we are reminded how far we have yet to come in the conversation about treating everyone with respect and dignity,” the statement read. “The University of O klahoma abhors such conduct and condemns the students’ actions and
behavior in the strongest terms possible. While students have the freedom of expression, the negative impact of such conduct cannot be underestimated.” Boren held a press conference regarding the SAE video the same day he released his statement, while Gallogly waited three days before addressing the blackface video in person in Beaird Lounge in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. In his press conference, B oren made it clear he wanted those involved in the incident to leave the university and that the university would not assist the students in moving out of the SAE house. “We don’t provide student services for bigots,” he said. The two students identified as leaders in the SAE video withdrew after an intent for expulsion was expressed by Boren, who cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and said the students contributed to creating a “hostile learning environment.” Gallogly began his press conference by pointing out that the blackface video took place in a private, off-campus setting and was not part of a university-sponsored event — highlighting the legal differences between the video and the SAE incident. T h e maj o r d i f f e re n ces, according to Anil Gollahalli, university vice president and general counsel to the Board of Regents, were that SAE was affiliated with OU and that as a result of the chant, “people truly felt a fear to be on campus.” According to Gollahalli, the university cannot take action against “non-threate n i n g h a t e s p e e c h .” Gallogly announced that the two students involved, Francie Ford and Olivia Urban, withdrew from the university. “ T h i s t y p e o f b e h avior is not welcome here and is condemned in the
strongest terms by me and by our university,” Gallogly said during the press conference. “ This behavior does not reflect the values and principles of our university, our community and our state.” Gallogly went on to lay out three goals he made in wake of the video: increasing efforts to recruit more students, faculty and staff of color, reviewing the rigor of the Student Code of Conduct in regards to i n e q u a l i t y a n d ra c i s m, and ensuring that campus inclusion and diversity trainings are “robust and impactful.” “We must be purposeful to create authentic measures to address and abolish racist experiences for our students, faculty and staff,” Gallogly said. “As president of the University of Oklahoma, I am committed to listening to our students, faculty and staff especially those of color who have been so hurt by this event.” A “Rally to Stop Racism” is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Jan. 22 on the South Oval. Gallogly said he plans to attend and speak at the event. Boren also participated in a student-led protest after his press conference. “I have a message for those who have misused their free speech in this way. My message to them is: you are disgraceful. You have violated every principle that this university stands for,” he said at the protest. “Would I be happy if they left the university as students and were no longer our students? You betcha,” Boren went on to say. “I’d be happy. We don’t have any room for racists and bigots at this university. I’d be glad if they left … I might even pay personal bus fare for them if they’d go somewhere else.” Emily McPherson
emilymcpherson@ou.edu
CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY
OU President James Gallogly opens the Martin Luther King Jr. Day choir concert by addressing the racist video incident Jan. 21.
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• January 22-23, 2019
SPORTS
George Stoia, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports
AUSTIN CARRIERE/THE DAILY
Redshirt senior wide receiver Nick Basquine holds the Big 12 Championship sign after winning the Big 12 Championship game against Texas Dec. 1. Basquine, who was a freshman when the SAE incident happened, is speaking out against another racist video.
Racist video not new to Basquine Once a voice after SAE, wide receiver speaks out again GEORGE STOIA @georgestoia
As Nick Basquine watched the racist video that involved one OU student videoing another student painting her face black and saying a racial slur, he shook his head in anger. But while the fifthyear Oklahoma wide receiver was frustrated, he wasn’t surprised. “I guess I wasn’t naive or oblivious to the reality that that’s still on our campus,” Basquine told The Daily Saturday after agreeing to speak on the matter. “I’m just disgusted that stuff like that is still socially accepted on our campus … I know it’s not sitting too well with the team right now. They’re disgusted, too.” Rewind three years, nine months and 24 days. On March 8, 2015, a video surfaced of two Sigma Alpha Epsilon members leading a chant with t h e w o rd s, “ T h e re w i l l never be a n----- in SAE.” In the aftermath of the SAE video, the Oklahoma football team was one of the
leading voices in change, with then-senior linebacker Eric Striker leading the charge. Basquine, a freshman at the time, remembers the leadership many of the football players displayed and hopes to follow in their footsteps. Basquine agreed to speak to The Daily despite the football team’s usual policy of having to go through the athletic department for media inquires. He felt it was important for him to represent not only his teammates, but also the student body. He understands the weight athletes — s p e c i f i ca l l y f o o t b a l l players — hold on a campus such as OU’s. And he’s not going to stay quiet. “It ’s ver y impor tant,” said Basquine, a Norman native. “We’re one of the few people on campus that have that platform. It’s not exclusive to us, student athletes, it’s for everybody on campus. But we have one of the biggest voices, so we need to use it appropriately.” ‘I ENCOURAGE THEM TO NOT BE AFRAID TO SPEAK THEIR MIND.’ Just 53 days after Lincoln Riley was named O k l a h o m a’s o f f e n s i v e
coordinator, Riley, like Basquine, was staring racism in the eye as the football team became one of the most listened-to voices on campus. And much like they often do on the football field, the playerscame together for a greater purpose. He joined his new team arm-in-arm and dressed in black as they canceled spring practice the day after the SAE video went viral, marching from Owen Field to the Everest Center. It’s a day Riley will never forget and a day he will forever use as an example of how a group of people came together for the better. “ T h e c ha n g e s o n o u r campus since the SAE event three years ago, I don’t know if they would have happened as fast or aggressively had that not happened,” Riley said Sunday. “There were so many positives that stemmed from that, that I was just proud of the way Bob (Stoops), our players, not just football but the athletic community, the entire campus responded to that and handled that. It really felt like in a lot of ways to me, and I was the new guy in town at that point, you could feel it bring everybody together
and raised awareness. It became a positive.” Riley reached out to num e ro u s p l a y e r s o n t h e team after Friday’s video surfaced. He said he was disgusted by the video, saying, “It’s sickening. You hate it. On every level.” Many of the players voiced their frustration with the situation on social media, specifically about how the university handled the situation. Kenneth Murray, Neville Gallimore and Marquise Overton all shared similar tweets, sharing their anger with how the situation was handled. But it was senior cheerleader Tatum Texada who maybe had the most striking and heartfelt post. “Today I will compete not for my university, but for me,” Texada wrote in a Jan. 19 tweet. “I’m often approached with the question: Why do you cheer at OU? For that one little black girl in crowd who looks down and sees someone who looks like me. Racism is wrong. Actions speak louder than words.” Riley has no problem with his players speaking their minds — he encourages it. He understands the importance of his team responding to an incident of
CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY
Redshirt senior wide receiver Nick Basquine walks into the Rose Bowl before the Playoff Semifinal game Jan. 1, 2018.
this magnitude. “I’m proud of them. That’s part of coming to college, is learning to speak for yourself and learning to weigh in on values. That’s a part of being an American citizen,” Riley said. “I think our guys have done a great job. I encourage them to not be afraid to speak their mind.” At his press conference Sunday, Riley was expecting to be asked about his new grad-transfer quarterback Jalen Hurts and his new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. But the racist video had to be addressed. “You always want to see it get better, and I think we’ve got some guys on our team that are absolutely going to make this place better,” Riley said. “The one thing I know, and I don’t know if I would have enough appreciation for this had I not been here two or three years ago when we had a similar incident, I’ve seen this university, community, players on our team, staff members, athletic administration, I’ve seen people take a situation like this that is ugly and turn it into a beautiful thing.” ‘WHAT DOES THE APOLOGY DO?’ Bas quine admits this situation is different than SAE, but the root of the problem is the same and that’s what saddens and angers him most. He will continue to speak his mind in hopes that other students, not just athletes, will do the same. “We always talk about the student athlete and how (students are) cheering for us because we’ve got the jersey on, but after that, they look at us like this,” Basquine said. “But I think it’s more so for the people in class and the ones walking across campus. What about the girl that they’re partnered with in geology lab? How does she feel? “This time, I think we need to look more at the regular student.” OU is a predominantly white school, with less
than 20 percent of full-time faculty being people of color. During the 2018 fall semester, 5.1 percent of the 26,165 OU students were African American. Of the 111 players on Oklahoma’s 2018 football roster, 73 were African American. A s a f o r m e r w a l k- o n pursuing a degree in adult and higher education, Basquine is familiar with overcoming obstacles. He views this video no different and hopes he, his peers and the university will handle it appropriately. “ Ev e n t h o u g h i t ’s a n emotional deal for a lot of us that are a minority, you can’t let that get in the way of getting the point across of why it’s not OK,” Basquine said. “We want to see change. There needs to be zero tolerance for racism.” O U P r e s i d e n t Ja m e s Gallogly held a press confrence to address the video publicly Monday afternoon, where he announced the two students — Francie Ford and Olivia Urban — have withdrawn from the university. “I’m very confident that everybody involved is going to work to make this happen the same way, where change continues to happen and we all continue to work together,” Riley said. “I know it puts the university in a tough situation, but President Gallogly and everybody else will be behind all of our students and there to support them, and we certainly want to support them as well.” As for Basquine, he hopes to see more action taken because right now, an apology doesn’t cut it. “I know their hands are kind of tied right now,” Basquine said, “but at the s a m e t i m e, j u s t s ay i n g they offered to apologize — what does that mean? We’ve already seen this happen on our campus and now it happens again… “What does the apology do?” George Stoia
georgestoia@ou.edu
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