Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2021

W E E K LY E D I T I O N | S E P T. 2 8 - O C T. 4 , 2 0 2 1 | O U D A I LY. C O M

OUPD responds after student defies mask mandate · pg 2

OUDAILY

The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

TREY YOUNG/THE DAILY

A protester holds a sign during a protest for better working conditions at OU outside of Evans Hall on Sept. 21.

OU community walks out, sits in Days of Action protesters attend Board of Regents meeting, skip classes JONATHAN KYNCL MIKAELA DELEON @jdkyn @MikaelaDeLeon12

OU community members participated in Days of Action demonstrations from Sept. 20-21 in response to “administration’s inaction” on strengthening university COVID-19 policies.

The OU Days of Action was formed to address the university’s “insufficient (COVID-19) policies,” according to its website. The group supports the OU American Association of University Professors chapter’s Aug. 11 open letter to university administration, which demanded the

addition of the COVID-19 vaccination to the institution’s list of required immunizations, the implementation of a mandatory mask mandate in all indoor public spaces and the publication of a legal rebuttal to Senate Bill 658 and Executive Order 2021-16.

Demonstrations included a student and faculty walkout and participation in the OU Board of Regents on Sept. 20 meeting, alongside a noon rally on Sept. 21 in front of Evans Hall.

‘We need to work collectively’ Students and faculty participated in the Sept. 20 walkout to encourage administrators to adopt “common sense COVID-19 policies” through “public pressure and advocacy,” according to the OU Days of Action website. Employees were urged to cancel classes or move online and students were encouraged not to attend class.

Michael Jablonski, an OU mathematics professor and walkout

participant, said he’s participated in two walkouts in his 20 years of teaching, the first one being for graduate students living below the poverty line due to their wages at OU. “I’m not the kind of guy that participates in events like these at the drop of a hat,” Jablonski said. “I think what we can and should do, as a community, is speak up in support of our colleagues who don’t have as much influence, or don’t have the political protection that comes with tenure or just don’t have the courage to be able to speak up in front of the class.

This is not a one-person problem or a one-professor problem. This is a system’s problem. We need to work collectively.”

Days of Action participants also attended the OU Board of Regents meeting at 2:30 p.m., Sept. 20 to voice their demands. Participants who couldn’t attend in person were encouraged to write letters to the

Board of Regents and share their demands on social media with #OUCovidWalkout, according to the Days of Action website.

Julie Ward, an associate professor in the Spanish department, directly addressed the regents before they entered executive session. She read an open letter from the OU-AAUP chapter, demanding the university take action against the spread of COVID-19.

“We must add COVID-19 to the list of required immunizations for OU employees and students,” Ward read.

“Given current vaccination rates, it is clear that strong encouragement of optional mask use and vaccinations are not enough for achieving effective community protection and that in-person work and study poses a legal risk to employees, students and those we interact with off-campus.

In a public health emergency, like the one we currently face, it is your

responsibility to do everything in your power to prevent the death of and serious physical harm to your employees.”

Ward said in an interview with The Daily that the letter she read to the regents was signed by over 550 OU community members who “felt neglected by the lack of COVID-19 policies.”

“It feels like our voices are not being heard when we request common sense pandemic mitigation policies and are told that everyone’s hands are tied, and no one wants to take responsibility for keeping us safe,” Ward said. “So it felt like I needed to come directly to the board and deliver the message to them.”

A similar message to the open letter was presented by Jim Zeigler, a faculty member in the OU English Department. see PROTEST page 2

‘I don’t listen to them. They’re not on the field’ Rattler pushes through heckling to lead OU to narrow victory MASON YOUNG @Mason_Young_0

As Spencer Rattler paced toward the southeast tunnel of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, broadcast cameras followed while a handful of OU fans shouted his name, hoping to catch his attention.

“These are the fans I care about,” the redshirt sophomore quarterback said, little more than two quarters after large swaths of 84,353 others in attendance had seemingly spurned him for good.

With under four minutes remaining in the second quarter of No. 4 Oklahoma’s (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) Big 12 opener against West Virginia (2-2, 0-1), Rattler tossed his third interception of the season, eliciting an uproar from the home crowd. In particular, the Sooners’ student section defiantly clamored against the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, roaring for his removal with three words: “We want Caleb!”

Exasperated by the disappearance of the flashy plays and bludgeoning offense they’d witnessed from Rattler last season, fans chanted for freshman Caleb Williams, a former five-star prospect and the Sooners’ backup. Undeterred by the chant and a broader bevy of boos, Rattler used the halftime break to refocus and

went back to work in the second half.

With under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the score knotted 13-13, Rattler propelled Oklahoma on a game-winning drive culminating in kicker Gabe Brkic’s field goal as time expired, handing the Sooners their first walk-off win in program history.

Rattler finished the contest against the Mountaineers on 26-of-36 passing for 256 yards and a touchdown, silencing critics among the sellout crowd with a victorious final drive.

“I don’t listen to them,” Rattler told ABC’s Holly Rowe of booing fans after the game. “They’re not on the field.”

After OU won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, Rattler didn’t touch the ball until nine minutes and seven seconds into the game, after West Virginia churned a 75-yard, 17-play touchdown drive.

He quickly responded, guiding the Sooners to a tying score on their first possession via a touchdown pass to junior H-back Austin Stogner.

The Sooners didn’t capitalize on their next two drives, punting consecutively before Rattler’s interception on OU’s fourth possession.

While sagging onto his back foot, he floated a pass toward redshirt junior receiver Drake Stoops near the sideline that was tipped by one defender and snatched by another.

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley said afterward the pick was the product of a busted route and was actually one of Rattler’s better throws on the evening. Regardless, the Sooner faithful came unglued,

EDWARD REALI/THE DAILY

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler during the game against West Virginia on Sept. 25.

beckoning for Williams. “(I’m) listening to the crowd chant the other dude’s name, and I just keep thinking, ‘You guys are so spoiled. Are you kidding me?,’” said Mike Giovando, Rattler’s longtime quarterback trainer, who watched the broadcast from Arizona.

“The fans get spoiled, these programs get spoiled, think they’re gonna blow everybody out by three touchdowns every game and start reading all the press clippings and how this team should do this to that team. It’s played on the field. It ain’t played on paper, it ain’t played with words.”

Rattler and Giovando regularly communicate during the week, and before Sept. 25, the pupil had

told his instructor he expected the Mountaineers to present a challenge.

West Virginia did just that, as its offense outpaced OU’s by six minutes in time of possession, and its defense sacked Rattler four times after he’d only been sacked twice through the Sooners’ first three games.

Despite opposition from the visiting players and home fans, Rattler responded immediately in the second half after OU faced a 10-7 deficit at halftime. He positioned his squad for a game-tying field goal to open the third quarter, before West Virginia retook a 13-10 lead with a kick of its own. In reply, Rattler and the Sooners ate the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, garnering another Brkic field goal to tie the game

13-13.

When West Virginia botched a snap with under four minutes left, forcing a punt, Rattler was poised as ever with a chance to win the game. He completed 15 of his final 16 passes, including all six on OU’s decisive possession, going 80 yards on 14 plays and setting up Brkic’s boot for the win. In pressure situations, Rattler has come a long way since losing back-to-back Big 12 games near the start of last season and emerging from a second quarter benching against Texas in the Red River Showdown. see RATTLER page 4

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NEWS

Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2021

Student escorted from class OUPD responds after student flouts mask mandate KATIE HALLUM @Tsutli

The OU Police Department responded to a disturbance in Nielsen Hall Sept. 22 involving a student who refused to comply with the class’ two-week mask mandate.

Mariah Powers, a political science and sociology sophomore, said the student refused to wear a mask during their 9:30 a.m. astronomy class.

The course is taught by John Wisniewski, an associate professor in OU’s astronomy department, who implemented a temporary mask mandate following a positive test in the class.

Wisniewski notified OUPD, who arrived on scene and resolved the issue. A Sept. 22 OUPD log reflects the incident, noting that a male subject refused to wear a mask in class and was removed for the “reported disruption.”

A university spokesperson confirmed the incident in an email to The Daily.

“The OU Police Department was notified of a disturbance in Nielsen Hall that involved noncompliance with a two-week classroom mask mandate in effect as a result of a positive COVID-19 case,” the spokesperson wrote.

“The matter was resolved without incident.”

The spokesperson wrote that guidance is provided to university faculty, staff and administrators on the most

effective way to implement the mandate. The guidelines include announcing that a mandate is ongoing and, if students fail to comply, reminding them of the mandate and making them aware that there will be repercussions. If the student continues to not wear a mask, the professor may cancel class for the safety of the others.

Powers said Wisniewski begins class by reminding students of the mandate, offering masks to students who don’t have one and notifying them of how many days they have left until the mandate is over.

She said he gave the student multiple opportunities to put on a mask before resorting to calling campus police. “(Wisniewski) was really, really, really nice and gave him more time than I ever would have,” Powers said. “And he told him multiple times, ‘I’m gonna have to do this, you have to leave.’”

Powers said the student ignored Wisniewski’s original requests to put on a mask.

When Wisniewski asked the student to leave, he refused.

“I can’t remember exactly what he said, but he basically said he wasn’t going to leave,” Powers said. “And then the professor said that he would have to call campus police, and (the student) said, ‘Go ahead.’”

Art sophomore Madison Vanscoy, a student in the class, said Wisniewski was on the phone for “maybe a minute.” After he hung up, she said the students sat and waited for campus police. Two officers arrived on scene. “(The officers) went up

TAYLOR JONES @wrongtailor

OU’s contact tracing is currently limited to the Healthy Together App and the “individual responsibility” of students and staff to report their COVID-19 exposures or positive test results, according to a Sept. 22 email from a university spokesperson.

Last year, OU’s COVID-19 dashboard reported the number of students in isolation or quarantine without specifying individuals in university isolation housing, according to the email. It also partnered with the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Goddard Health Center, in coordination with the Cleveland County Health Department, for contact tracing.

In the absence of these specifications on the dashboard, students, faculty and

PROTEST: continued from page 1

“We now have the twoweek mandate policy after a positive test. If that doesn’t violate SB 658, then I don’t know what’s going on. The actual university policy is pretty inconsistent,” Zeigler said.

“The Oklahoma City public schools have been an inspiration. They’re observing SB 658, and they’ve got 99 percent mask compliance because they issued a mandate, and then made people document exemptions. … Oklahoma City Public Schools, K through 12, has put the University of Oklahoma to shame.”

English department Director of Graduate Studies Amit Baishya also addressed the regents, as he said he has felt the life-altering impact COVID-19 can have. He urged the university to do more to prevent its negative consequences.

“I’ve seen eight people close to me die because of this virus

Ari Fife News Managing Editor Mason Young Sports Editor Jazz Wolfe Culture Editor Beth Wallis Enterprise Editor Makenna Buckskin Engagement Editor Trey Young Visual Editor Justin Jayne Video Editor Francisco Gutierrez Copy Manager Seth Prince Staff Adviser

contact us A snapchat posted by the student outside Nielsen Hall following the incident.

to (the student) and asked him respectfully to please leave and escorted him out,” Vanscoy said. “And, obviously, (he’s) respectful towards them, not getting into a fight with them or anything like that.”

Bree Soliz, a criminology sophomore who sat in the row in front of the student, said the student informed OUPD that he would be going to the dean’s office because the dean had allegedly told him he didn’t have to wear a mask if he sat in the back of the class.

“The officer said, ‘I need you to get your stuff and come with me,’” Soliz said. “And (the student) said, ‘Alright but I’m going to the dean’s office after this because she said if I sat in the back I didn’t have to mask.’”

The student later posted a Snapchat image of himself

with OUPD following behind.

Wisniewski had emphasized the importance of the masking policy throughout the semester, Powers said, as his children were asthmatic and too young to receive the vaccine. She said his 18-month-old child had tested positive for COVID-19 the week before the mandate was put in place. Wisniewski canceled class and resumed t e a c h i ng t h e f o l l ow i ng Monday.

“I didn’t go to class Monday, but apparently the students were asking him how his kid was, and I’m not sure how his kid is doing, but I just felt really bad for him,” Powers said.

Various students shared their grievances with the situation in a group chat during the incident. Many sympathized with Wisniewski. “(You’ve) just got to put

VIA SNAPCHAT

yourself in his shoes little bro, imagine if you had kids and were in the same situation as him,” wrote John Carter, a junior marketing major in the class. “I feel like you’d have a different (point of view) on everything.”

The student responded to some of the complaints in the groupchat.

“Just because you choose to wear a mask doesn’t mean I have to. I got vaccinated,” he said. “I choose not to wear it. Like it or not my body my choice.”

The Daily has reached out to the OUPD for confirmation of the incident and has yet to receive a response, as of Sept.

23. Wisniewski declined to comment and the student declined to comment “until the situation boils down.” katiehallum@ou.edu

OU relies on ‘honor system’ for cases University depends on self-reporting for COVID-19 data

Blake Douglas Editor-in-Chief

staff must now use the Healthy Together App — a COVID-19 screening and reporting tool — to alert the university of a positive COVID-19 case, the spokesperson wrote. The app will note whether an individual is clear to come to campus based on the results of a provided questionnaire.

The university continues to keep track of reported cases on the dashboard, regardless of if they are reported through the Healthy Together App or email, the spokesperson wrote.

Dr. Dale Bratzler said although the OU Healthy Together App’s system for tracking COVID-19 cases is new, the “honors system” required to accurately track cases is at the same level it was last year.

“Students weren’t necessarily being tested at Goddard (last year),” Bratzler said.

“They were going to urgent care centers, and then they would go home and get a test, they would go to IMMY Labs, and there were plenty of places students could get a

test done, and they’ve always been on the honor system to let us know if that test came back positive.”

In a Sept. 13 OU Faculty Senate meeting, OU Senior Vice President and Provost André-Denis Wright said the university is “dependent” on students using the Healthy Together App and “being honest” about potential COVID19 infections to successfully implement the two-week mask mandate.

Wright also said during the meeting that administration is having a “hard time” convincing students to use the app. He said if a student chooses not to use the app, they can email their professor confirming a positive test result.

Bratzler said COVID-19 cases are often underreported due to asymptomatic cases or misidentified symptoms.

The university’s dashboard includes weekly data from the State Department of Health to provide more holistic data alongside numbers collected from Goddard and the Healthy Together app.

“I think we’ve been keeping track very carefully. We don’t want anybody to get sick,” Bratzler said. “We know some students have gotten infected, but the reality is the rates have been much lower this year.

We never hit anywhere close to the isolation numbers this year than we did last year, and I think that’s largely because we have so many students who are already vaccinated.”

The university’s COVID-19 Dashboard reported 17 positive cases out of 309 COVID19 tests from Sept. 16-22.

Bratzler said the rate of positive COVID-19 tests is down to 2.7 percent, which is “incredibly low.”

“I always warn against complacency,” Bratzler said.

“I don’t want to say that we’re cruising in any way, but case counts have come way down both on campus, in the City of Norman, in Cleveland County and in the state. Case counts are dropping everywhere, and that is very, very consistent with what other states have seen when they were hit with a big delta (variant) surge. They

surge very rapidly over a twomonth period, and then the case counts fall off.”

About 90 percent of Oklahoma’s variant cases can be attributed to the delta variant as of Sept. 19, according to The Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Sept.

12-18 weekly epidemiology report. The seven-day average for COVID-19 cases in Oklahoma is 1,887, according to the New York Times. The rate has decreased by 22 percent in the past 14 days.

Bratzler said he still encourages masking and vaccinations to keep case numbers down.

“My biggest encouragement is I encourage people to wear masks anytime they’re indoors,” Bratzler said. “I encourage everybody to get vaccinated. We have just millions of (pieces) of data now that the vaccines are incredibly safe, and we know they’re very, very effective.”

back in India. I’m sure that many people have had losses here as well,” Baishya said.

“If any of these good common-sense type public (policies) are implemented, many of these things can be mitigated, and this is why I’m here.”

Baishya said in an interview with The Daily that he is discouraged by OU’s administration. He said the way OU’s community has come together to fight for safer policies has made him hopeful for the future.

“I think the best thing about this is that people have mobilized,” Baishya said. “This is what keeps our feet going, even though the administration is ignoring the fact that so many people are actually supporting this.”

O U P re s i d e nt Jo s e p h Harroz asked that students and faculty view the university’s actions as an “imperfect balancing.” Harroz said state law will continue to affect how the university monitors its pandemic response.

An OU spokesperson wrote in an email that keeping the OU community healthy

remains a top priority, and the university has been working closely with Faculty and Staff Senate Executive Committees.

The spokesperson also wrote that OU has implemented COVID-19 mitigation policies to the “full extent of the law.”

‘Our leadership fails us’ Around 100 participants gathered outside Evans Hall Sept. 21 wearing masks and holding signs reading “Our Leadership Fails Us” to push for strengthened COVID-19 protocols on campus.

The rally opened with comments from a freshman student on the national death toll of COVID-19, totaling 676,000. Abraar Hassany, a history and economics major, criticized the university for “refusing to do the bare minimum” by not requiring masks campus-wide.

“We can’t pretend like it’s over,” Hassany said. “We need people to mask. We need people to get vaccinations. We need the university to listen.

To be apathetic is to be dead.

I want you to go out there and fight and be alive.”

Susan Kates, an OU English

professor and organizer of the rally, followed Hassany’s speech, thanking undergraduate students for participating.

“I have never walked out on my students in 25 years of being a faculty member at OU,” Kates said. “I’ve recruited lots of great teachers to come here, but I can’t in good conscience feel like I can recruit people this year. The University of Oklahoma has done such a poor job on public policy.”

OU Law professor Joseph Thai critiqued OU’s handling of Senate Bill 658. OU interprets SB 658 and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Executive Order 2021-16 as barring it from requiring masks on campus, though Thai and other OU Law faculty disagree with this interpretation.

“SB 658 leaves OU the freedom to mandate masks anytime before or after anytime someone comes to class infectious. This fearful self-defeating attitude does not befit a flagship public university,” Thai said. “State law does not prohibit OU from mandating masks, nor does state law

prohibit OU from mandating testing or distancing. The law is clear as day.”

Michael Givel, a political science professor and OUAAUP president, said the walkout had “lots of energy” and an excellent undergraduate student turnout, but he questioned why Harroz still has not expanded COVID-19 protocols.

Harroz said Sept. 9 that administration would be meeting to discuss a university-wide mask mandate, but OU Provost André-Denis Wright said in an OU Faculty Senate meeting in the following week that administrators have no official plans to enact a campus-wide mask mandate.

“It’s all fine and dandy to have slick public affairs with these videos,” Givel said. “But are we going to lead? Or are we going to be fearful of donors and the governor?”

taylor.p.jones-1@ou.edu

jkyncl@ou.edu mikaela.j.deleon-1@ou.edu

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NEWS

Spet. 28-Oct. 4, 2021 •

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‘I believe in our abilities’

COMING UP AT OU

OU dean, NASA partner in climate change study, aim to reverse effects ALEXIA ASTON @alexiaaston

An OU faculty member is leading a study in partnership with NASA to investigate the impacts of greenhouse gas concentrations and ultimately aid in the reversal of “undebatable” climate change.

O U ’s C o l l e g e o f Atmospheric and Geographic S ciences D ean B er r ien Moore was awarded the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory mission in 2016 to measure carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in the atmosphere using a geostationary satellite. The satellite will measure every five kilometers of North and South America each day in partnership with NASA. Moore said the observatory will enhance understanding of the carbon cycle, the process of carbon atoms continually traveling from the atmosphere to the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. He said this process causes climate change and vice versa.

The effects of human contributions to Earth’s climate to date are irreversible on the “timescale of human lifetimes,” but avoiding future temperature increases would result in less warming that would otherwise persist forever, according to NASA. OU faculty said the potentially devastating effects of climate change can be prevented, but the window for action is “rapidly closing” before permanent damage is done by climate change.

“We are on a journey that is unsustainable,” OU Dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy Mike Stice said. “But, we’re also the type of people that will apply science and technology, and we’ll solve this problem. I believe in our abilities to solve this problem.”

By measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and understanding its elements, Moore said managing carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere will be more attainable.

“We’re going to get some insights into this connection between the carbon cycle, the weather cycle and climate,”

Thursday

University Theater “Mad Forest” 8 p.m., Weitzenhoffer Theater From playwright Caryl Churchill, “Mad Forest: A Play from Romania” is a story set during the 1989 Romanian Revolution. Tickets at the door are $35 for adults and $15 for students, and advance purchase tickets are $29 for adults; $24 for senior adults and $12 for students. A livestream of this performance will be available.

Friday

University Theater “Mad Forest” opening night 8 p.m., Weitzenhoffer Theater Volleyball vs. Kansas State Coming off a tough loss to West Virginia in the conference opener, the Sooners face Kansas State at 5 p.m. in Norman. The Sooners will look to earn their first conference win against the Wildcats. For more information, visit soonersports.com.

Saturday

Football @ Kansas State Watch your undefeated No. 6 Sooners take on the Wildcats for their first away game of the season.

Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. in Manhattan, and the game will be broadcast on FOX. For more information, visit soonersports.com. For gameday coverage, visit oudaily.com and turn on Twitter notifications.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 ASTROGRAPH by Eugenia Last

University Theater “Mad Forest” 3 pm., Weitzenhoffer Theater – From staff reports

Stay connected with The Daily

Follow @OUDaily for breaking news and campus info

quantities of hydrocarbon fuel, fossil fuel and wood biomass, the combustion byproduct that carbon dioxide produces contributes to global warming, Stice said.

Nationally, market-based solutions like carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs must be established and

Copyright 2021, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Sunday

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scaled up as quickly as is feasible, with an “eye towards equity and revenue neutrality,” OU assistant economics professor Jonathan McFadden wrote.

McFadden wrote the federal government must also increase funding for basic research into clean technologies and be prepared to provide technical or financial assistance to spur technological diffusion.

VIA OU.EDU

By Eugenia Last

3 and 8 p.m., Weitzenhoffer Theater

Moore said. “We’re going to begin to unravel that and figure out how we can influence that in ways that are beneficial (and) would slow a changing climate.”

Initially set for 2022 but postponed by the changing satellite business and COVID19, Moore said he hopes the observatory will be ready to launch by 2024.

As humans consume large

HOROSCOPE

University Theater “Mad Forest”

PHOTO PROVIDED

OU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Dean Berrien Moore (left) and OU Dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy Mike Stice (right).

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In 2018, the U.S. accounted for 20.5 percent of the world’s petroleum consumption, McFadden wrote. From 1997 to 2019, oil and natural gas extraction accounted for 6-21 percent of Oklahoma’s real gross domestic product.

Oklahoma was ranked at the 15th largest emitter

of greenhouse gas in 2018, McFadden wrote. The five largest sources of Oklahoma’s 2018 emissions were transportation, electricity and heat, industrial agriculture and fugitive sources.

To reduce Oklahoma’s fossil fuel consumption, McFadden proposed the reduction of transportation-related emissions by incentivizing greater use of public transportation, ride-sharing, biking, walking, electric vehicles or vehicles with greater fuel economy.

McFadden wrote that public utilities could reduce electricity and heat emissions by increasing generation from sustainable sources, such as wind energy and the reduction of emissions from industry through federal incentives for firms to replace dirty production technologies with cleaner methods.

On an individual level, Stice said conservative and intentional energy consumption is an important step in the reversal of climate change.

Moore said he hopes the status of the carbon cycle will come up more consistently in conversations on climate change.

“I think it would be important to give a picture … about the status of the carbon cycle,” Moore said. “We’d begin to build this into how we think about things. Then, (we’d) begin to change how we actually act.” alexiaaston@ou.edu

Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg September 28, 2021 ACROSS 1 “The Little Red Hen” denial 5 Touch on 9 Lion in 2015 headlines 14 Accrue, as interest 15 It’s a wrap in Bollywood 16 ___ acid (protein part) 17 Channels of information that women share privately 20 Underlying meaning 21 “Help!”

22 Long-running CBS drama 23 “The Problem With ___” (film named for a “Simpsons” character) 24 Orca appendage 25 Destruction 26 In the style of 29 1989 rom-com about an underachiever and a valedictorian 32 Most optimal 34 Boy 35 Word after “power” or “strong” 36 “How unfortunate” 38 First name of two Spice Girls 40 Garden creature 43 Upscale hotel chain 45 Canola ___ 47 Couple’s pronoun

9/28

48 Actress typecast in slasher flicks 52 Have a little liquid 53 Conical items at birthday parties 54 Place 55 Roadside purchase 57 It has a humerus and a funny bone 58 Perceive 59 File away 63 Revealing a lot, or a theme hint 66 Dance that takes two 67 Henhouse 68 Canvas cover 69 Tweak 70 Fine-tune 71 Picture of health?

DOWN 1 It may be breaking 2 Diamond Head’s island 3 Chi-Town paper, with “The” 4 App for sharing pics 5 The “A” in LGBTQIA+ 6 Rail system that serves S.F. 7 Caterer’s dispenser 8 Has a marketing connection 9 Ravens’ calls 10 Angsty music genre 11 Roundabout 12 Finishes, like a tattoo

13 Behind on points 18 Livens (up) 19 “Jagged Little Pill” was nominated for 15 in 2020 24 Slowly disappear 25 Heavy charger, for short?

26 Planking targets 27 It comes before Virgo 28 Mixed bag 30 Orange or purple vegetable 31 ___-of-war 33 Makes less feral 37 Chromosome molecule 39 Whopper 41 Noninvasive hosp. procedure 42 Clairvoyant’s claim: Abbr.

44 JFK Library architect 46 Surfer’s tether 48 Soda brand named for a California peak 49 Relating to the wristbones 50 Satisfy, as one’s thirst 51 Salt, in the lab 56 Closes 58 Hershey toffee bar 59 Cosmetics giant 60 Apple desktop 61 Designer Wang 62 “Monday Night Football” broadcaster 64 Improve in a wine cellar, maybe 65 Sticky stuff

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

9/27

© 2021 Andrews McMeel Universal www.upuzzles.com

Make Yourself Heard by Emily Carroll

4

SPORTS

• Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2021

‘We have to go out there and play again’ Sooners’ defense picks up slack as offense falls behind in 4th home game AUSTIN CURTRIGHT @AustinCurtright

Despite allowing a 17-play drive to begin the game, the Oklahoma defense wasn’t worried.

West Virginia (2-2, 0-1 Big 12) came out of the gate with a 62-yard touchdown drive that melted over nine minutes of clock. OU’s (4-0, 1-0) defense allowed three first-down conversions — two on third down and one on fourth down — before facing an early deficit.

The Mountaineers’ first-quarter touchdown would be their last, however. The Sooners’ defense kept WVU out of the end zone for the remainder of the game.

The response is rooted in a simple mindset that eliminates panic.

“It’s just a next-play mentality,” senior safety Pat Fields said after No. 4 OU’s 16-13 win over West Virginia on Sept. 25

RATTLER: continued from page 1

“Spencer doesn’t do what he did tonight last year,” Giovando said. “He doesn’t take you down the field and win the game like that, in my opinion. He was way more under control, didn’t try to force anything, just orchestrated the drive to win the game, and people better appreciate that because that’s not easy

in Norman. “Whatever hard things come, whatever bad things come, we forget about it. We’re just immune to all the emotions.”

The Sooners’ defense bought into that statement, preached by defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, and allowed zero third-down conversions after the first quarter.

And on a night where redshirt sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler and the Oklahoma offense struggled, the defense picked up the slack, allowing just six points and 151 yards the rest of the game.

OU’s defense forced a turnover — an interception by senior safety Delarrin TurnerYell before he exited with an injury — and imposed three consecutive punts before West Virginia took a 10-7 lead with a field goal before halftime.

“My hope would be that it becomes commonplace that the chief issue over the course of a game was the opening drive,” Grinch said. “And we get to talk about one drive we’re disappointed in. And that certainly is absolutely the case. … It turns out one drive

doesn’t beat you.”

Sept. 25 marked another occasion where the script was flipped and Oklahoma’s defensive prowess outweighed OU coach Lincoln Riley’s typical high-flying offense that has yet to find its stride. The Sooners have won back-toback games without scoring more than 23 points for the first time since 1987.

In Riley’s first four seasons, OU averaged 47.3 points across its first four games. But in 2021, the Sooners have averaged 38.75, a figure inflated by their 76-0 win over FCS Western Carolina, providing further evidence of the defense’s importance this season.

However, Riley said great teams find multiple ways to win. Even Rattler, who has seen the defense struggle in his three years with the program, said he has a lot of trust in the unit and hopes the offense can match its energy going forward.

“It was our recipe for winning tonight,” Riley said of the defense. “Defensively we bowed up and held a good offense down.”

Fields referenced sopho m o re c o r n e r b a ck D. J. Graham’s one-handed interception against Nebraska last week as proof of the defense’s forget-it demeanor. Four plays before his highlight-reel grab, Graham was torched for a 55yard gain in the fourth quarter.

Against West Virginia, the Sooners were led defensively by redshirt junior linebacker Brian Asamoah and Fields, who recorded nine tackles each. The group had only five tackles for loss and one sack, as Grinch said the Mountaineers’ quick passes made it difficult to create pressure.

Oklahoma earned its first lead as time expired, when redshirt junior Gabe Brkic nailed a game-winning field goal from 30 yards. OU’s offense, which also didn’t score after its first drive, grinded out just enough production to capitalize on the defense’s effort. WVU had -9 yards of offense in the fourth quarter.

“We pride ourselves on finishing games, finishing plays and finishing every rep,” said senior nose guard Perrion Winfrey, who notched the

to do, to go 80 yards ... and the dude was money.”

Rattler put the Sooners on his back, finding a way to win despite a dysfunctional offensive line, a running game that produced a measly 57 yards — its fewest in a game under Riley — and the outside noise demanding his replacement.

For the second straight week, OU scored its fewest points in the Riley era yet still walked away unscathed.

“It always helps us a lot more when our fan base supports us, I’ll come out and say

that,” Riley said fervently. “I want to play better offensively more than anybody out there, but them being behind us is what helps us. Spencer handled it, it didn’t bother him at all, and honestly, as I was evaluating it through the game, we’ve gotta play a lot better around him.

“Spencer and, again, the whole offense, we’ll own what we didn’t do well. We’re not going to shy away from that.

I’ll tell you what, it takes a lot of balls to do what we did there at the end, so people better see

that too.”

Overall, Rattler didn’t play poorly, nearing 300 passing yards and completing 72 percent of his throws. Giovando didn’t have many critiques, aside from a third quarter end zone incompletion to redshirt sophomore receiver Jadon Haselwood where he felt Rattler could’ve stepped up in the pocket more.

Next week, Oklahoma faces No. 25 Kansas State, which picked off Rattler three times during a 38-35 upset in Norman last season. The

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Sophomore defensive back Key Lawrence (left) and senior linebacker DaShaun White make a tackle during the game against West Virginia on Sept. 25.

Sooners’ lone sack. “To be able to go out there every play and give it our all and be able to hold teams to the amount of points we are holding them to compared to what it was before I committed to the university is a blessing.”

Oklahoma has won its three games against FBS opponents by a combined 15 points this season. While its offense hasn’t started clicking, its defense has kept OU’s national championship hopes alive, allowing 29 total points in its past three matchups.

Heading into next week’s game against Kansas State, a

team that’s beaten the Sooners four times in the past nine seasons, the defense is all in on Grinch’s mantra of forgetting the score or the close calls they have had this season.

“It’s just that next-rep mentality, that’s truly all Grinch talks about,” Winfrey said.

“No matter what happened, we have to go out there and play again. … That’s just what we do. We focus on the next rep. We never stay in the past.

We always stay in the present moment.”

Sooners will be looking to avoid a third straight loss to the Wildcats after also slipping in Manhattan in 2019. Should OU face another tense situation, Rattler’s play against the Mountaineers, especially after his own fans betrayed him, may indicate he’s ready for the challenge.

“To me, it was the absolute best second half,” Giovando said. “Now you know when you get in a tough one and you need to go 80 to win it, this kid’s gonna do it.

“If the fans want to turn on

you, or at the drop of a hat, try to disrespect you or whatever, they’re not at practice with you, they’re not in the weight room with you, they’re not in the locker room with you.

They didn’t go through everything you went through. Who cares what they think? You’re really playing for your teammates at the end of the day, and if the fans want to show up and support their team, then they can enjoy the win as well.”

austincurtright@ou.edu

masyoung@ou.edu