W E E K D AY E D I T I O N | F E B R U A R Y 13 -15 , 2 0 17 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M
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Actors of color at OU reflect on lack of roles
A
s callback lists for the OU School of Drama’s spring 2017 season came out last December, Ashtonn Thompson, acting sophomore, was disappointed that his name was nowhere to be found. The lists continued to be posted and Thompson soon came to realize it wasn’t just his name that was missing. All the African-American men in the school of drama remained off the lists as well. “We were confused as to why none of us got called back,” Thompson said. “We looked at it thoroughly before we tried to make any assumptions. A lot of us are the same type. A lot of us are fit and we look around the same age. So we took that for what it was, but it was very disheartening to see that none of us had got a callback for anything. It was like being punched in the gut.” When cast lists came out, four of the six black men in the program were cast in the student-directed play, “Everyman.” However, no black men were cast in the mainstage productions, and one of the two black women who were cast in a main stage show was cast as a prostitute. “I don’t think (the lack of black men called back) was on purpose,” Thompson said. “I think if it was on purpose, there’d be more of a war. (The faculty) do feel sorry for what happened. They don’t want to hurt us by any means. I feel like I can speak for everyone else when I say we just felt very left behind and swept under the rug when that happened.” Alexi Smith, acting junior, realized his chances at earning a lead role this semester were slim once the season’s shows were announced, he said. As a black man, Smith didn’t see many leading roles in the shows that were probable for him to be cast in since most of them had only been cast using white actors in the past. “Not saying all roles that could go to me should go to me, but there were more roles where I was like, ‘Maybe because I’m black I might be able to squeeze in there,’ and that’s kind of how it goes,” Smith said.
DEVIN HIETT • @DEVINHIETT
This is partially due to the fact that one of the shows in the season, “Biloxi Blues,” was not colorblind-cast. Colorblind casting is the process of choosing to cast ethnic minority actors in roles where race or ethnicity is not germane. Colorblind casting is gaining prominence in contemporary productions such as “Hamilton” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Instead, “Biloxi Blues” was cast color-consciously, intentionally considering the race and ethnicity of actors and the characters they play, since a line in the script specifically states there were no black men fighting in the platoon when the show takes place during WWII. Amara Brady, acting senior, said shows like “Biloxi Blues” are important stories that deserve to be told but should be counteracted with another production in the season that has more opportunities for actors of color.
“I think one of OU’s problems as a whole is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it. If we don’t talk about it then it doesn’t exist,’ but it does exist.” AMARA BRADY, ACTING SENIOR “I’m not saying we want special treatment,” Brady said. “I’m just saying if you do color-conscious casting, and you cannot cast any black people in the show, I would propose we have something for students of color to be able to be cast in.” Acting senior Donovan Session agreed color-conscious casting must be balanced out with other shows that don’t have requirements based on skin color. “Don’t be afraid to colorblind-cast for every single role and not just the minor roles where people of color are specifically needed, like how they only called a black
woman back for the prostitute,” Session said. Judith Midyett Pender, performance and directing professor, said the faculty in the school of drama is committed to colorblind casting when the story permits it. However, some stories have specific racial components that are integral to the show’s plotline, she said. “Last year I directed ‘The Flick,’ and it very specifically noted that there are three main characters and one is African-American and the other two are not,” Pender said. “It’s plot point because the other two have moments of awkwardness as they try to address the fact this character is African-American, so it would not work casting any other way. Then there’s ‘Othello.’ You have to have an African-American man in that role (of Othello).” Another thing to take into consideration is that university performance programs have an educational mission to expose students to various genres and styles of theater, Pender said. Pender noted students of color often have more opportunities in contemporary-styled theater since modern playwrights often write roles that can be colorblind cast. However, the school’s mission to help students learn a variety of styles means they cannot exclusively perform contemporary work, Pender said. “We’re not perfect. No matter what we select in a season and how we cast, we’re never going to make every single actor happy,” Pender said. “I hope people understand there is a good faith effort to provide opportunities for every actor in the program.” Inspecting the program based on only one season of shows is not productive, Pender said. “(The faculty) cannot always perfectly balance one semester’s season, but we can and do balance over a year, two years and certainly over a four-year period,” Pender said. Smith agrees the professors try to provide students with fair opportunities. Last semester, the school offered a special studies course entitled African-American Plays. “I love opportunities such as
African-American Plays where it’s like, ‘we see you, we hear you and we want more of you.’ I think those opportunities are out there, but I think you have to go searching for them, and that sucks,” Smith said. “I’d love to see (courses like AfricanAmerican Plays) pushed forward and advertised more.” Although the school is progressing, there are still a few things that could be improved upon, Smith said. Thompson, Brady, Session and Smith all agree the school would benefit from hiring a professor of color, as there are currently no black professors in the school of drama. “I think a lot of white students, on OU’s campus in particular, don’t have an idea of what it’s like to not have a single professor who looks like you,” Brady said. “It’s not that I don’t think they (white professors) can’t teach us, that’s not what it is. It’s that there’s a shared experience of being a person of color and being an American that my white professors can’t get.” No applicants of color applied to the last faculty position that was available, Pender said. She believes a variety of factors contributed to this. “We’re a highly specialized field, and the people who choose to go into academic theatre who are talented professors of color get snapped up very quickly, and a lot of those people tend to be from more metropolitan areas, and Oklahoma seems like a barren wasteland,” Pender said. Smith agrees that being in Oklahoma is likely part of the reason professors of color do not apply to work on the OU campus, as the exposure to black arts in this part of the country is severely lacking, he said. “I’m sure if I go to the west or east coast, things will become a lot more heterogenized as opposed to just being middle of the Bible Belt in the Midwest. I think there are things we try to do here — the operative word is ‘try’ — but is it a priority? Doesn’t feel like it,” Smith said. Thompson, Brady, Session and Smith all said the first step to combating this issue is to talk about it more, rather than avoiding or
skirting around the issue of race. “I think one of OU’s problems as a whole is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it. If we don’t talk about it then it doesn’t exist,’ but it does exist,” Brady said. “That’s the only way that things will be fixed,” Thompson said. “When we can sit down together and say, ‘This is how things are, this is how things should be. How do we build this bridge and how do we make things better?’” The lack of representation of minority groups in the arts stretches far beyond OU’s campus. Growing up, Thompson was removed from all the programs he saw on television since people of color are rarely cast as the protagonist, the lead character or the hero, Thompson said. “Look at any TV sitcom ever besides ‘Black-ish.’ There’s no one that looks like me,” Thompson said. “There’s no one that looks like me on ‘Friends,’ on ‘How I Met Your Mother.’” Session believes this will only begin to be fixed when roles start to be cast based on the internal qualities of a character rather than stereotyping performers based solely on physical appearance. “Once I graduate I would like to be in productions that focus on the qualities and trials and tribulations of the characters themselves, because I feel like that’s what creates good art,” Session said. “That’s what creates strong artists, and I would like to see that happen here.” Brady says this may mean minority students have to go out and create opportunities and parts for themselves. “I don’t want to be cast as the fat black woman the rest of my life,” Brady said. “If my physical mechanism takes away from people’s ability to see me in ways I see myself, I have to create (opportunities) for myself. I’m hoping we start to actually make movements towards inclusion. I don’t want to walk into a room feeling I’m always counted out because of the color of my skin, and I’ve felt that a lot here.” Devin Hiett
hiettdevin@gmail.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NEWS: Get to know Hans Butzer, who is now offically the architecture dean • 2
SPORTS: The gymnastics team got a visit from Olympian Simone Biles • 4
A&E: OU student Sunny Day on feminism and beauty pageants • 5
2
• February 13-15, 2017
NEWS Campus Activities Council to host ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast members The OU Campus Activities Council Speakers Bureau will feature “Saturday Night Live” cast members Vanessa Bayer and Anna Drezen as its next speakers. Bayer has been a recurring cast member for seven seasons of “SNL” and is known for her popular characters Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy and pitchwoman Brecky. Drezen is the acting editor-in-chief for a female-oriented political satire magazine entitled Reductress and is a new writer for the show, economics junior and Speakers Bureau chair Ryan Fritz said. The CAC Speakers Bureau chooses its speakers by sending out surveys after events so students can provide feedback and vote on what they would like to see, Fritz said. Last year’s survey brought in more than 500 responses, and more than 300 of those ranked comedy as their top choice, followed by motivational speaking, Fritz said. In the fall, Speakers Bureau hosted RJ Mitte — who is most famous for playing Walter Jr. on “Breaking Bad,” — as its motivational speaker and is now focusing on delivering comedy, Fritz said. The event, which will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center, will include free food. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Olivia Dubcak, @olivedubbie
Gender + Equality Center to raise funds in annual Pink and Black Ball
The 13th annual Pink and Black Ball promises a night of music, dancing and food to benefit the OU Gender + Equality Center. Kicking off at 8 p.m. Friday in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Union, the event will feature a live band and DJ, a chocolate fountain, photo booth and “heavy hors d’oeuvres,” according to the event’s Facebook page. The “Glitter and Gatsby” theme means attendees are encouraged to dress in their best Roaring ‘20s attire, while keeping in mind the semi-formal pink and black dress code. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $15 at the GEC, online or at the door for $20. The ball will also feature a raffle, charging $1 per ticket or $5 for eight tickets and a chance at winning a Bob Stoops-signed football, Beats by Dre headphones, stationery or gift certificates. Funds raised will go to GEC education programs focusing on healthy relationships, LGBTQ Ally affairs, and gender-based violence prevention, according to a press release. “It’s kind of two-fold for us,” GEC director Kathy Fahl said. “Clearly, the financial support is important to our programs. ... It also is an opportunity for people from all over campus to come together for a fun night.” Mitchell Willetts, @MitchBWilletts
Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily
NASA mission comes to OU
After seven years of rejection, OU dean earns project grant KAYLA BRANCH @kayla_branch
After years of scientific proposals and hard denials, Berrien Moore did not answer when NASA called him in December. Moore, dean of the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, had been working on the same climate data project since 2010, submitting the proposal to NASA several times in a variety of forms and always being answered with a rejection, he said. “I got a phone call and thought, I don’t need to hear another ‘This was a good proposal, but —’ phone call, so I didn’t answer,” Moore said. “Then my assistant came in and said, ‘NASA is calling my cell phone, you need to answer them.’ So I did, and they said, ‘You won it all.’” The Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCARB) mission received a $166 million grant from NASA to study the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane in the atmosphere, Moore said. The mission will run by attaching an instrument with new camera technology to the bottom of a communications satellite operated by SES, a satellite operation company, to collect atmospheric data, Moore said. The satellite will move with the earth so that it will continuously monitor the Americas, he added. “One point of our idea
CLAIRE BENDTSCHNEIDER/THE DAILY
Berrien Moore speaks to a reporter about the grant from NASA Feb. 8 in the National Weather Center. The $166 million grant will be used to study the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane in the atmosphere.
was that we won’t pay for the launch, rockets, the spacecraft,” Moore said. “We are going to pay a company for the bottom of their spacecraft.” Renting the bottom of another spacecraft is not the only new frontier the project will tackle, Moore said. The instrument will also provide data on plant fluorescence and natural gas leaks, allowing scientists to observe and provide information to the agriculture community and to the oil and gas industry, Moore said. Studying plant fluorescence will allow scientists to tell farmers more quickly when crop failure might be occurring, and locating natural gas leaks will save the oil and gas companies roughly $10 billion in economic
losses and help the environment, Moore said. Sean Crowell, research scientist at OU who does lead scientific work and helped bring the mission to fruition, said the scientists needed to execute this mission will be located around the world. “There are so many different aspects of the project that there is no way you could have all the answers at one institution,” Crowell said. “I spend two to three hours a day on the phone talking to all the people and getting updates and suggesting things, but sometimes it is hard to be as productive as if we were all in the same place.” Crowell said the team at OU is small but will grow as the launch approaches in summer 2021. Kari Roop, manager of
public relations and marketing for the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, said there will be more positions available within the next year. “There will be some student positions as well,” Roop said. “There will be marketing aspects and research aspects, just depending on the qualifications of the students.” Crowell said students will be able to help with the project as it moves further along, but because those involved have only known of the funding for two months, the details of the mission are still being worked out. “Right now is a transition time while we are getting all the details finished and all the paperwork and signatures we need,” Crowell said. “I’ve talked about this mission who knows how many times, and now all of a sudden it is real, and it is pretty amazing that all the work we did has a meaning now with more value and context.” Moore said OU students should be extremely proud to have a NASA mission based on their campus and proud of what that selection means. “Your odds of selection are brutally difficult, and OU was selected. This university is playing in the big leagues,” Moore said. “We are very confident that we are going to make it and knock off big scientific problems, and there will be scientists all over the world that will be downloading GeoCARB data and analyzing it and teaching it to their students.” Kayla Branch
kaylabranch@ou.edu
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February 13-15, 2017 •
NEWS
Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily
Native stories alive at OU
OU professor hopes to give voice to Native Americans MITCHELL WILLETTS @MitchBWilletts
Joshua Nelson remembers visiting his uncle’s home as a kid and seeing American Indians on TV. Sometimes they were the real deal — actual Native American actors. Other times they were white faces hiding behind red paint. Either way, they would catch a bullet courtesy of John Wayne more often than not. Still, the OU interim director of film and media studies wonders what it could have meant to see a Native American man like his uncle or a Cherokee boy like himself on the screen. He wanted to see something more than the silent sidekick or the dozens of whooping extras destined for the wrong side of some handsome cowboy’s rifle. Always missing was a depth of character, a reason to invest, to feel and to believe. “But I think what a difference it would have made if every time I went over there as a young person, loving movies the way I do ... if we’d have had stories where the Indians were the heroes. The Indians didn’t die. The Indians were smart, were funny, were compassionate,” Nelson said. “Who knows, maybe I would’ve been smarter, funnier and more compassionate or, more simply, felt like there was a place for me to tell stories like that.”
Nelson said he believes the film industry has come a long way since those days, but misrepresentation and underrepresentation are both still very current problems. Nelson intends to combat this problem directly by teaching. This semester is the first to offer Nelson’s new class, Telling Native Stories. His creation aims to put more Native Americans behind the camera, a position that many from Native Americans communities feel is not for them, Nelson said. From screenwriting, to camerawork, lighting, audio, editing and eventually distribution, Nelson plans to arm his students with everything they need to express themselves through film. The class’s focus on Nativecentric stories does not mean only Native American students should enroll — the class is inclusive, with a dozen members of both Native and non-Native heritage. Nelson only asks that the work come from a place of authenticity and respect for Native American culture. Brittany McKane, Native American studies and anthropolog y junior of Muscogee and Seminole descent, said she is not the Native American typically seen on TV — the living relic left over from a mythical past. Most Native American depictions today may as well be props hauled in from a Hollywood warehouse — dusted off and decorated, camera ready, but with little substance, McKane said. When they speak, the thoughts of non-Native
HANNAH PIKE @h_pike_
Hans Butzer goes to his office in Oklahoma City every morning before driving to Norman for his day job as dean of the OU College of Architecture. Butzer and his wife, Torrey, also own their own architecture firm, Butzer Architects and Urbanism. Torrey Butzer runs the day-to-day business, but they design everything together. “In a certain sense, it’s a reflection of the fact that ultimately I’m an architect first who happens to love to teach,” Hans Butzer said. “Having that business for me is a critical, essential creative outlet to allow me to continue to explore ideas.” Hans Butzer had served as interim dean of the College of Architecture since March 2016 but he was appointed as the official dean at the Jan. 26 Board of Regents meeting,
officially starting Feb. 1. Hans and Torrey Butzer designed and detailed the Oklahoma City National Memorial, led the team that worked on the Oklahoma City Skydance Bridge and helped guide the vision for The Oklahoman’s new building, Hans Butzer said. He has also won several American Institute of Architects awards. “Nothing gets built without a great team of people working towards the same end,” Hans Butzer said. “I’ve just been very fortunate to have been a part of many great teams who have helped see successful projects through.” Brown said Hans Butzer has helped many students find their potential. “Hans is very inspirational,” architecture freshman Walter Brown said. “He looks at our work, and he shows us his work.” Hans Butzer viewed his role as interim dean initially to unite the community after the death of former architecture dean Charles Graham, he said. “And now, we can use the work that we’ve been doing the last 11 months as the
KAYLA BRANCH @kayla_branch
After 11 years, Zac Stevens will leave his position as the associate director of orientation and transfer programs for OU Student Life and take an assistant senior fellowship for Dunham College. Dunham College is part of the new residential colleges being built on Asp Avenue and is available for upperclassmen students to apply to live in during the 2017-2018 school year. In Stevens’ current position, he works with programs
focused on students who are in their first year at OU, such as Camp Crimson and Sooner Orientation Weekend, but he will focus solely on his position at Dunham College after the switch, he said. He does
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Professor Joshua Nelson teaches his Telling Native Stories film class in the Wallace Old Science Hall Feb. 2. This is the first semester the class has been offerred.
Americans come out, she said. “White characters have a backstory. They are seen as modern, complex human beings, but that same kind of personality isn’t afforded to Native American characters,” McKane said. Telling Native American stories has a broad goal, and to achieve it Nelson is looking outside of campus as well as toward the next generation of filmmakers. “I’m old and past my pr ime,” Nelson said. “I will never make the great American Indian movie, but maybe my students who are working on these kinds of stories will.” Throughout the semester, Nelson’s students will take several field trips to
Potawatomi tribal lands to pair up one-on-one with high school students picked for their abilities or interests in film. Tesia Zientek, director of the Department of Education for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, is the other side of the partnership. Zientek provides the high schoolers, and Nelson provides the gear and his own recently trained students to mentor them, hoping they will continue to learn through the process of teaching. Though Zientek received her diplomas and bona fides from Notre Dame and Stanford and could have put down roots anywhere, she felt a debt was owed. A duty and a love for her tribe brought her back to Oklahoma.
Like McKane and Nelson, Zientek said she finds media depictions of Native Americans lacking and, at times, outright harmful. Not only does it inform the way non-Natives see Native Americans, she said, it affects the way Natives see who they are, what they are capable of and what is expected from them. “If you are a white male in America and you turn on the TV, you’re going to see a lot of different ways to be white and male,” Zientek said. “You can see different versions, different possible selves. For Native Americans that’s not the case.” Mitchell Willetts
mitchell.b.willetts-1@ou.edu
foundation, and now we’re going to start launching and being much more assertive in our mission,” Hans Butzer said. The college’s mission, Hans Butzer said, is to design and build things that matter to communities, in and out of the classroom. “We make things that matter here at the college, and we want our students to kind of come out with a sense of that entrepreneurial spirit that they as individual creative forces can really go out and make a difference in the world,” Hans Butzer said. Before he was interim dean, he was a professor. He helped establish OU’s architecture research studio in Oklahoma City. The vision that his students came up with in the studio became what is now the Olympic Rowing Training Facility, he said. “These projects are all indicative of the glow and the pride the students have and the fact that our students … want to make things that matter,” he said. The College of Architecture has several types of students,
not know who will replace him in his current position. The assistant senior fellowship position will entail working with other faculty fellows to set up courses, host events and advise students who live
NICK NAIFEH/THE DAILY
Zac Stevens, director of Camp Crimson, delivers a speech during the closing ceremonies summer 2014. Stevens will take the assistant senior fellowship for Dunham College.
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Dean of the OU College of Architecture Hans Butzer shares his dreams for the future of OU’s students Feb. 3. Butzer is an award-winning architect.
from those who deal with planning and construction to those who focus on design and entrepreneurship. Hans Butzer said the college’s range is like that of an accordion. “The traditional role of the architect is somewhere in that middle, but the college is all about how that accordion is stretching out to its maximum conditions on either end, but all at the same time, trying to remember that the most beautiful sounds come when things are kind of compressing, coming together,” he said. “It’s kind of
representative of this collaborative effort that we’re really interested in exploring on a day-to-day basis.” While he said his days are long, being dean is the job he wants. “Every day, I see how fortunate I am to be in the position I am in and to be surrounded by so many great people,” Hans Butzer said. “I don’t feel like I work. I get to play out my hobbies everyday.” Hannah Pike
hmaepike@gmail.com
Dunham College gains new adviser New residential college welcomes Student Life worker
Dana Branham Editor in Chief
Supriya Sridhar Engagement Managing Editor
Dean balances business, teaching Adminstrator lends experience, passion to OU architecture
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in the residential college, Stevens said. “I am going to help students create the experience they want to create,” Stevens said. “I will be serving as an adviser for them to help make the experience as rich as they are wanting it to be.” Because Dunham College will house upperclassmen students, those living there will have more of a say in how they are governed and have priority in accessing various classes and programs, which Stevens will oversee, he said. “The residential side will look different because students are older and living there for two to three years, so the communities have the opportunity to become much stronger,” Stevens said. “The college side of it is where it
looks even more different because the faculty associated with Dunham College will offer different seminars and courses for students and our residential college students will have priority for those.” Stevens said his move away from Student Life will be bittersweet, but he is excited for the new opportunity, which will start March 1. “It is not often you get a chance to help with something that is brand new and to help build something from scratch,” Stevens said. “This position offers a lot of what I loved about my previous job, but also offers some new things that look pretty exciting.” Kayla Branch
kaylabranch@ou.edu
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VOL. 102, NO. 40
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• February 13-15, 2017
SPORTS
Spenser Davis, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports
Freshman scores perfect 10 Gymnastics team chalks up sixth win after Auburn meet
GYM QUARTERS INVITATIONAL Opponents: Georgia, LSU and Missouri
SIANDHARA BONNET @SiandharaB
OKLAHOMA CITY — The No. 1 Sooners continued their winning streak Friday night with a win over No. 16 Auburn, 198.075-195.725, moving their record to 6-0 on the season. After being joined by five-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, freshman Maggie Nichols added another perfect 10 for her floor routine, making it her third for an event this season. “Before I went, I said, ‘Give me some of your power,’ and (Biles) did,� Nichols said. “I kind of just changed my mindset a little bit, and I really wanted to go out there and have a lot of fun.� Oklahoma got to work opening on vault with senior Charity Jones. She opened with a 9.875, a season-best. Jones was immediately followed by sophomore Alex Marks, who scored her season best of 9.85, and later by sophomore Brenna Dowell with a 9.95. “Last meet I stuck all three vaults in warm up and not competition, but this meet I stuck it in competition, so I feel like it’s redemption
Channel: FloGymnastics Time: 6:30 p.m. Date: Friday Place: St. Charles, Missouri Source: soonersports.com
PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY
Freshman Maggie Nichols strikes a pose after performing a flip during her floor routine Friday. Nichols scored a perfect 10 on the event.
from last meet,� Dowell said. “I know I just have to keep going into the gym and keep working on perfection, just chasing those handstands
and those dismounts — just keep putting one step in front of the other and just keep working hard.� The Sooners led in the
top three spots with Dowell in first, junior AJ Jackson in second with a 9.9, and Jones and Nichols tying for third. “I just thought it was a
complete meet from beginning to end and our momentum built each event we went to,� head coach KJ Kindler said. In the second rotation, the team moved to the uneven bars. Junior Stefani Catour, sophomore Nicole Lehrmann and Nichols tied for first place in the event with scores of 9.9. The uneven bars is the only event in which Nichols has failed to score a 10 all season. “I think bars is just an instant away,� Kindler said. “She needs to know that she’s truly capable of getting (a 10) on every single event, but that just doesn’t come easy. She works for that every day.� The Sooners moved to beam in the third rotation, scoring a 49.525. Senior Chayse Capps took first
place with a 9.95, Catour took second with her season best of 9.925 and Brown and Nichols each placed third with scores of 9.9. “I had a little bit of a wobble out of my punch front and my dismount I had a little bit of a step,� Nichols said. For the final rotation, the team moved to the floor where Nichols scored her third perfect 10. Her teammates swept the top six spots with Jones tying Auburn’s Lucia Scaglione with a 9.85. Jackson took second place and scored her career high of 9.975. “I thought it was perfect,� Kindler said. “That’s all I can say about that.� The Sooners will take on No. 2 Louisiana State University, No. 9 Georgia and No. 13 Missouri in the GYMQuarters Invitational in St. Charles, Missouri, on Friday. After that, the team returns to the Lloyd Noble Center to face Georgia for senior night on Friday, Feb. 24. “It’s going to be difficult, but it’s early on in the season still, so I have a lot left with my team still,� Capps said. “Yes, it’s going to be one of the lasts, but I’m going to focus on what’s next and not necessarily what’s last.� Siandhara Bonnet arahdnais@ou.edu
Details surface in Mixon situation CLASSIFIEDS Molitor claims 2014 assault was prefaced by cat calls, insults SPENSER DAVIS @Davis_Spenser
Amelia Molitor, the woman who was punched by former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon at an off-campus restaurant in July 2014, told police that the incident was the result of her refusing his advances. Norman Police released a video Thursday that shows Molitor speaking with police less than a month after the punch occurred. Molitor described the start of the incident around the 5:20 mark in the video: “Kind of out of nowhere, I
don’t remember if they were already standing there or they came out of nowhere, there were four gentlemen that just like were making cat calls at me, commenting on how I looked and it just kind of escalated from there. They were talking about Joe, I suppose. I didn’t know who he was. It’s kind of all over the place, because I can’t remember anything to now. “Anyway, like, ‘It’s my boy’s birthday, what are you going to do for him?’ Suggesting that I go home with him and making very specific suggestions about what I could do you know, to pleasure him. My first reaction was to laugh.� In December, Mixon’s attorney released a surveillance video of the punch that broke Molitor’s jaw. Mixon was charged but his sentence
Woodard out for season after ACL tear during game against Iowa State
Senior guard Jordan Woodard’s season ended Saturday when he left the floor after suffering a right knee injury in the second half against Iowa State. Woodard was sent to the floor after crashing against an Iowa State defender on a drive to the basket. Woodard clutched his right knee on the floor before gingerly walking to the bench on his own power. Woodard was seen smiling on the bench as trainers checked his knee. A few minutes later, he limped off the JORDAN floor with a trainer and exited to the WOOWARD locker room. The Sooners trailed 65-48 with 6:58 to go when Woodard left the game. John Walker, @jtw2213
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SOONERSPORTS.COM
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.
was deferred after he entered an Alford Plea, maintaining his innocence. He served 100 hours of community service and was suspended from the football team for one season. Later in the video interview with police, Molitor described how the situation escalated: “So when I said, ‘I’d never in a million years go home with you,’ he said, ‘So you’d rather go home with that f****** fa****?’ And I got really mad, so I faced Joe and I was like, ‘Don’t f*** with me. Do not mess with my friend. Don’t mess with me. Just don’t. Just stop, go away.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, you’re a bad b****, what are you going to do about it?’� Mixon was celebrating
his 18th birthday the night of the punch. Mixon rarely spoke with the media while at Oklahoma due to the advice of his lawyers during a pending civil suit. He did not formally apologize for the incident until Dec. 23, 2016, during a press conference. Mixon’s suspension from the football program ended in spring 2015. He played two seasons for the Sooners, setting OU’s single-season all-purpose yards record as a redshirt sophomore before entering the 2017 NFL Draft. The Washington Post first reported this story. Spenser Davis
davis.spenser@ou.edu
HOROSCOPE By Eugenia Last
Copyright 2017, Newspaper Enterprise Assn. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2017
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Check out your career options. An opportunity will tempt you to make a move. Revamp your resume, update your skills and set sail for a chance to live your dream. Personal improvements are featured.
Look at the big picture and decide what will bring you the greatest happiness and cause you the least amount of stress. Line up your personal papers and documents, and get things in order. Once you know where you stand, you VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Keep close will be able to excel. Romance is on tabs on your investments, personal the rise. belongings and responsibilities if you want to avoid criticism and an unnecesAQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Change sary loss. Protect against injury and will bring positive results. Buckle down ill health. and get things done that will give you the freedom you need to live your LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- DonĘźt reveal dream. Make romance a priority. too much about what you are up to. Use your intelligence and ability to PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Get past persuade others to trust you in order to emotional confusion by asking pertiavoid interference. nent questions, gathering the facts and being honest regarding your opinions SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Focus on and motives. Choose solutions that you creativity and your desire to expand an know you can implement. interest that brings you joy. DonĘźt invest too much cash until you are sure you ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Working want to follow through with your plans. hard and building strong relationships with your peers will promote popularity SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- DonĘźt and a stellar reputation. Use your talent divulge personal secrets to your peers. to engage in something you enjoy that Someone will take advantage of you could be lucrative. emotionally or try to manipulate you into doing something you shouldnĘźt. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Business Focus on self-improvement. deals and prospects will highlight your day. Networking or getting more CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -greatly involved in groups that interest Travel and educational pursuits are you will be important when it comes to highlighted. The rewards you receive personal and professional progress. due to the research and information you gather will lead to praise. DonĘźt let GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Your best temptation lead you astray. financial gains will come through hard work, finding solutions to existing problems and exploring efficient new ways to press forward with your responsibilities. Self-improvement and romance are highlighted. CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You may not be eager to travel, but your curiosity will get the better of you. Indulge in community and cultural events if you want to become aware of new possibilities and lifestyles.
J Housing Rentals DUPLEXES UNFURNISHED $550/mo! Walk to OU! 2bd, 2 blocks from Sarkey’s Energy Center. Carpet, blinds, NEW CH/A, appliances, W/D DW: Call 203-3493
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Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy Parker February 13, 2017
ACROSS 1 Take ___ (disassemble) 6 Tank’s “skin� 11 Part of WWI 14 Type of bear or explorer 15 Irritate 16 Anger or fury 17 (Award judges) Blue ... 19 Not even close to bright 20 Coral reef formation 21 Peaceful state 23 “Dollar Diplomacy� president 26 Presidential bill-blocker 28 Sauna cover-up, sometimes 29 “Long ___, in a galaxy far ...� 30 No longer in 32 Clandestine attentiongetting sound 33 Put a scratch on 34 Period of wooing 38 Time for a raid, sometimes 40 Seattle, comparatively 43 Unspecified place 45 Quartet x 2 46 What a screwball hits 48 “Monkey ___, monkey do�
2/13
49 Part of history 50 Followed a curved path 52 Carp family member 55 Cattle poker 56 Tour bus occupant 58 Set of tenets 60 What e-books don’t have in them 61 (Musical style) Blue ... 66 Word between two surnames 67 Coastline recess 68 Nighttime noise 69 Some campaign purchases 70 Parts of an udder 71 Stately horse DOWN 1 The start of it is for fools (Abbr.) 2 Polynesian staple 3 Vestment worn by priests 4 Capital of Morocco 5 A possible race pace 6 It knocked Newton’s noggin 7 Propertyselling professional 8 Guys 9 Word that ends radio messages 10 Rent again
11 (Creepy crawler) Black ... 12 Comes up in conversation 13 Liquefy again 18 Thanksgiving mo. 22 Visit unannounced 23 Pack down lightly 24 Chef’s thickening agent 25 (Desserts) Black ... 27 Really bizarre 31 Russian leader until 1917 34 Security device, for short 35 Is obliged to pay 36 Still single 37 Hurry, of old 39 Lavished affection (on)
41 Continental cash 42 It may have a fork in it 44 Bluetooth device 46 Where slips are showing 47 Pressed 51 63-Down, e.g. 53 Is priced at 54 “Which came first� option 55 Wall covering, often 57 White-tailed marine eagle 59 Dishevel, as hair 62 Chicken ___ king 63 It’s regularly socked 64 Exist 65 Blood or scarlet
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
2/12 Š 2017 Andrews McMeel Syndication 2/8 Š 2017 www.upuzzles.com Andrews McMeel Syndication
BLACK AND BLUE By Timothy E. Parker
February 13-15, 2017 •
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
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Chloe Moores, a&e editor dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/a_and_e • Twitter: @OUDailyArts
Feminist finds role in pageants
OU senior brings power of choice to beauty contests DEVIN HIETT @DevinHiett
Communication senior Sunny Day is a feminist with a passion for competing in beauty pageants. For Day, the two passions are synonymous. However, some people don’t understand how fashion and feminism can coincide. The beauty industry is often perceived as egocentric and materialistic, two traits not commonly associated with the feminist movement. Upon recently winning the Miss Midwest Earth pageant, Day began receiving heightened criticism from some of her peers, she said. “I get this a lot: ‘You can’t compete in pageants or in a swimsuit competition and be a feminist,’” Day said. Day believes that allegation is far from true. “I think my biggest issue with that is it’s a powerful thing to have the right to choose whatever your dream is. That’s what feminists are fighting for: for women to be able to choose whatever pathway they want to go in. Then to be put down for what I’m choosing is kind of hurtful,” Day said. Before coming to OU, Day considered herself an introvert who had difficulty making friends and connecting with other women, she said. That all changed her freshman year when she competed in her first pageant, Miss University of Oklahoma. Day decided to enter the pageant to put herself out there and try to make some friends. She realized she had little knowledge of the industry when she first began competing, she said. “I didn’t train, I didn’t work out, I didn’t know what was going on in the world,” Day said. “I’m pretty sure I got last place in that pageant, but I fell in love with it because I was surrounded by such a strong, diverse group of women.” After the pageant ended, Day said she noticed the women who competed hugging one another and offering congratulations and
PHOTO BY AMANDA ZABROCKI VIA SUNNY DAY
Sunny Day poses for a photoshoot for one of her sponsors, The Grand Canadian Theater. Day competes in beauty pageants and identifies as a feminist.
words of encouragement. In that moment, Day realized the pageant world was something she wanted to be a part of. “In high school, I always saw women put one another down, so to be a part of 50plus women who were constantly lifting one another up was amazing to see,” Day said.
she believes the feminist movement benefits from anyone who is willing to give voice to gender equity and label themselves as a feminist. “In some ways she’s infiltrating a very gender-traditional institution with somewhat radical views, so that could be beneficial,” Burge said.
“Women creating fashion is powerful.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a fashion designer and get to create the clothes I could wear. It would be my choice what was on my body.” MADISON HOVEN, PRE-MED SOPHOMORE
Stephanie Burge, associate professor of sociology at OU, agrees that feminism and participation in beauty pageants need not be incompatible, but the correlation between the two can be complex and certain aspects of beauty pageants are disjointed with modern feminist views. On one hand, Burge said
Students often grapple with the fact that women who identify as feminists can still find traditionally gender-specific activities such as shopping, wearing makeup or competing in pageants fun and enjoyable, Burge said. “There’s nothing that says a woman who competes in a beauty pageant can’t think gender equity is important
and make that a part of her platform and give voice to that,” Burge said. On the other hand, certain components of the beauty pageant industry conflict with elements of the feminist platform. Although the pageant industry may be working toward inclusivity and acceptance for diverse types of women, it continues to value youthful, thin women who wear makeup and conform to more traditional standards of beauty, Burge said. The pageant industry can only move forward in terms of accepting unorthodox standards of beauty if women like Day, who consider themselves feminists and value gender equality, are the types of women competing in and judging these pageants, Burge said. “I think it’s great a beauty pageant participant is giving voice to feminism within the confines of that institution,” Burge said. “I’d rather see that than I would see women not enter it because they identify as feminists or enter it and be unwilling to identify
as feminists.” Madison Hoven, pre-med sophomore, used to compete in pageants in her early elementary school years. Hoven believes a major accolade of the fashion industry is that it is predominantly run by women. “The fashion industry is pretty much ruled by women,” Hoven said. “Women creating fashion is powerful. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a fashion designer and get to create the clothes I could wear. It would be my choice what was on my body.” An aspiring pediatric oncologist, Hoven said she wishes the medical industry had as many women in positions of power as the fashion industry does. Additionally, Hoven believes competing in pageants helps boost a woman’s confidence and gives women the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones. “You have the ability to go up on that stage and be whoever you want to be and whatever you need to be, and it taught me I can do that in
the real world too,” Hoven said. Jamie Day, Sunny’s mother, said she has watched Sunny transform into a more confident, independent woman as a result of competing in pageants. “She loves it,” Jamie Day said. “She’s become way more of an advocate for women in general and not just for herself. She’s there to cheer her friends on just as much as she is for herself.” Although Sunny Day said she realizes the pageant industry is flawed, she said it is moving forward in making pageants a diverse, inclusive experience for all types of women. Sunny Day, who is 5 feet 2 inches tall and competes primarily against women who are 5 feet 7 inches tall and taller, is not a stereotypical pageant woman. “I’m showing people you don’t have to look a certain way, be a certain size or come from a certain background, because I come from a low-income family, to pursue your dreams,” Sunny Day said. Additionally, the pageant industry is working to make a woman’s voice the most important factor in how she is scored by judges, Sunny Day said. The interview portions of The Miss Midwest Earth Pageant now account for 60 percent of a woman’s overall score, while evening gown and swimsuit each account for 20 percent, Sunny Day said. “I’ve seen a lot of different types of women win,” Sunny Day said. “I’ve seen a woman in a burkini win. I’ve seen a military woman win, and I think that’s great. I can see the improvements and changes we’ve made.” Sunny Day’s main desire is to make people realize true feminism means supporting other women’s dreams even if they differ from one’s own. “I’m a part of a feminist movement, which means we’re supposed to pick each other up and not put one another down for what we believe in and what we love to do. It’s important not to put boundaries on another woman’s dream,” Sunny Day said. Devin Hiett
hiettdevin@gmail.com
Storybook coffee shop flavors community The Screen Door’s quaint atmosphere offers coffee, Wi-Fi MADDIE ROPER @maddieroper4
Boasting a student discount with proof of ID, The Screen Door offers a steampunk, storybook-like environment for study,
relaxation and community involvement. The Screen Door customers can enjoy the high-back chairs, twinkling strings of lights and delicious coffee, tea and smoothies, but students do not have to make a purchase in order to hang out. “They don’t pressure you to buy stuff,” Lexie Dare, communication sophomore, said.
ABOUT THE SERIES • This story is a part of a series reviewing coffee shops around Norman. • Read about last week’s Best Coffee of Norman pick, Michelangelo’s, at oudaily.com
The Screen Door offers students ample space and unlimited, free Wi-Fi. Students can come and sit as long as they want to escape the rush and pressure of college life, Bridgett Hefner, owner of The Screen Door, said. “I hope students feel relaxed here,” Hefner said. Open until 10 p.m. seven days a week, the coffee shop hopes to enrich the city of Norman, Hefner said. All tips go to a local charity that changes ever y Monday, benefiting a wide variety of Oklahoma-based programs. The Screen Door also uses espresso beans roasted in Choctaw, Oklahoma, in an effort to stay local. “I always wanted to do something that offered things for the community and a place for people to go to do things for themselves,” Hefner said. D a re l i k e s d o i n g h e r homework at The Screen Door, but she also likes taking study breaks. The board games out on all the tables give Dare and friends a nice alternative to schoolwork, she said. Hefner named the shop The Screen Door because it was originally set to be located in an old Victorianstyle home with a front porch and screen door. Though the shop is now
MADDIE ROPER/THE DAILY
Jasmine iced tea at The Screen Door on Main Street. The coffee shop offers free Wi-Fi.
among the buildings of Main Street, Hefner kept the name and the sunny front porch. “To me, The Screen Door always meant everyone is welcome,” Hefner said. Christina Foshee, early childhood education graduate student, believes that The Screen Door embodies this message. She comes
to The Screen Door two or three times a week for the great coffee and friendly staff, she said. “I enjoy the staff and how they come out and take care of you more than other places,” Foshee said. In addition to the friendly staff, The Screen Door will also be open until 2 a.m. during finals week to
provide OU students with a comfortable and convenient place to study during testing mayhem. The Screen Door is located at 408 W. Main St. in Norman. The Screen Door is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the week. Maddie Roper
maddieroper4@ou.edu
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• February 13-15, 2017
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