March 8-21, 2022

W E E K LY E D I T I O N | M A R C H 8 -14 , 2 0 2 2 | O U D A I LY. C O M

OU assistant coaches make 1st media appearance · pg 4

OUDAILY

The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

‘Taken for granted’ Graduate teaching assistants troubled by lack of appreciation, proper funding KALY PHAN

kaly.n.phan-1@ou.edu

Members of OU Dance Marathon’s executive team revealing the total amount raised for the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital.

JONATHAN KYNCL/THE DAILY

OU Dance Marathon moves for ‘better tomorrow’ Annual fundraiser generates over $700k with in-person return TAYLOR JONES

taylor.p.jones-1@ou.edu

The Campus Activities Council’s OU Dance Marathon raised $735,214.22 for Oklahoma Children’s Hospital following its 12hour dance event in Sarkeys Fitness Center.

Last year, OUDM held a two-day dance event on the South Oval due to COVID-19. OUDM Executive Chair Jaden Smicklas said this year’s event showed how important it was

for the OU community to come together no matter what adversity it faces.

“Whenever people stopped donating to us because other things were going on, we tried to keep in mind that these kids are still sick, no matter what virus is going on or the pandemic,” Smicklas said. “They still need help no matter what’s going on in the rest of the world. So kids can’t wait, and we need their help.”

L a s t y e a r, O U D M r a i s e d $775,268.21 for children who currently or have been treated for pediatric illnesses, or “miracle kids,” and their families. One of the miracle family mothers, Carrie Stowell, said for her daughters, Vivian and

Veronica, this event is not only about the money raised but the community of OU students and other children who participate.

“For us, it’s so much more than the money that they’re raising,” Stowell said. “It’s the relationships that they’ve built with our family and the other miracle families that carry on throughout the years. And just the influence that (OU students) have on our kids is so positive, and it just gives me hope that they will one day grow up and be just like them and want to pour into something much bigger than themselves.”

CAC Executive Chair Kobe Chen said he is extremely proud of the OUDM executive team for its hard

work, which will ensure kids have a “better tomorrow.”

Smicklas said she is also thankful for the hard work of the OUDM executive team and the vice chairs.

This year showed her what OUDM means to the miracle kids, as many of them said they want to be a chair of OUDM when they grow up.

“They truly do look up to every single college student here,” Smicklas said. “Every collection that comes to the gym, they call them their best buddies. … I think it’s really important that they’re seeing that leadership in our generation so that they can also grow up and be leaders in their generation as well.”

Graduate teaching assistants across departments said they feel university culture fosters an environment where their time and energy used instructing other students and attending their own classes is left unappreciated.

Alex Crayon, a master’s student studying English, rhetoric and writing studies with a concentration in creative writing, is in his fourth semester as a graduate teaching assistant in the English department. Crayon taught two sections of English 1113 during the fall 2021 semester and is teaching English 1213 this semester.

He said his students have had trouble adjusting to a return to in-person learning and the level of effort expected because their last time in a standard classroom setting was during their junior year of high school.

This lack of engagement resulted in Crayon feeling overworked and frustrated constantly. As pandemic fatigue decreases the concerted efforts of students in their work, Crayon said he finds himself in more meetings to help them revise their work.

The English Department pays its GTAs under the assumption that they work 20 hours per week, Crayon said, which almost everyone he knows typically doubles.

He said he knows the department would pay him more or give him a raise if it could, but it lacks the funding.

Crayon said he sometimes spends up to 40 hours working per week, between grading, teaching, office hours and conferences.

He said although he is paid enough to maintain his current lifestyle, he doesn’t believe he receives enough for his work.

Crayon said he lives off campus with some friends from his see GRAD TAS page 2

Ward 5 residents oppose turnpike proposal ACCESS Oklahoma project sparks housing, environmental concerns PEGGY DODD

peggy.f.lail-1@ou.edu

Several hundred residents of Norman and surrounding towns expressed fears of losing their homes and the potential impacts on Norman’s wildlife due to a proposed turnpike that would be constructed through the center of Ward 5 at a town hall Thursday evening.

The turnpike, named ACCESS Oklahoma, is a $15 million project that aims to provide alternative options to drivers. The South Expansion Turnpike and the EastWest Connector projects would most affect Norman, according to the ACCESS website.

The town hall, hosted by Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello, included representatives of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority from Poe & Associates, Inc., David Streb, Craig Moody and Sean Kavanagh.

Moody said as of the ninth day of the project being in the public eye, his team had already received over 600 messages from concerned residents.

A representative directly from OTA was originally scheduled

to attend this town hall but informed Tortorello that they could not make the town hall, citing prior commitments.

Streb defended the project, saying it was needed to ease travel from Interstate 35, citing his hour-and-ahalf trip to Norman from Oklahoma City using the interstate. He stated that the new turnpike would relieve 25-35 minutes off commuter travel, which prompted outrage from the crowd.

“Is my property, my home, really worth 30 minutes of your time?” one man yelled.

The building holds 400 people and has an overflow room, yet many more were left standing. There was a line of people waiting outside CrossPointe Church, and traffic was backed up on 24th Avenue due to the event. The town hall was also livestreamed on Tortorello’s office Facebook page, with over 1,300 comments.

Streb said OTA was on day nine of a 15-year project and that resident participation will be encouraged during the process.

Tortorello asked the team of representatives what environmental studies they had performed concerning any possible impact to Norman’s watershed and Lake Thunderbird.

“Councilmember, I can tell you

PEGGY DODD/THE DAILY

Residents of Norman and surrounding towns raised their hands to ask questions about the proposed ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike.

we have not done that yet,” Streb replied, met with boos from the crowd. “We have not begun putting anyone in the field, whether it’s biologists or cultural research people to do those on the ground studies, and that is what we’re going to be doing over the next year.”

Moody added that OTA will be hosting its own town halls not only in Norman, but also statewide,

including a meeting in Noble in the near future. He also said that members of his team would be contacting affected individuals as the project progresses.

Public questioning opened with Linda Berry, who designed and built her home 30 years ago in the Cinnamon Run neighborhood, which lies in the direct path of the turnpike. She asked what criteria was used by OTA to steer the

project away from heavily populated neighborhoods.

Streb said that OTA “did everything they can” to miss as many rooftops as possible, but other things, like sharp curves and possible bridge construction, were taken into account.

“There’s things besides the homes but the Turnpike Authority see TURNPIKE page 2

NEWS

• March 8-14, 2022

GRAD TAS: continued from page 1

undergraduate years, and gets paid more than the approximate $450 he spends on rent and utilities with a stipend of about $1,500 per month.

However, Crayon said he knows people who live by themselves and the stipend — which drops to about $1,300 after taxes — isn’t enough to sustain them.

“We’re not necessarily exploited — I don’t want to use that word because I don’t really feel exploited — but I feel a little taken advantage of,” Crayon said. “I think there is … a university culture-wide thing that is okay with not really respecting our time and using our time as something that is taken for granted.”

The minimum salary of a graduate research and teaching assistant is $13,380 annually as of August 2019, according to the OU Graduate College website.

Comparatively, Iowa State University pays its teaching assistants with a minimum stipend of $14,325 for the 2022-2023 academic year. The University of Texas at Austin pays a range from $23,436$57,192 for graduate assistants and $25,368-$79,032 for research assistants in the 2020-2021 academic year.

In perspective, during the fall 2021 semester, the OU Norman campus had a total enrollment of 28,052 students, ISU had 30,708 students and UT had 51,991 students.

Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate College Sherri Irvin wrote in an email to The Daily that OU recognizes its GTA net stipends — the stipend they receive minus the fees they are required to pay — are below those of its peer institutions.

The university has made closing this gap a priority and has been working for several years to close this gap, Irvin wrote. The first strategy is to increase the net stipend by continuing to reduce fees, which have already gone

down $2,000 per year per 18 credit hours since 2018.

“We still need to reduce fees by a further $2,000 per year to get them down to the average level in public universities that belong to the American Association of Universities,” Irvin wrote.

“OU has earmarked funds for this, and a proposal to reduce fees further in the coming academic year will go before the University of Oklahoma Regents later this term.”

Irvin wrote that OU has been working on strategies to increase GTA and GRA stipends directly through Pillar 2, Strategy 8, Tactic 3 of the Lead On, University Strategic Plan. Its ability to do so at one time is limited by how multiple major university priorities have to be addressed in using the same pool of funds.

Second-year master’s student Elizabeth Young, a graduate teaching assistant in the history department, said she also sees a lack of engagement from her discussion students.

She said a lack of intimacy in classrooms is part of the problem.

Masks create anonymity, she said, preventing her from fostering relationships with some of her students.

“Maybe some students think ‘Oh, well, they don’t know my face, they don’t know what I look like, so I can skip class with no repercussions,’” Young said. “Maybe some think, ‘Because there’s no intimateness to this, I’m rather unmotivated,’ or ‘I feel really uncomfortable in this giant lecture hall.’”

As a beginning graduate student last academic year, Young recalls feeling similarly, as she said faculty members were “intimidating and untouchable” during the pandemic. The comfort of seeing the same faces everyday wasn’t there. “(I’d walk past people and), even though I never knew that person, never met that person, never talked to that person, I remembered their face,” Young said. “That intimacy really benefits the college experience, that makes it

Map of proposed ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike route.

TURNPIKE: continued from page 1

is extremely sensitive to that and they’ve instructed us on all the alignments on this program to do the best we can to avoid expense,” Streb said.

Many residents spoke about their fears of losing their homes. When asked how many homes were to be impacted by the turnpike plan, Streb said he was unsure of the number.

“I bought my house to die in,” said Roberta Provost, a Ward 5 resident. “ You couldn’t offer me enough money to buy my house.”

Warren Kiper, a Ward 5 resident of 18 years, said he didn’t have time to relocate and had already built an environment for his grandkids to grow up in. His property lies within 1,000 feet of the potential route.

“We’re building memories. It’s more than just a place to spend the night,” Kiper said. “I bought this place expecting to give (it) to my kids and my grandkids.”

One resident asked the representatives what they would do if their house was at risk and how the residents should go about stopping that, adding that she did not attend the town hall to hear “what OTA will do for her.”

Moody answered that they did not come tonight to

“tell them how to stop” the construction of the turnpike, but instead to come with the goal to communicate to residents how the turnpike will affect them and work with them.

Ray Moody, a natural resource biologist, told the representative that he was shocked that the team had developed a path for the turnpike without taking an environment study first. He brought up concerns about several endangered species of birds and reptiles.

Inger Giuffrida, executive director of the Wildcare Foundation in Noble, asked the representatives if they could guarantee OTA does not purchase any property for the construction of the turnpike until environmental studies are conducted.

“The proposed route also creates a basic disaster for wildlife completely, whether it’s an endangered species or not,” Giuffrida said. “One way you can help establish trust is to guarantee that no one is bought out until those environmental studies are done.”

Streb told Giuffrida that he could not guarantee that could happen and deferred the question to OTA. A Ward 5 resident asked Mo o d y t o c o n f i r m t hat the turnpike would not affect any cemeter ies, as Blackburn Cemetery currently lays in the proposed path. Porter said that she had called Poe & Associates

more fun and makes it more unique, because I think the pandemic has almost treated college like a 9-to-5 regimented job, and that there’s no fun to it.”

“

“Sometimes, (with) what I see at that monthly pay on the last business day of the month, I could be happier.”

Young said she found there were discrepancies within

There is … a university culture-wide thing that is okay with ... using our time as something that is taken for granted.

“

2

-Alex Crayon, graduate teaching assistant

She describes herself as a future planner, but the lack of certainty and constant plan changing on behalf of OU halted her plans. For example, she said she didn’t pay her apartment lease until a few months after her acceptance because she thought all classes would be online.

Young is originally from Charleston, West Virginia, and pays for out-of-state tuition alongside other necessities. Although she was thankful for the financial aid package OU gave her, she said it isn’t enough. Young lives alone and her stipend does not sustain her lifestyle.

“Between rent, bills, groceries, gas, just everything, I was still losing money every month because I wasn’t getting paid enough,” Young said.

“If I would have had a roommate, it would have been better and easier, but then again, I’m in my early 20s (and) I’m not going to — at the age of 23 — blindly move in with anybody.”

Young said she worked as a graduate research assistant her first year and is being paid about the same amount as a teaching assistant. She said she wants to be a teaching-oriented professor over focusing on research and, for the amount of work she does as a GTA, feels like the pay shouldn’t be equal.

“I’m putting my heart and soul into (being a teaching assistant),” Young said.

PHOTO PROVIDED

prior to the meeting, and they had promised her that the cemetery would not move.

Mo o d y a f f i r m e d t h a t OTA would “not touch” the cemetery, even though the current line runs directly through Blackburn. He said that the maps will be modified following environmental tests and surveyors, and the lines drawn today will likely not be the final plan.

House District 46 Rep. Jacob Rosecrants said he was trying to use common sense when first hearing the plan, but he is just “pissed” at the proposed turnpike and vowed to fight it. “ Th i s i s No r ma n a n d I think (OTA) very much clearly underestimated Ward 5,” Rosecrants said. “I will do all I can from a legislative perspective to help you guys to the best of my ability.”

Mayor Breea Clark was not at the town hall, but did express her opposition to the turnpike plans in a Facebook post.

“This is unacceptable.

No one on council is happy about this. We have asked staff to look into legal options to stop this (the turnpike) from happening,” Clark wrote. “Norman residents weren’t even asked what they thought or how it would impact them. Your Council will not just sit by and say ‘Oh, well.’”

departments, since arts and humanities students were getting paid less than STEM students.

Irvin wrote this was because net stipends are looked at on a discipline-by-discipline basis due to “complex reasons,” generally dealing with the level of compensation for others in related fields in the job market.

Young said she knows a first-year master’s student who “makes more than twice” what she makes. She said she understands the nuance of offering varying amounts of stipends and funds to master’s students. She said she is grateful for the amount she is given, but she is still frustrated with the pay gap.

“In American society, everyone’s pushed to do STEM,” Young said. “We see art funding getting cut in the secondary education levels, (and) I know some major universities are offering fewer art degrees and programs. They aren’t really going to put the money in them anymore.”

Given the pay, many domestic graduate students take on financial aid and loans to pay their tuition. Unlike undergraduate students, graduate students’ loans are all unsubsidized, meaning they gain interest even while the student is in school, and master’s students typically aren’t funded.

“The Graduate College regularly works with other

offices to secure emergency financial aid for graduate students, including GTAs and GRAs, who are experiencing difficult financial situations,” Irvin wrote. “Though, this is a somewhat separate issue and doesn’t replace the need to increase net stipends.”

Some international and out-of-state graduate students have turned to fundraisers to raise money needed to live abroad and cover extenuating circumstances.

For instance, Spanish GTAs Antonia Alvarado, who is disabled and immunocompromised, and Beverly Pérez Rego, who would lose her spot in her Ph.D. program if she was not in Norman in January 2 0 2 2 , h av e G o Fu n d M e pages to help finance their education.

An update was uploaded on Feb. 11 to Pérez Rego’s GoFundMe stating that she made it to Norman. The page will remain open to donations, organizer Ashley Hoang wrote, as Pérez Rego will not receive any income from May to August 2022 and she is not allowed to work off campus as an international student.

Crayon has a second job at the Writing Center for experience rather than money, but he said he knows a lot of graduate students would gladly jump at this job for the extra income. However, as a graduate student, he said, you can’t hold more than 0.7 of fulltime teaching assistantship positions on campus.

When a graduate student takes on a teaching assistantship, they take on 0.5 of full time. Therefore, they can only take another assistantship job that counts for 0.2 of a fulltime position. Crayon said this makes sense on the surface, but, once that exterior is gone, it’s no longer practical.

“The university does limit graduate students on the amount they can work, therefore eliminating potential sources of income,” Crayon said. “There are definitely people who might really need that income and are going to be denied just because the university limits and says you

can’t work full time, or even close to full time, as a grad student because you need to be a student.”

Irvin wrote a 0.5 full-time equivalent position typically means that the workload should average about 20 hours per week, but the graduate college is aware that GRAs and GTAs attend their own classes and do more than necessary, like extra research for a thesis or lesson planning.

“We have been proactive in communicating to academic units that the GTA’s workload needs to be consistent with a 0.5 FTE appointment, and some academic units have restructured workloads to reduce the burden on their GTAs,” Irvin wrote.

Irvin wrote the Graduate College wants to provide support for graduate students facing difficult situations, and GTAs and GRAs who feel they are being expected to perform an unreasonable workload.

“We welcome graduate students to get in touch with us,” Irvin wrote. “We need to support graduate students’ success by ensuring that they have time to rest and enjoy other activities, and that they aren’t experiencing undue financial strain.”

Crayon and Young said they don’t have to worry too much about their financial status. Young said she has her dad and grandmother, who she considers her safety net and knows would financially compensate her, if needed.

Crayon said he doesn’t have additional expenses waiting for him, such as medical bills.

They said they recognize their fortune and privilege, and that their financial positions are uncommon as they are aware that others struggle.

“I’m not that upset because I recognize that I’m a lucky one,” Young said. “(Compared to) the amount of low money (others) put into their graduate school or professional degrees where students really don’t receive any financial compensation or financial aid if you’re in a professional degree … I consider myself a lucky person.”

CULTURE

March 8-14, 2022 •

3

COMING UP AT OU Tuesday Baseball vs. Dallas Baptist, 6:30 p.m.

The Sooners will take on the Dallas Baptist Patriots Mitchell Park. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit soonersports.com. Don’t forget, students get in free with an OU ID. For game day coverage, visit oudaily.com and follow us on Twitter @OUDaily or @OUDailySports.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Old Pinocchio’s Italian Restaurant sign.

International Women’s Day with the Gender + Equality Center, noon-1:30 p.m.

Join the webinar with guest speaker Kuma Roberts, Arrowhead Consulting chief diversity and inclusion and inequality. For more information, or to sign up for

Friday

Historic eatery returns Norman local, owner partner to revive Pinocchio’s legacy GABBY BROWN gabrielle.e.brown@ou.edu

Baseball vs. UTSA, 6:30 p.m.

p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit soonersports.com. Don’t forget, students get in free with an OU ID. For game day coverage, visit oudaily.com and follow us on Twitter @OUDaily or @ OUDailySports.

Saturday Men’s gymnastics vs. Ohio State, 6 p.m.

The Sooners will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at home at 6 p.m. in McCasland Field House. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit soonersports. com. Don’t forget, students get in free with an OU ID. For game day coverage, visit oudaily.com and follow us on Twitter @OUDaily or @OUDailySports.

P i n o c c h i o ’s I t a l i a n Restaurant is reopening on Campus Corner in late 2022 after being closed since 2001.

The restaurant was opened in 1972 in Stubbeman Village

by Glen Woods, serving breadsticks, pizza, spaghetti and salads. Woods closed the restaurant in 2001 when he realized he wanted to pursue a teaching career in music. He graduated from OU in 1969 with a degree in music education,

GABBY BROWN gabrielle.e.brown@ou.edu

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VOL. 108, NO. 23 Copyright 2022 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25 cents

Previous Solution

6 8 1 9 8 2

2 6 7

7

1 9

4 5 1 4 6

4

2 9 5 3 2 8 9 3 7 4 4 5 3 6 Instructions: Fill in the grid so7that every row, 3 every column 1 8and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that V. EASY in any row, column or box. no number is repeated

#1

first home football game in September.

“We’re going to decorate the inside of it like (the original) Pinocchio’s, but we want to tweak it a little bit,” Nash said. “We want to celebrate Norman’s history and Pinocchio’s being a part of that history.”

The majority of the restaurant’s customer base is anticipated to be native Normanites, although Nash said the addition of students to the base will be a perk. Additionally, the menu’s staples will be staying the same with few changes to other dishes offered.

“We’re going to tone down the variety a little bit at the beginning,” Nash said. “We don’t want to be too diverse with the menu unless there’s a demand

for it. If anybody’s missing a particular item, all they have to do is make a request and let us know. We’ll bring it back.”

Pinocchio’s will reopen at 325 White St. in September at the former Victoria’s Pasta Shop location.

Nash said Pinocchio’s legacy is still alive in Norman. “ Twenty years after Pinocchio’s closed its doors, people still have fond and passionate memories about the food,” Nash said. “In fact, you can get on Facebook and you’ll see people posting about Pinocchio’s breadsticks.

There’s hundreds of these posts and hundreds of comments and likes. … Sentiment is shared across Norman.”

Diamond Dawgs reopens doors Sideline owner finds success in late night food joint

– From staff reports

according to The Oklahoman.

Norman local and former city councilmember Michael Nash is partnering with Woods in reopening at a new location. Nash said he was ordering breadsticks from a local pizza place in Norman when he realized he missed Pinocchio’s breadsticks.

“I got online to see where the closest Pinocchio’s was, and that’s when I found out it wasn’t a franchise,” Nash said.

“I came across an article that did an interview with Glen Woods … and I showed up at his doorstep and asked if he wanted to bring Pinocchio’s back to Norman.”

After considering Nash’s proposal, Woods said yes.

Nash said they hope to have the restaurant open by OU’s

Diamond Dawgs, a specialty hot dog restaurant, reopened Thursday, Feb. 17 on Campus Corner.

The shop originally closed in July and only opened on game days last fall. Travis Case, who also owns Sideline Bar and Grill, took over the shop in mid-February.

“I already have Sideline, so it just kind of made sense,”

Case said. “We’re already in the area and, we already know the customers, and adding some late night food options to our portfolio is a good idea.”

Case said business has been going well since the reopening.

“The opening weekend was fantastic, and it exceeded all my expectations,” Case said.

“We have a really good staff in place at Sideline that was able to help, and we know the vendors, the location and the people. It made it as easy as it could have been. We actually ran out of food Friday night.”

Although the main menu items have stayed the same, Case said the menu has

HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

Copyright 2022, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022 ASTROGRAPH by Eugenia Last PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Get your money matters in order.

Budget for and initiate your plans. A change will play in your favor and give you hope for better days ahead.

Think big, but set boundaries and stay focused.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Make physical changes that leave you feeling good about your appearance. Information you receive will encourage you to make a move or change the way you think about someone.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Emotions will weigh on your mind.

Get your facts straight. Making assumptions will cost you. Focus on the positive and put your time and effort into personal growth and self-improvement.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Work on a project that adds to your comfort. Express your feelings and make decisions that will bring you closer to a loved one. You can lower your overhead if you share your expenses.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Do what’s necessary and don’t look back. Use the element of surprise; keep your plans secret until you are ready to unveil them. Put anger aside and do what pleases you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) A friend or relative will have an impact on the decisions you make.

Take the initiative by putting some muscle behind something you want to achieve. Work to come up with an innovative plan.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Don’t get lost in someone else’s dream. Think matters through and do what works for you. Follow the path that feels most comfortable and make adjustments that will secure your position.

6 4

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Keep your eye on the ball. Refuse to let someone beat you at your own game. Slow down, think and do things right the first time. Take care of yourself and treat others with care and respect.

7 2 9 2 4 5 1 CANCER (June 21-July 22) 2 3CAPRICORN8(Dec.622-Jan. 19) A creative approach to your responsibilities will help you get problems will surface if you 5 8Emotional things done in 7 a cheerful manner. make changes at home that someone The impression you make will doesn’t like. Get the go-ahead before 5 the liberty4to make decisions encourage others to fi1 nd a way to 6 you take make a difference.

9that affect others.

3 2 LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) 5 deviate 8 6Pay attention to detail, to 7how you Stick to your plan. Don’t because someone is hesitant or present yourself and your plans, and 7 that 5to any8money or health concerns 9 confused. Tie up4any loose ends might slow down your pursuit. Pay that arise. Leave nothing to chance or attention to your health and2 3 up to someone 1else.8Do what’s best well-being, and do something with a loved one. V. EASY

for you.

#2

been adjusted. It still includes popular items such as the Wonderboy, a corn dog wrapped in Cap’n Crunch batter, and the margarita helmet.

“We’ve made the menu a little bit smaller to run it more efficiently on our end,” Case said. “We’re going to focus on what’s the most popular items and making them the best, the fastest and in the greatest possible way for the client.”

Diamond Dawgs is located at 753 Asp Ave. in Norman.

The shop is currently open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Friday, and from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Saturday.

Case said he is looking to expand the hours over the next couple of weeks as business continues.

“The responses have been great,” Case said. “People are just as excited as we are that we’re back open. We’re excited to rebuild the Diamond Dawgs brand and make it a staple on campus.”

Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg March 8, 2022 ACROSS 1 Flights of fancy 6 Unexpected problem 10 Agonize (over) 14 American Eagle intimate apparel brand 15 Sign at a takeout counter 16 Step before dry 17 60-Across in heaven?

19 Road trip game 20 “What’s more ...”

21 Pal, in Paris 22 Ray in the ocean 24 “I want a brewski!”

26 60-Across at the airport?

29 Passports, e.g.

30 Yellowstone herd 32 Connections 33 Bae or beau 34 Bad-mouth 36 Juicy bits?

37 60-Across at a royal residence?

40 Winter forecast 42 With intensity 43 Domino indentation 44 One more than bi46 ___/her/hers 47 Beanie or beret 50 60-Across on the ranch?

53 Usually solitary ceph-

3/8

alopods 55 Like hot caramel 56 Green prefix 58 Greek I 59 Tijuana street food 60 Individual controlling access 63 Synagogue cabinets 64 “Once ___ a time ...”

65 Oklahoma setting of HBO’s “Watchmen” 66 High-pH substance 67 “Step right up!”

68 Squabbles DOWN 1 Japanese horseradish 2 All better, say 3 Flowers named for the Greek rainbow goddess 4 Insignificant 5 Volleyball move before a spike 6 Acronym encompassing chem and calc 7 Tag line?

8 “When I was your ___ ...”

9 Amanda who became the first National Youth Poet Laureate 10 Jitterbug dance style .11 One may sense saltiness or sweetness 12 Guatemala’s

language, in Guatemala 13 “How come?”

18 Rice dish with saffron 23 Small batteries 25 More than a bite 27 Burns a bit 28 Summit 31 Take effect 34 Gaping mouth 35 “Golly!”

36 Ask too much 37 Candy with the tagline “Taste the explosion!”

38 Remove, as a bra 39 Name found in “kale chips” 40 Banana Boat stat 41 Falls across a border?

44 Not just any 45 Laser cannon’s

smaller relative 47 Big fuss 48 Exam for some H.S. seniors 49 Bejeweled crowns 51 Bullwinkle, for one 52 Digital ___ (break from screen time) 54 Render unavailable 57 Penny 59 Key beside Q 61 Imitate 62 UFO pilots, maybe

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

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Barriers to Entry by Rebecca Goldstein

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SPORTS

• March 8-14, 2022

‘The transition has been great’ Sooners’ football coaching staff makes media debut MASON YOUNG, AUSTIN CURTRIGHT mason.e.young-1@ou.edu austincurtright@ou.edu

Oklahoma’s assistant coaches met with reporters for the first time in 2022 on Thursday.

Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis, co-defensive coordinators Todd Bates and Jay Valai, and safeties coach Brandon Hall talked to the media for the first time since being hired, also. Each emanated energy as they rotated through a nearly two-hour press conference inside the Barry Switzer Center.

Here’s the best of what they said, along with highlights from returning offensive assistants Cale Gundy, Bill Bedenbaugh, Joe Jon Finley and DeMarco Murray: Todd Bates Todd Bates said he never lost a freestyle rap battle during his playing career at Alabama. Perhaps an unfair advantage, Bates possessed previous experience, as he discovered his talent with words in his high school locker room in Heflin, Alabama.

His artistry later developed into poetry when he started writing to his girlfriend in college. Now married, his poetry is used for progressing new relationships and as a tool for recruiting players.

Bates, a team captain with the Crimson Tide in 2004 before a brief stint in the NFL, even remembered losing to Oklahoma in Norman in 2002, when OU head coach Brent Venables was then co-defensive coordinator, the position Bates now holds.

The 38-year-old defensive tackles coach and run-game coordinator said leaving Clemson, where he assisted Venables’ defense and worked alongside Chavis, was a hard decision, but it was one he was eventually sold on.

“Coach Venables ... really sold me on every day I got to work with him at Clemson,” Bates said. “Just seeing him get the best, squeeze a dollar out of a dime.”

Bates mentioned OU’s pending move to the Southeastern Conference, although enticing, didn’t necessarily play a role in his decision. Yet, the future realignment is one that caught his eye.

“I think it didn’t have a big pull or draw for me,’’ Bates said. “But it added icing to the cake.”

Bill Bedenbaugh Soon after former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley left Norman to become the next coach at Southern Ca l i f o r n i a, O n 3 Sp o r t s’ Matt Zenitz reported Bill Bedenbaugh, the Sooners’ O-line coach since 2013, would be following his former employer.

OU Football Associate Head Coach Todd Bates at the press conference on March 3, 2022.

Losing the coach who developed the 2018 Joe Moore Award winning offensive line as the nation’s best seemed another big blow for OU, which also lost assistant coaches Alex Grinch, Dennis Simmons, Roy Manning, Brian Odom and Bennie Wylie to the Trojans.

However, after an eerie silence with no Bedenbaugh sightings in Los Angeles, he appeared at Venables’ introduction ceremony on Dec. 6. Then, on Dec. 10, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported Bedenbaugh decided to stay at OU and the university confirmed through a press release almost simultaneously.

“I’m glad it’s over with, obviously,” Bedenbaugh said.

“It was something I never thought I’d be dealing with, and I never have. … I was fortunate enough to have the time to wait around and (I’ve) got a pretty good relationship with our administration. And I let it be known that I wanted to stay if I could, and there’s no guarantees, but at some point I had to make a decision if I didn’t know what was gonna happen.

“And it worked out for the best. … Hell, I’m gonna live in Oklahoma when I retire. … I didn’t play here, but this is my home now.”

Miguel Chavis Miguel Chavis didn’t know much about OU before arriving in Norman, other than the Sooners’ Jordan Brand apparel was “dope.” But the opportunity for the former Clemson analyst to be a position coach for the first time was impossible to reject.

After playing defensive tackle for Clemson from 200710, Chavis was in the NFL long enough to have “a cup of coffee,” before becoming a youth pastor for three years.

From there, he spent the last five seasons in what he called “The Brent Venables School of Defense” at Clemson, where he also worked closely with Bates.

Chavis turned down several other coaching opportunities to wait for the right one, under the advice of Tigers coach Dabo Swinney. He characterized Venables offering him a job at OU as “humbling and

affirming” and said he “felt like he was cheating in life” when he threw on his Sooners gear and hit the road recruiting during his first days on staff.

“The transition has been great,” Chavis said. “We love Norman. I have a wife of 10 years on June 29, and we have four kids — six and under — so please pray for us. But man, we’ve been really pleasantly surprised.

“The only thing I knew about Oklahoma was that they won a lot of games and everything Coach V said about them. And so we came out here just with excitement ready to get going, but it’s been great so far.”

Cale Gundy While learning a completely new offense under Lebby, Gundy thinks he “might have a better chance of learning Portuguese” than all the terminology, but the install and the changes he’s witnessing in a Venables-led program are exciting, nonetheless.

Gundy’s newfound friendship with Thad Turnipseed has added to his enjoyment of the change within the program. OU’s new executive director for football administration followed Venables from Clemson, where he’d been since 2013 as director of recruiting and external affairs.

Chavis described Turnipseed as “a boss, a dude,” later reemphasizing “DUDE in all caps,” and he seems by all accounts the point man for anything Venables wants.

“The first week that I met him, he’s walking through offices (saying), ‘We can knock these walls down, we can knock this wall down, we can add two more cubicles here, we can do this, we can do that.’

And he was exactly like what Brent said was going to take place. And at the end of the day, it’s all about wanting to be the best program in the country. I mean, that’s it. So why not be the very best?”

Joe Jon Finley Although he’s embarking on his second year as an OU assistant coach with tight ends, Joe Jon Finley, who took the job during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,

participated in his first in-person press conference on Thursday.

“First of all, it’s the first time I’ve stood up in front of a group of people,” Finley said as he started his turn. “I feel like LeBron James right now.”

The Sooners’ new staff, consisting of five other Oklahoma alumni or coaches on their second stint with the program, bring a sense of familiarity to Finley. Although, none of his coworkers are as familiar as offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who hosted him as a recruit and even knew Finley from before their playing careers due to their fathers’ extensive Texas high school coaching backgrounds.

“I love just the meetings every day,” Finley said. “It’s just a lot more fun, a lot more relaxing for me because that’s my best friend back there.”

For Finley, the addition of Lebby brings changes to his own position room. Although H-backs has disappeared from his coaching title, Finley said versatility is important for tight ends in modernized football.

“We call them tight ends, H-backs, but these days, they’re the same position,” Finley said. “Even in the NFL, you see all those guys. They do everything. … They line up in the wing, they line up in line, they split out, they’re the single receiver, they’re in the backfield. If you can’t do all that — that position is kind of disappearing where it’s just a true inline tight end.”

Brandon Hall Hall never thought returning to his alma mater would become a reality.

The 46-year-old assistant, fresh off a one-game stint as Troy’s interim head coach in its regular season finale, spent the last 10 years at southern-region schools. Whether it was Auburn or Arkansas State, or Troy or Jacksonville State, Oklahoma seemed in the rearview.

However, even before Venables accepted the head job, he reached out to Hall about the safeties coach position. Hall hoped it eventually worked out, and it did, as he returned to the school he earned two degrees from.

TREY YOUNG/THE DAILY

The Newcastle native was a student assistant at OU from 1998-2000 and a defensive quality control assistant from 2004-05.

“Fortunately for me, it worked out,” Hall said, ahead of spending his third session as a Sooners assistant. “This place is different. All these guys, probably with the exception of Coach Gundy, who I once used to watch play in this stadium, this is my home.

I was raised here. I was raised a Sooner fan.”

Despite being born and raised in Oklahoma, that wasn’t Hall’s sole reason for returning. When Hall took the job, he initially didn’t know what his title or compensation would be. He even knew, after a conversation with his wife, his extensive coaching resume was good enough that the new position had to be a perfect fit.

That perfect fit just happened to be reuniting with Venables.

“I’m not here because it’s Oklahoma. I promise you,” Hall said. “I spent some time here, and I can sit and tell stories about how awesome it has been to me. But I came back because the one thing Brent has done for me in my life is he has set the bar very high.

The standard is so high and he does not deviate from that standard. … At the end of the day, I came here because I’m gonna be uncomfortable and I’m gonna be better for it.”

DeMarco Murray With the departure of leading rusher Kennedy Brooks to the NFL, Murray needs senior Eric Gray and redshirt junior Marcus Major to step up within his group. Murray praised them for how they’ve handled learning Lebby’s offense and their progress becomes ever more important when spring practice begins on March 22.

A threat when he ran outside but inconsistent when cutting between the tackles, Gray rushed for 412 yards and two touchdowns last season after transferring from Tennessee. Murray reemphasized Gray’s ability to play in the slot, catch passes and return kicks, and the expectations for him next season are high.

“He was definitely our most

explosive player on offense last year, and I don’t see why that’s gonna change with his work ethic,” Murray said.

“And, obviously, we’ve got a lot of great players on offense, but Eric can do so many different things.”

Major, on the other hand, was ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA on Oct. 8 and played in only six games last season, rushing for just 83 yards on 15 carries. Despite his struggles and lack of opportunity with Brooks and Gray on hand, Murray sees potential for Major to become a key weapon come fall.

“He’s probably one of the kids I probably root for more than anyone, just because of the kind of kid that he is and just knowing what type of player he can be and what type of player he should be,” Murray said. “But he’s had a really good offseason. I just continue to try to push him and really just make sure that he’s always giving his full effort and maximizing his opportunities, and he’s done that thus far.”

Jay Valai Valai was the only assistant hired that was never coached

by Venables or previously worked for him. The duo met on a recruiting visit in Miami, where an offseason conversation about football turned into a job down the line. Valai and Venables stayed in touch, and Valai noted he was taken under Venables’ wing.

The relationship became strong enough that Venables was able to poach Valai from Alabama after just one season, where he worked under “the goat,” Nick Saban. After Oklahoma’s loss to Oklahoma State, when Riley said he wasn’t going to coach at LSU, Valai even guessed the Sooners would reach out to Venables.

“With Coach V, it’s always been real like that,” Valai said of their relationship. “And it’s a blessing. And when I knew this opportunity came up — I told my wife if it ever came up like that too — it was going to be a decision, more than likely going to happen.”

Venables’ “passion” and “authenticity” intrigues Valai.

A self-described “geek” when it comes to football, Valai turned a conversation about football and ideologies into his current position with the Sooners.

The pass defense, cornerbacks and nickelbacks coach was a two-time All-Big Ten selection during his career at Wisconsin from 2006-09.

He also coached at Georgia, Kansas City of the NFL , Rutgers and Texas, where he was on the opposite sideline of OU’s four-overtime win in 2020.

“When he hit me up, instantaneously, (I) told my wife,” Valai said. “Working with this guy who’s poured into me and I believe in and who I’ll run through a wall for was something I had to really think and pray about. And it all came together.”

‘I think it’s a good test for me and our team’ Freshman pitcher accepts ‘adversity’ to advance skills JASON BATACAO jason.f.batacao@ou.edu

One day after practice this season, Jordy Bahl, sophomore infielder Tiare Jennings and senior infielder Grace Lyons led a group of their Oklahoma teammates on a search for a pond.

For Bahl, a freshman pitcher, adventuring into the wilderness is a natural leisure outside of softball. In her hometown of Papillion, Nebraska, Bahl spends time with her three brothers going hunting, fishing, hiking and watching the sunsets on the

prairie.

Sophomore utility Jayda Coleman helped search for a fishing spot earlier this season. After looking, the Sooner anglers settled down to cast their lines in a small pond located in the grassy plains of rural Norman.

Notably, Coleman enlisted Bahl’s help to snag a worm onto a hook before flinging her line into the water.

“They’re a lot more country than I am,” Coleman said of the group leading the fishing trips. “I’m in the city a lot, and I don’t really like to be in the mud and all that stuff. (I also don’t like) putting the worms on the hook. Honestly, Jordy does that for me. I don’t touch the worms.

“They found the pond

where literally as soon as you put your hook in a fish catches it. And so it’s like, super easy, because we’re not very patient when it comes to fishing. It’s a very small pond with a whole bunch of fish in it.”

This season, while Bahl has been an ace fisher beyond the circle, she has also been the ace of No. 1 Oklahoma’s pitching staff that has allowed only 16 runs. Bahl is 6-0 across her team-high 37.2 innings pitched, and has produced a 0.96 earned-run average and 65 strikeouts while allowing just 13 hits.

Bahl’s hobbies, aside from softball, have helped her achieve that success in the circle. She attributes her competitive spirit directly to her three siblings, which likened her to

outdoor activities. Her edge is on display every time she trots to the circle and cockily zips a pitch into the strike zone, making hitters chase her exploding pitches hook, line and sinker.

“I feel like growing up in a family with three brothers from a very young age, I was trying to show them that I can hang with them,” Bahl said.

“Whether I felt like I actually could or not, I was going to show that I could kind of just fake it till you make it type of thing. I think that pushed me to have a high level of confidence and it really carried into a very good way.”

Now, Bahl is the go-to pitcher in heated situations for Oklahoma. In OU’s 9-8 10-inning win over No. 17

Tennessee, the right-hander was relieved by sophomore Nicole May in the fifth inning after allowing four runs.

Bahl was put back in by head coach Patty Gasso d u r i ng t h e s e ve nt h i n ning, and she closed out the Volunteers with 16 total strikeouts during the fourth game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Up to that point this season, Bahl hadn’t faced much adversity. Gasso wanted the freshman right-hander to be thrown in the fire at some point this season, and she was against the Volunteers.

“She roams around the mound and kind of paces around the circle a little bit,” Gasso said. “She was doing that in the dugout which

made me know she wanted to get back in and she just wanted to finish her business. … I felt confident she could go in and at least it would be a good tough situation for her to experience as a young pitcher.”

But the pressure is nothing new for her, as she was the No. 1 2021 high school recruit, per Softball America, and she won Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year last year.

Bahl definitely is expecting to face more adversity as the season progresses.

“I like the adversity,” Bahl said. “I think it’s a good test for me and our team. And yeah, really you benefit more from the adversity than you do when you’re just rolling people over.”