W E E K LY E D I T I O N | S E P T E M B E R 1 -7, 2 0 2 0 | O U D A I LY. C O M
OUDAILY
The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916
DIVERSITY IN ACTION
TREY YOUNG/ THE DAILY
OU football head coach Lincoln Riley speaks in the Unity Garden on the South Oval during the march for unity Aug. 28.
Sooners lead unity march across campus
Harroz announces new diversity training
Lincoln Riley fosters activism, equality in football players, staff
OU aims to combat systemic inequity through education
CALEB MCCOURRY @CalebMac21
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley had center Creed Humphrey to his left, defensive back Chanse Sylvie to his right and the Sooners football team directly behind him as the group — wearing all black — marched in the South Oval Friday morning. In a demonstration of unity to speak out against police brutality, the Sooners were hand in hand as they made their way from the practice fields to the Unity Garden. As Riley spoke to media and spectators, players locked arms and stood around the fourth-year head coach as he made his remarks. “For the last several weeks including our last one yesterday after our practice, we’ve had a lot of team gatherings, discussions, opportunities for every person in our organization to express how they’re feeling,” Riley said. “Like a lot of other college football teams across the country, our organization is made up of just about every different background that you can imagine — females, males, people of all kinds of different skin colors, ethnicities, backgrounds, home life experiences — everything different. And those conversations have been tough. They’ve been raw and unfiltered, they’ve been eye-opening, very emotional, very tense. “We chose this place because it symbolizes unity. And unity is possible. And it is possible with people of different backgrounds because I’ve witnessed it, and continue to witness it with this group right here.” After Riley concluded his speech, the team took a 57-second moment of silence in honor of the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr. The Sooners chose to demonstrate late Thursday night after the team had what Riley described as
weeks of discussions about racism in America. After a police officer shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake, a Black resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Aug. 23, protests and public demonstrations spread nationwide. In the sports world, the NBA’s slate of Wednesday playoff games were postponed due to teams choosing not to play. Multiple Sooners used social media since then to speak out against police brutality. After marching back to OU’s practice facilities, Riley spoke to the media, saying this is an opportunity for him and his staff to learn from his players. “I grew up a white male,” Riley said. “I have not lived or had to experience some of the things that a lot of my players have had to. As much as you want to read about it, this or that, it’s different when it hits home and when it’s somebody that you care about. It’s absolutely been a learning experience for me. Every step of it. It’s definitely made me more aware. ... I hope it will (help) us to continue to do a better job of leading (our players).” Riley and the Sooners have been continuously vocal about racial equality, as seen when the team took to social media in late May and June after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by Minneapolis law enforcement while being arrested for a nonviolent crime. OU’s Friday march is reminiscent of the team’s march in 2015, when a Bob Stoops-led team walked out of practice wearing “Stronger Together” shirts in protest of the video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members singing a racist chant. “There’s been a lot of buildup to this,” Riley said. “The players, I commend them, our players have been a part of potential policy changes within our university, within the athletic department. We’re always pushing our players to do more and more and more of it. That doesn’t just apply for the football field, it doesn’t just apply to the classroom.”
JORDAN MILLER @jordanrmillerr
“There’s never been a better time to reflect, find common ground, and work hand in hand to create a more united OU.” -Joseph Harroz, OU President
Caleb McCourry
caleb.a.mccourry-1@ou.edu
The university has announced a new mandatory diversity training program — an initiative that was part of the Black Emergency Response Team’s demands in February. According to an email from OU President Joseph Harroz, the program will “roll out in phases to different constituencies next week,” after plans for its release were unveiled at a July Board of Regents meeting. The program will be required for all students, faculty and staff across all three OU campuses. “Just as we’ve seen across the country, at OU we’ve also been shaken by threats to our community in the form of racism and intolerance. All across America and well beyond, our reckoning with systemic injustice marches on,” Harroz said in the email. “(The program) is interactive and designed to present a meaningful learning experience, where users’ choices to various scenarios impact the outcome of the narrative.” The training course’s educational materials take participants through five learning modules that address topics of identities, power, privilege and creating a culture of respect, according to a press release. The course is self-paced, and it will be required at least once every three years, with “other education and workshop options available annually.” The training includes interactive, scenario-based videos where participants’ choices impact the outcome of a narrative. It also includes a portion that fosters active listening and conversation skills. According to a press release, the university is using a program from Everfi that presents “a common framework for all participants, but with content tailored
to the student and employee populations.” The training is also part of a broader campaign to support “OU’s core purpose as a public flagship university,” as one of the five pillars of the OU Strategic Plan “calls upon the OU community to become a place of belonging and emotional growth for all.” When Harroz was selected as interim OU president in 2019, one of his main priorities was improving diversity and inclusion at OU, as the OU community had experienced multiple racist incidents that spring and over the previous years. The diversity and inclusion mandatory program was also a part of BERT’s demands during the February sit-in, following two professors’ use of a racist slur in two weeks. “With our sights set on a future that’s full of promise and possibilities, one thing is clear: We simply cannot reach our greatest potential unless excellence in diversity, equity, and inclusion is a top priority,” Harroz said. “We are incredibly grateful to Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Belinda Higgs Hyppolite, along with her entire office and the many individuals across the University, for bringing this idea to fruition.” The announcement als o comes after Jacob Blake, a Black man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot several times in the back by police. Over the summer, OU students and community members were also involved in demonstrations across the country protesting the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others killed by police. “As we begin a new academic year under extraordinary circumstances, the events of recent months and days have put a spotlight on the importance of taking care of each other,” Harroz said. “There’s never been a better time to reflect, find common ground, and work hand in hand to create a more united OU.” Jordan Miller
jordan.r.miller-1@ou.edu
Return to campus sees COVID-19 worries University updates attendance policy, releases dashboard BLAKE DOUGLAS @Blake_Doug918
OU students and faculty were given their first look at how the university plans to address the spread of coronavirus in the community during the inaugural week of fall classes. On Aug. 21, three days before the start of the fall semester, the university announced an over-
haul of its attendance policies across all campuses — students who miss class due to coronavirus symptoms or exposure to COVID-19 are not required to provide medical documentation for the absence to be excused. The announcement came a day after OU reported its first positive COVID-19 case in on-campus housing. On Aug. 24, the first day of classes, another positive case was reported in the Pride of Oklahoma, which led to the band suspending all activities for two days. The Pride resumed rehearsals and other activities by Aug. 26,
and another band member tested positive in an unrelated case according to the Pride’s director, Brian Britt. Britt said the band quickly suspended activities after the initial case to allow for the university’s contact-tracing protocols and give time for students who were potentially exposed to receive test results. Some results were still pending when Britt spoke to The Daily Aug. 28, but he said at that point, no one who was deemed a close contact had tested positive. “Frankly, we wanted to put everyone’s minds at ease as far
as if there’s any doubt about our student safety, then we’re going to stop,” Britt said. “It’s just a different ballgame with stakes this high.” OU launched its COVID-19 dashboard Aug. 28, which will be updated daily with coronavirus statistics provided by Goddard Health Center and the Cleveland County Health Department. However, community members who choose to get tested anywhere other than Goddard will not be reflected in the Goddard data on the dashboard and will instead be grouped into the data
for Cleveland County or their provided address. Kesha Keith, director of media relations at OU, said the university is encouraging those who get tested outside of Goddard to self-report positive test results to Goddard. According to the dashboard, updated Aug. 30 to include data as recent as Aug. 28, Goddard recorded 91 positive COVID-19 cases since Aug. 10. There were 253 OU community members in self-isolation — 231 students, 15 staff and seven faculty members. see COVID page 2