Friday, April 17, 2020

f r i day, a p r i l 1 7, 2 0 2 0

Net Gains Before OSU’s move to all-online education, internet-based classes helped many student-athletes manage their busy schedules

C OV E R S T O RY

Online courses help OSU student-athletes manage busy schedules Ha llie Hart Staf f Repo rter @ ha llieha rt

Sinclaire Johnson didn’t have to choose between leaving college early to become a professional runner or staying to earn a bachelor’s degree in economics.

Online courses have allowed Johnson, an Oklahoma State senior, to tailor her class schedule to her on-the-go lifestyle as a Nike track athlete.

“With this semester being where I was going to be traveling a lot, I just knew it was going to be easier to be all online,” Johnson said.

“So this is the first time I’ve ever done all online.”

Although OSU studentathletes rarely take the all-online approach that has helped Johnson during her first spring as a pro, this doesn’t mean they are limited to classrooms and lecture halls. Because campus is closed to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus, the OSU student body shifted to the virtual classroom after spring break, but before that, many student-athletes were accustomed to taking multiple online courses to make their busy schedules work.

Marilyn Middlebrook, OSU’s associate athletic director for academic affairs and director of academic services for student-athletes, said most student-athletes register for in-person classes and pepper online courses into their schedules when they need them.

For golfers and others who constantly travel, this need becomes apparent.

“Sometimes, they’re gone the equivalent of maybe 15, 18 times a semester,” Middlebrook said. “Ideally, they should be in online classes if possible just simply to accommodate their schedules.”

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, a sophomore golfer and economics student from Denmark, takes classes online and on campus.

Neergaard-Petersen said it’s important to enroll in two or more virtual courses for each spring semester, when tournament play typically carries the Cowboys to places that include Hawaii, California and Mexico.

If professors post assignments early, then he can make sure his work is done before he spends several days at a tournament.

“That’s going to allow me to focus more on the golf,” Neergaard-Petersen said.

“Because I know, ‘OK, I’ve taken care of the school; I don’t have to worry about that this week.’”

Sometimes, student-athletes must complete online exams on the road, but the university takes steps to enforce academic integrity standards.

Thomas Dziagwa, a senior guard on the OSU men’s basketball team, said learning specialist Amy Randolph travels with the Cowboys and proctors tests.

Dziagwa, who is majoring in liberal studies with minors in religion, philosophy and sociology, said he and his teammates have had study hall time after morning shootaround at away venues.

“We usually have a media

room that we go to in the hotel that we rented out for our time there, and the whole team goes there,” Dziagwa said. “And (Randolph is) the one that has us for the next hour.”

Although Dziagwa said his in-class instructors have been cooperative and accommodating when he has been absent for road games, missing class can cause stress for student-athletes.

“They’re not going to change the way they do lectures and stuff just because we’re gone, so it’s just harder to keep up,” Neergaard-Petersen said.

Online courses not only keep student-athletes from fretting about absences but also provide them with flexibility in their day-to-day plans.

With all classes online, Johnson has had the freedom to decide when to grab lunch and where to go.

Although she spent some time in the classroom during her first semester as a pro, she made the switch to online for the spring semester so she could focus on track season as her schedule became busier.

“I can really just gear my day toward my run or my workout and then just fit everything in afterwards, whether that be class or whatever else I need to do that day,” Johnson said.

Although online courses let student-athletes structure their routines around practices and trips, virtual education isn’t a foolproof system. Middlebrook said teams have sometimes had to deal with poor internet connections away from

Stillwater and hotels that make guests pay for Wi-Fi. Johnson said she tends to get sidetracked when she is learning at home instead of in a classroom, but working at a coffee shop or studying with a friend improves her focus.

“Finding places where I can limit the distractions and just devote one to two hours (to school), I find myself being a lot more productive,” Johnson said.

Some majors are better suited to the virtual classroom than others are. Jarrick Bernard, a sophomore defensive back on the OSU football team, is pursuing a degree in pre-veterinary animal science, and he has to make sure his in-person science labs don’t conflict with practice. This semester, he has studied food processing in an online agriculture course called Farm to Fork, but some classes on his degree sheet usually aren’t offered virtually.

Bernard doesn’t have an overall preference between online and in-class learning.

“It depends on the class,” Bernard said. “Because some classes are better online, and some are required to be in person, like chemistry, animal science, classes like that.”

Other courses revolve around open dialogue among classmates, which is mostly lost in the virtual classroom. Online discussion boards allow students to reply to one another, but typed paragraphs can’t replicate in-person conversations, which are central to courses for Dziagwa’s minors.

Claire Boomer/O’Colly

Senior guard Thomas Dziagwa has typically enrolled in one or more online courses for each semester at OSU, but he was taking all in-person classes during this semester.

Now, everything is online because campus is closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Dziagwa has incorporated one or more online courses into his schedule each semester before this one, he said he favors being present in class over using a laptop for distance learning.

“I prefer hardcovers; I take my notes pen and paper,” Dziagwa said. “I’m kind of old-school when it comes to learning.”

For the rest of this semester, no student will hurry across campus from class to class or sit at a wooden desk in a room filled with peers.

Instead of conducting experiments in science labs, Bernard must do assignments based on YouTube videos of lab activities.

Because student-athletes can no longer go to the academic center, their sport counselors are available for virtual office hours.

“We have set times with them that we call them on FaceTime or Zoom, and we

go over our stuff to make sure we’re staying on top of everything,” Bernard said.

Neergaard-Petersen said the transition is probably smoother for him than it is for some OSU students because of his familiarity with online classes. Middlebrook said she would love for every class to be in person, but she recognizes how technology has altered the landscape of higher education for student-athletes and others.

“I’m very progressive in my thinking in that one needs to go with what the population demands,” Middlebrook said. “…I think online classes are here to stay, so we need to do our best in making certain they’re providing the same education that they would in the classroom and that academic integrity is upheld, that they’re getting a quality product as they would have in the classroom.”

N E WS

Stillwater community comes together to fight COVID-19 A le x Sloa n S taf f Repo rter @ sloan _a l ex

A donation from Wilson Chevrolet to the Stillwater Fire Department is one of the latest and largest examples of the Stillwater community’s generosity.

On April 14, Wilson Chevrolet presented a $10,000 check to Deputy Marshall Steve Sylvester.

Stillwater’s fire chief said the check was one of the largest donations the department has ever received.

“Those kinds of donations, whether they’re large or small, they’re just so appreciated by the members of the City of Stillwater,” Chief Tom Bradley said. “It’s just unreal as to how much people have reached out and provided those things.”

Bradley said funds from the donation will be used to purchase personal protective equipment to help keep firefighters safe during the COVID-19 crisis. He said if funds from the donation aren’t exhausted during the pandemic, the funds will be used to purchase other types of personal protective equipment.

Aaron Wilson, the owner of Wilson Chevrolet, said now is the time for everyone to do what they can to support their community.

“I mean, I think we’re all in this together, right?” Wilson said. “I

Adam Luther/O’Colly

Wilson Chevrolet donated $10,000 to the Stillwater Fire Department on April 14 to help the department with its COVID-19 response. The donation is one of the latest and largest examples of the Stillwater community’s generosity.

think everybody needs to dig down deep and figure out really the things they feel called to do.”

Wilson said people should especially consider supporting businesses and organizations that they have regular interactions with.

“Stillwater could look very different in the next few months or next year,” Wilson said. “It could look very different than it did last month, or last semester.”

Large cash donations aren’t the only way community members have been helping city officials combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. The city has also been accepting donations of sewn masks and sanitizing products. The director of

Stillwater’s Emergency Management Department, Rob Hill, said the community response to the call for cloth masks was rapid.

“We have enough that every employee has two cloth face masks, and at least one, if not two, procedural masks,” Hill said.

Hill said although the city had partnered with Prairie Wolf Distillery to provide sanitizing solution for employees, the credit for procuring cloth masks belongs entirely to the Stillwater community.

“Every cloth mask that we have is because of donation,” Hill said.

He said the emergency management department is still taking inventory to determine the number

of cloth masks that have been donated.

Hill said although the city has enough masks and sanitizer for employees, donations of masks and sanitizing products are still being accepted.

Even if the supplies are never used, the act of donating can still help the city financially.

Hill said the city can count the value of donations made by residents to help mitigate the crisis to be used towards Stillwater’s matching funds requirements to receive money from FEMA. He said FEMA funds come with an expectation for some level of matching funds from the receiving entity and donations from third parties can be counted as part of Still-

water’s contribution.

Hill said residents should leave their name and contact information, both so the city can properly thank them and so the donations can be tracked to qualify as matching funds for FEMA. Residents who want to contribute to the city’s COVID-19 mitigation resources can drop off donations in the lobby of the police station, located at 701 S. Lewis St. Those who wish to contribute directly to the fire department also have that option.

Chief Bradley said most donations received by the fire department go to funding educational campaigns for the public.

“We’re very grateful

for what Wilson Chevrolet did for us, as well as all the other people that provide donations to the Stillwater Fire Department,” Bradley said.

He said donations are generally accepted in person at the fire station at 1510 S. Main St. “We’d love to show you around the fire station, and talk to you, and answer any questions an individual might have about the services we deliver, and how we go about delivering those,” Bradley said.

Residents hoping to receive a tour of the facility after making their donation are encouraged to wait until the COVID-19 crisis has passed before planning their visit.

S P O RT S

lifestyle

Leadership to come from within for Cowboys Su deep Tum m a Assistan t S p ort s E di tor @asktumma

Through the entirety of Oklahoma State basketball’s perplexing season, fans always had one thing to look forward to — a top-5 recruiting class.

Now, that tantalizing roster is within arm’s reach, but there’s one big issue that most people are ignoring.

The youth.

March Madness is almost synonymous with experience. The number of freshmen-heavy, excessively talented teams that suffer early exits in the NCAA tournament is frightening. With Cam McGriff, Lindy Waters and Thomas Dziagwa all graduating, coach Mike Boynton said the character, work ethic and resiliency of those three veterans will be missed.

And going about replacing that, Boynton said, is something that’s been on his mind, and something he’s had conversations about with his returning players about.

“We don’t have a senior returning to this program,” Boynton said.

“We’ll have a senior in Ferron (Flavors Jr.) on our roster, he doesn’t know anything about Oklahoma State basketball. Isaac Likekele is our most experienced player.

Period.”

Likekele, a junior point

Kayla Dunn/O’COLLY

OSU President Burns Hargis shared his hobbies, favorite memories and COVID advice with students over a Zoom call on Thursday, April 16.

Eliza Kent/O’Colly

Keylan Boone (20) and Isaac Likekele stay focused during the Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma men’s basketball game on February 22, 2020, at Gallagher Iba Arena.

guard, has been with the Cowboys for two years.

He knows the system, knows the players and has been a leader.

But it’s not just him.

“This is going to be a big task of (Likekele’s) to help, along with Kalib Boone and Chris Harris and Avery Anderson, to take those next steps in becoming really good players,” Boynton said.

“But more about continuing to make sure the guys who’ve never been a part of our program know what the expectations are, behaviorally, academically, socially.”

Those expectations are a result of Boynton establishing a culture with this team, which in turn, has many fans appreciating the character of the current players.

Boynton said it’s important to instill those same values in the new

players. On that note, he noted that there have been multiple players dismissed from the program in his first three years.

“I’m not keeping track of that,” Boynton said.

“If we bring the next kid in here and he doesn’t do the right things, we’re going to deal with that accordingly.”

He said that his track record is not going to change the way he deals with things; it starts with bringing in the right people. But in the end, it’s a team effort.

“It’s on our staff, but it’s also on the guys who’ve been here – Isaac, the Boones, Chris – who understand,” Boynton said. “Not from even a basketball standpoint, but from a work ethic, from the program pillars, what we stand for, who we are, what those things look like.”

Burns Hargis chats with students over Facebook Live Luk e Garza Asst. Sports Editor @ Luk e AGarza

Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis took to ZOOM on Thursday for a light-hearted Q&A with OSU students.

The nine students represented an array of organizations, disciplines and ages on OSU’s campus, ranging from undergraduate freshmen to final year graduates to nontraditional students.

Each student had the opportunity to ask President Hargis a question, and the public was invited to submit questions.

I had the honor of moderating the “hangout”, which aired live on OSU’s Facebook at 4 p.m. The first question of the 30-minute conversation came from an overseas student in Bermuda who asked about President Hargis’ dream destination.

“Right now, it’s to be back on campus with all the students,” Hargis laughed.

“We have a lot of favorite spots, but one of them is Taos, New Mexico.”

President Hargis and the First Cowgirl Ann Hargis are part of the board for the Fechin House in Taos as well as the Doel Reed Center, an educational center for OSU students. He went on to discuss other favorite spots such as the Clifton House in north London.

Hargis also talked about his favorite memories as the President of OSU and the must have artists on his summer 2020 playlist.

Chemical engineering senior Anderson Lin asked Hargis about what his typical day now looks like as the President of a university that has entirely moved to the online classroom.

“It’s pretty much conference calls and zoom calls,” Hargis replied. “That’s been the vast majority of every day.”

Hargis’ statement mirrored much of what the other eight students expe-

rienced: a nearly entirely digital world. This opened a door for students to voice their opinions about online learning. Applied sociology senior Caileb Booze commented on his experience.

“My professors have done a great job of acclimating very quickly,” Booze said.

“It’s allowed us to take a breather and realize we’re going to get through his.”

The chat progressed to conversations about his hobbies and the process of moving out of OSU’s President’s House, The Willham House, as it is renovated.

On a final note, journalism freshman Trent Gibbs asked about advice President Hargis may have for students during this “crazy time”. Hargis expressed his apologies for having to cancel 2020 graduation, and left on a final note.

“Stay in touch,” Hargis said. “Keep a routine; There’s only a few more weeks.”

FOR RELEASE APRIL 17, 2020

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Houses For Rent

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Nice with?

5 “The Empire Strikes Back” ice planet 9 Big bucks 14 It’s mostly talk 16 __ board 17 “Les RougonMacquart” author 18 N.W.A member portrayed by Aldis Hodge in “Straight Outta Compton” 19 Upper bod muscle 20 Drainage system component 22 Caustic solution 23 Calendering machine for glossing paper 25 Longtime sportscaster Sager 27 Cash closing?

28 Chafing dish heaters 30 “Your Unfiltered View of Government” sloganeer 33 Jesus in the outfield 35 Entertainment awards acronym 36 Acknowledgement of success--four are hidden in this puzzle, each adjacent to a black square 39 “What __ one comes?”

40 Cutters 41 “Ready?” response 42 Michigan/Ontario border river 44 Kellogg School deg.

45 Go after 46 In a cheerful way 51 Abbr. that debuted in OED in 2011 52 Kind of share 54 MDX ÷ X 55 “Three inches is such a wretched height to be” speaker

600+ Rental Units Available Full Listings @ Stillwaterpm. com Stillwater Property 633 N. Husband 405-743-2126

DOWN 1 Beth preceder 2 YouTube alternative 3 Give the boot 4 Toon collectible 5 Less clear 6 Olfactory triggers 7 Leans 8 Winter covering 9 Musical “throughout” 10 HBO competitor 11 Carrier with a shamrock logo 12 Vodka brand 13 “Auld Lang __” 15 Hit in the back 21 Stop working 24 Self-playing instrument 26 TripAdvisor offering 28 Illegal payments 29 “Do not remove” mark

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020

Your Classified Ad or Business Square could be here! $10/Week Published online 3 times a week.

Email ads@ocolly.com or lori@ocolly.com Advertise your business specials, online or remote church activities, houses and apartments for rent, help wanted ads, or any other special your business is offering.

By Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency

Level 1

2

3

4

4/17/20

By Joe Deeney

57 Drip, perhaps 59 World’s fastest hedgehog 60 Always 61 Boxer’s reward 62 1987 Costner role 63 ORD postings

Daily Horoscope

c las s if ieds

Thursday’s Puzzle Solved

4/17/20

Solution to Thursday’s puzzle

©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

30 Football Hall of Famer Carter 31 Subdued shade 32 Funny part 33 A long way off 34 Common practice 37 Rattan alternative 38 Congress has a big one 43 Viewpoint 44 Ceremonial headdresses 46 Covet

4/17/20

47 Can’t tolerate 48 Nail down the victory 49 South American carrier 50 “Uh-oh!”

51 Endure 53 __ Lars, who raised Luke Skywalker 56 “Homeland” org.

58 4G __: mobile device standard

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9.

For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

© 2020 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

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