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OUDAILY
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PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CORY BOOKER TO VISIT CAMPUS • 4
Diversity training to begin this week
AOI shutdown ignites protests
OU launches phase 2 of plan following racist incidents in spring BLAKE DOUGLAS @Blake_Doug918
University and community leaders worked throughout the summer to advance OU’s diversity and inclusion plan into its second phase, which includes extensive programming, training sessions and other events set to begin this week. Students and faculty leaders met Aug. 5 to discuss implementation of the plan’s second phase and release an outline of the university’s goals. Phase one of the university’s diversity and inclusion plan was announced by former OU President James Gallogly in March 2019, amid five racist incidents that OU and Norman experienced during the spring semester. Two involved OU students. Teara Lander, director of campus and community engagement, said major steps were taken to prepare for the next academic year and strategize for the plan’s second phase soon after interim OU President Joseph Harroz was appointed May 15, following Gallogly’s May 12 retirement announcement. “One of the largest things we’ve done is we created a culture building and belongingness committee,” Lander said. The committee met weekly throughout the summer, Landers said, and is made up of about 10 to 12 students, faculty and staff from various campus communities including athletics, the graduate college and OU Outreach. Lander said the committee has been responsible for shaping a new campaign OU will use to encourage a diverse community and establish the university’s values. Jane Irungu, interim vice president of diversity and inclusion, said that during the summer, a major priority for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion was communicating that a plan was in place to create a more diverse campus community. The “We Are” campaign will include a number of events and advertising efforts to spread awareness of the diversity plan and its goals, Lander said. “Some of the things that we chose to look at was how to create ... a campaign that emphasizes who we are as an institution, so that if another incident happens, we’re not saying who we are not — we’re saying who we are,” Lander said. The new campaign will be launched Aug. 29, Lander said, at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s fall welcome reception. The campaign will introduce several new event series, including a “common read,” which encourages faculty, staff and students to read a book that will focus on underrepresented groups. Lander said the first book will be David Grann’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which details the murders of members of the see DIVERSITY page 3
Supporters of the American Organ Institute hold signs at the sit-in at Evans Hall on Aug. 22.
CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY
Organ enthusiasts fight against OU decision to close musical institute BAILEY LEWIS @BaileyLewis75
BLAKE DOUGLAS @Blake_Doug918
An on-campus protest, a website shutdown and the police called — allegedly about a student banner in an OU building — numerous controversies surrounding the closure of the American Organ Institute continue to develop as activists increased their organization in the first week of the semester. Two months after the university officially announced its plan to close the institute, students, faculty and staff protested the closure once more after a week of further developments. OU first officially announced its plan to close the AOI on June 17, hours after supporters of the institute first marched to Evans Hall in opposition to the closure. Now, more employees have been terminated, incoming freshman organ students were informed they would have to change their majors before moving in, and supporters were banned — and then unbanned — from the official OU Facebook page for comments in support of the AOI. According to a university fact sheet provided Aug. 21, the institute’s closure came after an “extensive evaluation of (the AOI’s) sustainability, as well as a high-level, comprehensive financial review of the entire university resulting in $50 million in savings for the financial health of the Norman campus.” Nolan Reilly, an AOI alumnus and director of music at St. Thomas More University Parish, said AOI Director John Schwandt raised around $6.6 million after the university said the institute would require an $8.5 million endowment to “keep the doors open in perpetuity.” Included in the fundraising was a $5 million donation from the Wyncote Foundation, which Reilly said the university would not accept. “Despite generous offers from supporters, there is still not a viable plan to maintain the program and avoid the same challenges in the future that it faces today,” according to the fact sheet. “After a careful review of expenses, enrollment and long-term sustainability, OU found both personnel and operational costs could not be supported long
term, despite the pledges of support.” According to the fact sheet, OU “took steps to reconsider” the AOI’s closure through meetings with “multiple concerned constituents at the dean, provost and presidential levels,” but Reilly said Schwandt and other major donors have yet to receive a meeting with OU administration. On Aug. 17, The Daily learned four of the seven remaining AOI employees were terminated, and two freshmen with concentrations in organ technology received emails explaining they would need to change their academic plans a day after moving in, despite sending emails declaring their intent to enroll in the organ technology program as early as June. An OU spokesperson said the university had looked into the emails, adding “none of the students say they’ve gotten emails on (changing their academic plans).” But university emails obtained by The Daily addressed to Noah Smith, a freshman who intended to have a concentration in organ technology, said he should meet with an academic adviser “for other secondary emphasis options.”
“This is bigger than the American Organ Institute — the way our administration is treating higher education is unacceptable.” NOLAN REILLY, AOI ALUMNUS AND DIRECTOR OF MUSIC AT ST. THOMAS MORE UNIVERSITY PARISH
On Aug. 19, many OU alumni members said they were banned from OU’s Facebook page for commenting about the closure of the AOI, the university not accepting funding and freshmen being told to change their majors. Lauren Brookey, OU’s vice president of marketing and communications, cited the university’s community guidelines in an email to The Daily, highlighting the portion that states “the university reserves the right to remove any and all content and comments at its discretion.” However, many students and alumni were unblocked after The Daily
published an article about the banning the night of Aug. 19, and they were able to comment on the Facebook page again. On Aug. 21, OU School of Music students said the OU Police Department was called during interim OU President Joseph Harroz’s state of the university speech at Catlett Music Center because of a banner in support of the American Organ Institute and students were not warned the AOI website was being shut down. The banner, which read “Save the AOI,” was hanging above Gothic Hall. Santana Spangler-Day, a performance violin junior and Student Government Association fine arts representative, attended the speech and saw police outside the concert hall afterward. Spangler-Day said students were questioned about the banner by OUPD. “The banners were already up before members of OUPD arrived to attend the meeting where interim President Harroz was speaking,” Kesha Keith, director of OU media relations, said in an email to The Daily. “If students were questioned about hanging banners, that wasn’t by police nor had nothing to do with OUPD.” OU School of Music students also found out the AOI website had been shut down on Aug. 20. They were not given notice that the website would be shut down, so staff and faculty were unable to save the information on the website, Santana-Day said. A three-hour sit-in outside of Evans Hall followed on Aug. 22. Approximately 100 students, faculty and OU community members gathered to protest the planned closure of the AOI. The demonstration began 15 minutes before the crowd arrived at Evans Hall — around 50 students attending the event walked out of the OU School of Music’s convocation at the Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall. The group made its way toward Evans Hall holding signs that read “stand up for the arts” and “save the American Organ Institute,” then passed around water bottles and pens to sign a petition to keep the AOI during the sit-in. At the rally, Reilly presented a list of three demands to OU spokespeople asking for the reinstatement of the AOI for three years under a reduced budget to allow fundraising, reinstatement see AOI page 3