07222019

J U LY 2 2 - A U G U S T 4 , 2 0 19 | B I W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M

OUDAILY

The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

KENNETH MURRAY GIVES CPR • 3

RILEY RELOADS

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

2

SPORTS

• July 22-August 4

5 Big 12 Media Day takeaways Grinch works to instill turnoverfocused mindset

quick, and moves on, then we’re probably not going to react to that,” Burks said. “If they happen to turn to the other crowd or the other bench, or it’s prolonged to a player, then it would be like any unsportsmanlike act. ... If they do it in their bench area, then we’re not going to look at it, it would be like any other celebration foul.”

VIC REYNOLDS @vicareynolds

Oklahoma participated in Big 12 Media Days on July 15 in Arlington, Texas. Coach Lincoln Riley, junior wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, redshirt sophomore center Creed Humphrey, junior linebacker Kenneth Murray and redshirt senior defensive tackle Neville Gallimore represented the team.

The five representatives addressed a wide variety of topics throughout the course of the day.

Riley to maintain offense In his two-year tenure as head coach in Norman, Riley has coached some of the nation’s best offenses. In his first season in 2017, the Sooners posted the third most points per game in the country with 45.1 and led the nation with 48.4 in 2018. Not to mention that he’s had Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray — two Heisman Trophy winners who were also No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft.

Because Murray, first team All American wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and four offensive linemen were selected in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft, some have said the Sooners’ offense will decline in 2019.

Not Riley.

When a reporter asked Riley if his defense could improve drastically enough to make up for a dip in offensive

The Big 12 Championship Trophy displayed at Big 12 Media Days July 15.

production, Riley argued against the premise that his offense would decline.

“We don’t plan on the offense dipping. We definitely expect our defense to be better. I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Riley said. “That’s why we’ve recruited as hard as we have. That’s why we’ve made some of the changes on

the coaching staff that we’ve made. We feel like there’s going to be positive results behind that.”

Horns down still frowned upon

The Red River Rivalry game is among college football’s most anticipated

matchups every season, and with Oklahoma and Texas ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason Big 12 media polls, 2019 looks to be no different.

But one aspect of the game that may upset Sooner fans is the Big 12’s stance on the horns down gesture. Prior to 2018’s Big 12 Championship game, the conference said

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

that the gesture would earn a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On July 16, Big 12 Coordinator of Officials Greg Burks was asked if officials would still penalize the celebration.

“If someone scores real quickly and turns to their cheering section, it’s real

How the Grinch steals pigskin After reaching the College Football Playoff for two seasons in a row and going 0-2 while giving up 49.5 points per game, Oklahoma is in for a change with new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

Since his hire, Grinch has preached that his defense focuses on playing with maximum speed and forcing as many turnovers as possible.

The changes that Grinch has been implementing seem to focus on a mindset shift, and his players seem to buy into the change.

“Just adding that extra sauce, that mentality just to every down play like it’s your last, sell out,” Gallimore said.

“It’s a defense that’ll make you or break you. It’s an effort-based defense. It shows when you’re flying around the ball.”

Murray loss may not Hurts Quarterback Jalen Hurts wasn’t in attendance in Arlington, but his presence was felt. The Alabama transfer came to Norman in January, and he has big shoes to fill after OU’s last two

see BIG 12 MEDIA DAY page 3

SPORTS

July 22-August 4 •

3

Murray performs CPR on woman Youth counselor skills handy for OU linebacker CALEB MCCOURRY @CalebMac21

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kenneth Murray had to hit the brakes when he and his girlfriend, Val Garcia, were on their way home from church July 7 in Norman.

A car swerved in front of the Oklahoma linebacker’s car and stopped. The driver ran out to help a woman who was on the ground and unconscious, and another woman who was standing over her. The woman on the ground was bleeding from her head and the other was making frantic noises, unable to pronounce any words.

When he hopped out of his car, Murray realized they were both deaf — he started to perform CPR. “Sh e l o o k e d l i k e s h e was dead to be honest,” Murray told The Daily at Big 12 Media Days on July

BIG 12 MEDIA DAY: continued from page 2

quarterbacks.

While Riley hasn’t officially named Hurts as the starter for next season, Hurts is still widely expected to be under center for the Sooners’ first game

15. “Immediately going through my head was to start CPR. I had my girlfriend call 911.”

Murray performed CPR for minutes while Garcia stood close by on the curb and called the paramedics.

The woman looking after the woman on the ground was frantic and panicking, but Murray persisted.

He knew he had to keep going until an ambulance arrived. For a minute, she was unresponsive. Then suddenly, she was awake.

“We got her back, got her breathing,” Murray said.

“We got her to the point where she was blinking a little bit.”

After the paramedics show e d up, Mur ray let them take over. He had to move his car out of the road, and he didn’t want to be the center of attention.

Murray never found out the woman’s name. She was taken to a hospital, fully conscious.

Murray isn’t new to performing CPR. He learned h ow t o d o i t b e f o re h e c a m e t o O U, w h e n h e

was around 12 or 13 years old, recalls Murray’s dad, Kenneth Murray Sr., who is a preacher. Murray worked summers as a counselor at the R.E.A.C.H. Program (Restoring Educating Adults and Children with Hope) in Texas, where he learned CPR in a class.

But this was the first time he’s ever had to use it in a real life situation.

“I was trained in it before,” Murray said. “It came in handy seeing that lady on the ground.”

Murray Sr. didn’t know what his son did until almost two weeks after it happened.

“I’m wondering why he didn’t tell me,” Murray Sr. told The Daily. “That’s kind of the way he is. He just does things and keeps moving. He’s not a big credit person. He’s not looking for any glory or anything of that nature.”

against Houston on Sept.

1. Hurts’ winning pedigree at Alabama has helped him earn the respect of his new teammates in Norman.

“Considering the guy is 26-2 (as a starter) and won a (national championship), yeah, that ’s something most of us have never experienced,” Lamb said. “I feel like if he has something to say, we’re all going to buy in. He’s been where we’re trying to go.

He’s seen how much work

it takes to get there.”

Lamb’s compliments of Hurts’ character and leadership come as no surprise, as Hurts is widely lauded for those very traits. But Lamb also praised Hurts’ ability to throw the football.

“He has everything you can look for in a quarterback,” Lamb said. “(He has the) measurables, the guy’s pretty big, as you can tell. He’s a great athlete, he can run, jump, throw. I just

Caleb McCourry

Caleb.A.McCourry-1@ ou.edu

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

Junior linebacker Kenneth Murray speaks with a reporter during the Big 12 Media Days July 15.

can’t wait until y’all get to see what he can do.”

OL returner ready to lead In 2018 Oklahoma received the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the nation’s best offensive line. Four of the five starters — Cody Ford, Ben Powers, Bobby Evans and Dru Samia — were experienced players who had started for at least three years. The other

was then-redshirt freshman Creed Humphrey.

Now with the other four gone to the NFL, Humphrey is the lone returner looking to continue the elite level of offensive line play that Sooner fans are accustomed to seeing the past several years.

There are still questions as to who the other four starters will be, but the Shawnee, Oklahoma native feels that he is prepared to take on a leadership role

with the rest of his fresh teammates on the line.

“Whenever I found out everybody was leaving, I was like, ‘Okay, that’s fine,’” Humphrey said. “It’s just gonna be a new challenge for me, it’s gonna be fun. I enjoy doing things like this, I enjoy being the leader.”

Vic Reynolds

victor.reynolds@ou.edu

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• July 22-August 4

July 22-August 4 •

Renzi Stone: ‘How could I make a difference in Oklahoma?’

Stone’s path from OU basketball star to regent JORDAN MILLER @jordanrmillerr

It’s 2003, and Renzi Stone is sitting in his living room, unsure of what to do next with his life. He has a piece of paper in his hand, and on it he writes down a list of things he thinks he’s good at.

Sixteen years later, Stone is the founder and CEO of Saxum, the strategic communications company that came out of that piece of paper. Stone is also in his fourth year of a seven-year term on the OU Board of Regents.

Standing at 6’10” according to his SoonerSports.com player biography, Stone first came to Norman in 1996 as a basketball player who chose OU over many other schools that had offered him fullride scholarships.

He chose OU because of the connection he felt with then-coach Kelvin Sampson and the plans former OU President David Boren had for the university, since Boren had begun to serve as president in 1994.

Stone had been trying to decide between Arizona, Purdue and OU, Sampson said, but he felt like he was not ready to go out of state quite yet.

“I was absolutely focused on ‘How could I make a difference in Oklahoma?’ both as a student-athlete as well as maybe after college,” Stone said. “I think I knew

Former OU basketball player Renzi Stone pictured in the Nov. 5, 1999 edition of The OU Daily archives.

then I wanted to live here.”

A native Oklahoman, Stone grew up in Tulsa and attended Jenks High School.

He comes from a family of athletes — his mother was a former swimmer at Duke University, and his father

was a former Tulane football player who owned a basketball team in Tulsa.

Sampson said the Stone family reminded him of the Kennedys when he went to meet them on a home visit, and he could tell Stone was

a leader the first time he saw him.

“When I left the home visit, one of my assistant coaches Jason Rabedeaux was with me, and I said, ‘Rab, that kid’s going to be a captain for us one day.’ And

PAUL DRYDEN/THE DAILY

that came true,” Sampson said.

Stone was a forward and center for the Sooners, and he played for Sampson from 1996 to 1999. Sampson said a memory he’ll have forever of Stone’s leadership

is of the 1999 NCAA tournament, when the Sooners beat UNC-Charlotte to go on to the Sweet 16.

“I get back to the locker room and Renzi’s got two cans of Pepsi opened up in his hands, and he started dousing me on my head with Pepsi and everybody was just dancing and jumping around — it was just joy,” Sampson said. “That was our first NCAA tournament win, and without Renzi that doesn’t happen.”

Although Stone was a history major, he said basketball was the best and hardest class he ever took at OU. “It taught me how to get along with others. It taught me how to sacrifice my personal goals for the goals of the team. It taught me how to dig deeper than what I thought I could do,” Stone said. “It was very difficult and very rewarding.”

O U At h l e t i c D i re c t o r Joe Castiglione was hired in 1998, so he has known Stone since his basketball days. He said he remembers Stone had “a lot of personality” when playing for the Sooners, slapping the floor when the team needed a burst of intensity.

“He was a team leader — very engaging — he’s one I got to know well then, and we stayed in touch ever since,” Castiglione wrote in an email. “I always thought his leadership skills would take him as far as he wanted to go. Actually, I could see him running for public office. He sees the world for what it can be, not just what it is.”

After college, Stone worked in marketing for

Learfield Communications in OU’s athletic department, and then he went on to do color commentating for ESPN from 2001 to 2003.

Then, Stone started Saxum with a list of his skills on a piece of paper.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do after I graduated from college,” Stone said.

“History was my favorite subject, and I thought that majoring in history was a good idea because I liked it.

If you are passionate about something, that’s a pretty good indication of what you should do.”

The business that started from that piece of paper has been an INC. 5000 Honoree for fastest-growing privately held companies in America every year since 2011, and it now has offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Houston, according to its website.

“I had some skills that translated well, many of which I learned at OU,” Stone said. “I learned how to write, I learned how to communicate in front of an audience. I learned how to relate to others with teamwork.”

Stone was appointed to serve as a regent in 2015 by former Gov. Mary Fallin.

He said Fallin called him one day and asked if he’d be interested in serving on the Board of Regents, and they discussed some of his thoughts on higher education and some of the challenges faced by the university.

After Fallin appointed him, Stone said the first thing he did was call up former regent Rick Dunning, whose term as a regent had concluded in March 2014.

OU regent Renzi Stone poses for a photo March 5.

At minimum, the volunteer position as a regent should require eight meetings a year for seven years, and with each meeting taking one or two days, the total time commitment would be between 56 and 112 days,

Stone said. But Dunning told a different story — one which has rung true for Stone. “(Dunning) said, ‘Well, I probably spent 50 percent of all my time on OU Board of Regents.’ And I said, ‘Huh?’”

Stone said.

Stone wrote in an email his term as a regent has been busy since he’s been appointed, and that although there are some weeks that his duties have taken only a few hours, his work with the

5

interviewing candidates and preparing to announce a new president — you could imagine that that might have taken up a lot of time,” Stone said. “And it did.”

Stone said balancing his workload as a regent with his other responsibilities is often difficult. “ It m e a n s I’ m o n t h e phone at 8 o’clock at night with my wife and kids asking me, ‘Who’s on the call with you?’ It means, you know, stepping out of a meeting at work to address something,” Stone said. “It’s a constant balance.”

Stone said the highlights of his career as a regent have been the times he’s had the chance to talk to students, like when he got to speak to OU Legal Counsel Anil Gollahalli’s law school class in early February.

“Any time I’m in front of students and we’re talking about student issues, I’ve loved that part of (being a regent),” Stone said.

In the midst of a presidential transition, multiple instances of racism involving the university, rounds of layoffs and the investigation of former OU president Boren for sexual misconduct, Stone said in an email that it’s been a “challenging 18 months” but it’s hard to pinpoint what KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY the most challenging time has been for him as a regent.

“It feels like we are close to calmer times,” Stone said. “I presidential search in March truly believe the best days for 2018 often took up 100 perOU are ahead of us and I’m cent of his time. more optimistic today than “The process of putting I’ve been in years.” together a selection committee, and hiring a selection firm, and receiving upJordan Miller dates on candidates, and Jordan.R.Miller-1@ou.edu

HOROSCOPE

Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg July 22, 2019

Previous Solution

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.

my friend’s got mental illness

ACROSS 1 Bistros 6 Sleeveless undergarment, for short 10 Crow (about) 14 Looped in 15 2010 statute that expanded Medicaid, familiarly 17 Do a queen’s job 18 *Greyhound purchase (see letters 3-7) 19 “Get a ___, you two!�

21 Pioneering internet provider 22 ESL component: Abbr.

23 Energy 25 What a defect might prompt 28 Regarding 29 *Unparalleled company in a field (letters 4-7) 32 Home of the world’s five tallest buildings 33 Organ with a canal 34 Major success 37 Banished to sleep on a couch, say ... or where to find the starred answers’ hidden items

41 Dying words from Caesar 42 Prefix for “metric� or “logical�

43 Location 45 *Envelopeslitting tool (letters 6-9) 49 Church part that sounds high-tech 52 “Elementary, my dear Watson� speaker of film 53 M.A. hopeful’s test 54 By way of 55 Marry 56 Football field unit 58 *Remnant of a diverted river (letters 3-6) 62 Drain by percolation 65 Rural drinking supply, often 66 Time’s Up movement kin 67 Glide on snow 68 “What Not to ___�

69 Glide on ice DOWN 1 Component of a jam 2 “WOW!� sensation 3 “Granted�

4 Thus 5 Madame, in Spain 6 Kernel holder 7 ___ Dhabi 8 Indian spice mixture

9 “Rumor has it ...�

10 Secretly include on an email 11 Doesn’t just leave leaves 12 “Well, ___ you special?�

13 Beginning, informally 16 Not feel so hot 20 Brawl 23 Masters org.

24 Dairy spokescow 26 Clothed (in) 27 Extremely lightweight material 28 Stir to action 30 Clash 31 Environmental prefix 35 Downloading apps while not on Wi-Fi, say 36 Alliterative Pan or Parker

PREVIOUS PREVIOUSPUZZLE PUZZLEANSWER ANSWER

7/21 7/8

Š 2019 Andrews McMeel Universal Š 2019 Andrews McMeel Universal www.upuzzles.com www.upuzzles.com

Pet Store by Evan Kalish

7/22

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.

38 Midnight blue, e.g.

39 Handwasher’s target 40 Balderdash 44 Before, poetically 46 No one is above it, they say 47 As of now 48 Biblical book of poems 49 Swears 50 Dot on a screen 51 Mink relative 55 URL letters 57 Smell awful 59 Like buffalo nickels 60 Mauna ___ (Big Island peak) 61 Call Richard “Robert,� say 63 Impermanent bed 64 Weeding tool

By Eugenia Last

Copyright 2015, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

MONDAY, JULY 22, 2019 ASTROGRAPH by Eugenia Last Make your mark this year by using your imagination and coming up with plans that will differentiate you from others. Concentrate on exploring the best way to make personal gains that bring you peace of mind, spiritual enlightenment and increased comfort. Love and romance should be priorities.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- A journey will lead to personal growth and a better understanding of the people around you. Whether it’s through observation, collaboration or communication, you will learn much that is valuable.

headway. Don’t get discouraged or let someone tempt you to take a shortcut that isn’t in your best interest. Trust in yourself and your capabilities.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -Alter your life for the right reasons, not because of an emotional setback that someone inflicts on you. Keep your personal matters to yourself and avoid interference.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Make changes that suit you, not the ones that are being inflicted on you by someone else. Consider the possible consequences of your actions.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Open up about your feelings. Ask questions and find out where you stand before making a move that may be unnecessary. Information is power; exercise your rights.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- You have a clear shot at success. Don’t let someone intervene and take advantage of you. Set your sights on your target and use your intelligence and charm to get what you want.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You’ll get more done if you join forces with someone who shares your concerns and wants to make a difference. Stick to your plan and don’t stop until you are finished.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Look past the obvious and into the future with optimism. You may not be able to get everything you want initially, but once you begin, new options will open up.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Observe from a distance, where you will get a clear picture of what needs to be done. If you get too involved in the nitty-gritty, you will lose sight of your objective.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Don’t waste time convincing others to get involved in something you want to pursue. Put your energy where it counts in order to reach your potential.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Don’t let anger or revenge consume you when you hold the key to your own happiness. Do what’s best for yourself and let your success be your answer to rivals.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -Emotions will take charge, causing confusion and stress if you let an indulgent person manipulate you. If something doesn’t feel right, know enough to walk away.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Little by little you will make

The OU Daily is a public forum, the University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice and an entirely student-run publication.

Scott Kirker Blake Douglas Caleb McCourry

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VOL.104, NO. 29 Copyright 2019 OU Publications Board FREE -- Additional copies 25 cents

NEWS

July 22-August 4 •

7

OU Development to see change

OU Foundation will ‘guide’ in 12-month consult

SCOTT KIRKER

@scott_kirker

The OU Foundation will guide the Office of University Development through organizational change in a 12-month consulting relationship.

Interim OU President Joseph Harroz announced the change in a July 9 letter.

Harroz wrote that the foundation will guide the office “to set us on a path of excellence.”

Harroz wrote that OU needs to improve in development to meet the university’s needs.

“It is clear our university needs to accomplish important, fundamental changes in our alumni and fundraising operations — changes in organization, structure and processes,” Harroz wrote. “These changes are necessary for us to achieve our ambitious goals. The changes require expertise and must be done quickly.”

Harroz wrote that the OU Foundation and its president, Guy Patton, have the “expertise and experience with OU

and our alumni” to lead the university in the transition.

Jill Hughes, who has served as interim vice president for university development since July 2, 2018, will continue to serve in a senior leadership position in development.

Preliminary reports show total gifts and pledges for fiscal year 2019 were more than $154 million, Harroz wrote, which was 1.4 percent behind fiscal year 2018 gifts and pledges. “(Hughes) has demonstrated expertise and passion as a development leader,” Harroz wrote, “and the university was fortunate to be

able to turn to her at a time when her skills were required to sustain our development functions.”

Harroz wrote that the change to the development office will provide the structure for the university to succeed in fundraising and alumni development in the future.

“Our university must be fully prepared with a framework to provide sufficient resources to ensure our mission is fulfilled — ­ to educate the next generation of leaders, create knowledge, and serve society,” Harroz wrote.

Announcement of the

change came after the university was stripped of its U.S. News & World Report ranking for misreported alumni giving data, which occurred under the Boren administration beginning in 1999.

U.S. News & World Report sent a letter to OU on July 9 requiring that Harroz and Leslie Rainbolt-Forbes, chair of the OU Board of Regents, sign and submit a letter guaranteeing the accuracy of data OU submits for the next three years.

U.S. News & World Report required OU to submit the letter by July 20. In a statement, Harroz said the university

would comply.

“We will follow the request for certification of future data by our Board of Regents and believe it represents a best practice that all universities should consider when reporting institutional data,” Harroz said. “Our university has established expectations and protocols in order to ensure integrity in reporting, and we appreciate the opportunity U.S. News & World Report has provided for future reports.”

Scott Kirker stk@ou.edu

Fred Jones to reinstall permanent collection Art museum will reorganize items, update appearance NANCY SPEARS @ThisIsNancyS

The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is currently undergoing a complete reinstallation of its permanent collection.

According to an Instagram post from the museum, the Adkins and Sandor galleries both closed July 8 and will reopen Oct. 3. Kaylee Kain, director of communications at the museum, said all galleries on the first floor except the Weitzenhoffer French Impressionism Collection will close Aug. 1.

By the beginning of August, Kain said, the only exhibits still available for public viewing will be The Weitzenhoffer French Impressionism

Collection, the Sandy Bell gallery and the rotating exhibition “Between the Isms.”

“The museum hasn’t undergone a reinstallation in over ten years, so this is a major undertaking,” Kain said. “We are not necessarily just rotating art and exchanging them for things that are on display, we’re also looking into in-gallery cosmetic updates, such as wayfinding and updating some of the color schemes. I don’t want to give too much away because I think it will be a really great opening for everyone to see in October.”

Kain said the museum is reinstalling its entire permanent collection, which consists of about 20,000 objects.

Items in the permanent collection make up most of the galleries and exhibitions visitors see, Kain said. The rotating works belong to the

museum and the university, and will remain at the museum.

Kain said the reinstallation will incorporate a geographic emphasis on features such as where the artifacts originated, their purpose and their time of use.

Kain said this type of layout will highlight the diversity of the artworks in the museum.

“I think people tend to forget or aren’t aware of just how extensive and diverse our permanent collection is,” Kain said. “It started back in the ’30s and ’40s with the addition of the Asian and Oceanic Art Collection. So we really want to bring that to the forefront, just how diverse the permanent collection is.”

Nancy Spears

Nancy.M.Spears-1@ou.edu

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art exterior July 21.

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

8

NEWS

• July 22-August 4

US veterans prepare for college Warrior-Scholar Project helps aspiring students BEAU ANDERSON @YouKnowBeau

Fifteen veterans began their transition to a college environment in an orientation at OU on July 13, thanks to a national nonprofit project.

T h e Wa r r i o r-S c h o l a r Project (WSP), a project designed to help veterans transition from the military to college, has returned to OU. “Basically, it’s a transition program coupled with a colle g e prep cours e,” said Eric Winenger, WSP designated central staff member. “It’s trying to pull the skills out of their military experience and adapt them to college and get them exposed to a college atmosphere.”

While participating in a two-week class to learn about the process of earning a college degree, veterans have been instructed

by OU professors and residing in Adams Tower, all at no cost.

“We are incredibly proud and excited to host another Warrior-Scholar Project academic boot camp at the University of Oklahoma in 2019,” WSP CEO and former United States Marine Corps officer Maura Sullivan wrote in a press release. “The program at the University of Oklahoma e ngag e s ve te ra n s at a n all-too-critical transition point, addresses veterans’

misperceptions about college and builds their confidence through an intense academic reorientation.”

According to the WSP website, the program offers courses in humanities, STEM, and markets and business ventures.

The veterans participating in the program at OU are taking humanities and ST E M d u r i ng t h e i r t w o weeks on campus. In the first week, they are focusing on democracy.

“Democracy is kind of t h e f o cu s, l o o ki ng at i t from a historical lens of how it grew to what it is today,” said Winenger. “It’s a really closely relatable topic for a lot of us because when we signed on a piece of paper saying we’d serve our country, it was theoretically to serve this democracy. It’s something that no matter what level of schooling they come into the program with, they can at least have thoughts and opinions of their own and then back it with academic text.”

According to the release, 18 of America’s top universities host the project.

In addition to OU, WSP graduates have enrolled at prestigious institutions including Yale, Georgetown, Cornell, Harvard, P r i n c e t o n , Da r t m ou t h, Columbia and Stanford.

Joshua Wyatt, a veteran participating in the OU program, has already been accepted to the University of Maryland, and had his orientation the Friday before the WSP course began.

“I’m a little ner vous,” sa i d W yatt. “ I’ve n e ve r

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

Eric Winenger, the designated central staff member for the Warrior-Scholar Project at OU, speaks with a reporter July 18.

taken classes at a huge institution, I don’t know anything about that … so this program is a really nice introduction to what classes will end up being like.”

Wyatt said he joined the program for similar reasons to why he joined the military out of high school.

“It kind of leads into the same reason that I joined the military — I was not a great student in high s c h o o l ,” W yatt s a i d . “ I

graduated with like a 2.3 (GPA).”

Wyatt said his performance made the military a promising path forward.

“I viewed the military as a way to finance my way through school,” Wyatt said, “because clearly I wasn’t going to get any merit-based scholarships.”

Th e Wa r r i o r-S c h o l a r Project would give him a chance to prove he can handle collegiate course work, Wyatt said.

“Coming out of the militar y I started applying to schools, started looking at places, and I found that … my military service wouldn’t help me stand out as a freshman student,” Wyatt said. “Schools are still concerned with my 2.3 GPA, and they wanted to see that I could do collegiate level work.”

Wyatt said the WSP has helped him translate some of the skills he learned during his service into an

academic environment.

“One of the first lessons was analytical reading, I’m used to reading orders … in like a traditional five-paragraph standard format, you read them and you pick out the important pieces of information as they apply to you,” Wyatt said. “It’s just different to show you how you can do that with scholarly texts and show you how to write a response.

Analytical reading is a cool thing that I thought I possessed, and kind of refined it in terms of scholarly orientation here.”

T h i s i s t h e p r o j e c t ’s fourth year at OU, according to the release, and its seventh year since WSP launched its first program at Yale in 2012.

OU was one of the very first universities to implement the project, starting in 2015. The project at OU will end July 27, according to the release. WSP is ser ving 275 veterans at boot camps across the nation during the summer of 2019.

“Our veterans bravely serve and OU is committed to providing resources that give them every chance of success to achieve their higher education goals.

Th e Wa r r i o r-S ch o la r Project makes it possible for us to fulfill that promise,” interim OU President Joseph Harroz wrote in the release.

Beau Anderson

Alec.B.Anderson-1@ou.edu