Students, staff, grapple with TikTok ban

Thomason Assistant News & Lifestyle Editor

TikTok is banned from Oklahoma State University.

During winter break, Gov. Kevin Stitt released an executive order that banned the use of TikTok on all state-issued government devices.

The executive order pointed to “government entities,” such as the United States Military, as an example. Using TikTok on government-issued devices has been banned in response to “its unique national security risks.”

In compliance with the executive order, OSU banned TikTok from universityissued devices and Wi-Fi. For students, this means TikTok is no longer accessible on personal devices connected to OSU’s Wi-Fi, eduroam.

Riley Flickinger, a political science major, said she discovered the ban when trying to use the app.

“I know about the TikTok ban, but it wasn’t because I heard it from the school or even anyone at school,” Flickinger said. “I just went on the app one day and it just stopped working.”

Limiting social media access is a new move on OSU’s campus. Many of OSU’s teams and organizations have TikTok accounts, including football (@cowboy_fb), men’s basketball (@ osumbb), the Student Union Activities Board (@suabokstate) and the university itself (@ okstate).

These accounts connect with students on a popular platform. Using social media is a powerful tool to share information in today’s college landscape.

In a university announcement, OSU shared its reasoning behind this decision.

“On Dec. 8, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued Executive Order 2022-33, which prohibits employees of the State of Oklahoma from downloading or using the TikTok app on state-issued devices or networks,” the announcement said. “In compliance with the order, Oklahoma State University blocked access to TikTok on its wired and wireless networks on Dec. 22.

We are continuing to monitor the situation and will remain flexible in our approach to compliance with this executive order.”

OSU is not the only university to ban TikTok. Many southern universities, including University of Oklahoma, University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M, have banned the video-based app.

See TikTok on prominent insurers in the country and the largest insurance network in Oklahoma, contracting with more than 1.7 million doctors and hospitals — more than any other insurer — and Stillwater Medical Center were in an impasse in negotiations over who should pay for rising costs of medical care. Unless one of the sides compromises, Stillwater Medical Center will no longer be a Blue Cross Blue Shield in-network provider May 1.

How does that affect Seagraves?

His wife is expecting their second child, and she has Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance.

“The pediatritian was angry,” Seagraves said. “My wife and I were mostly frustrated.”

The collective rate payments for Blue Cross Blue Shield patients compromise 21% of Stillwater Medical Center’s patient base, according to the SMC website, and the decision to end their contract would compromise thousands

See BCBS on 6A