Friday, March 4, 2022
Debate for a change Kylie Hammack Staff Reporter
presidential candidates Trevor Woodburn and Madilyn Dunn. Pritzlaff, a junior studying political science and applied statistics, and Dunn, a junior As students prepare to vote for a new elementary education major, used the debate student body president and vice president, to forefront their THRIVE platform which the Student Government Association’s newest focuses on teamwork, health, resources, inpresidential and vice-presidential candidates novation, visionary and equity. debated their plans to better OSU on Wednes“Basic needs go hand and hand with day night. academic success,” Pritzlaff said. “We want to Running for OSU’s top positions in stu- make sure you are thriving in your personal dent government are presidential candidates life so you can thrive in your academic life.” Sydney Adkins and Riley Pritzlaff, and vice See SGA on 8A
The candidates plan to expand student involvement and interest in SGA.
Karlie Boothe
Student holds close ties to Ukraine Kylie Hammack Staff Reporter
Abby Cage
Roth’s path from USAA to art Liz Roth’s exhibit “Understanding Place: Ideas and Process” uses research she gathered from her travels.
Brendan Ashley Staff Reporter
Liz Roth is a lot of things. She is an associate professor at Oklahoma State, where she teaches painting and drawing. She is nearly fluent in Russian and is learning Chinese. She is the interim department head of the Art, Graphic Design and Art History department at Oklahoma State. No matter how many titles or positions she holds, first and foremost Roth is an artist. She has an exhibit on display in the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art called “Understanding Place: Ideas and Process.” The exhibit will be on display until April 9. The museum hosted a reception for the exhibit Feb. 17. Roth was not always a well-decorated and internationally known artist. She didn’t major in art in college, instead graduating with a degree in Russian. Thanks to her degree, she was able to study in Russia. This experience led to Roth’s love of travel and immersing herself in foreign cultures.
After graduation, USAA hired Roth to work on cultural exchange exhibits in Russia and Ukraine. While working with USAA and then stateside in criminal law, Roth was able to save money for law school. With enough money saved, Roth then applied and was accepted to law school, but as she prepared for her first semester, her friends intervened. “They said, ‘You are an artist, and while you would do well in law school, you have no business going,’” Roth said. Thanks to the advice, Roth did not attend law school and moved to San Francisco with no plan. “When I came back from Russia, I had some money ‘cause I saved it for law school,” Roth said. “So I was bumming around in San Francisco, and I walked past a sign for the community college and decided to take an art class. “While I was taking those classes, it dawned on me that some people’s work was better than other people’s, and it seemed that all of the better work was made by people that went to grad school.” With that realization,
Roth decided she would attend grad school and pursue a master’s degree in painting and screen printing, a passion she developed while taking classes at a San Francisco community college. She was accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison a decade after she had finished undergrad. Having finished her master’s program, Roth began submitting works for solo and group art exhibits, but she wanted more out of her degree. She began to look for teaching positions in painting and came across a job listing at Oklahoma State in 2005. “When this one (Oklahoma State) came, I jumped on it,” Roth said. “It was a good offer, and while I had been offered some other positions, none of them were very good. I had been in the market for a while, and it is difficult to get a job as a faculty member in painting.” After consulting her refrigerator magnet of the United States and figuring out where Oklahoma was, Roth made her way to Stillwater. Cora Avlos, a former student of Roth’s, saw firsthand the teacher Roth is. “Professor Roth was
fantastic,” Avlos said. “The way she talked about her past works and the artistic process as a whole really made me enjoy every aspect of the class.” After Roth was hired in 2005, she continued to create art. She put on solo exhibitions and contributed to several group exhibitions across the United States and the rest of the world. While making pieces for these shows, Roth developed a love for landscape-and-geographic-centered projects. These projects mixed Roth’s loves, art and travel, which led to a major project for Roth, “America 101.” For “America 101” Roth visited all 50 states, driving to 48 in a car with no cruise control, and painted 100 small landscapes. She created two paintings per state with the goal of showcasing the beauty of the country. The 101st piece in the exhibit was a billboard-sized image of a disposable plastic water bottle. “As I visited each state, and found landscape vistas, the sense that these areas would eventually be choked with landfill was omnipresent,” Roth said. See Roth on 6A
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shook the world last week. For political science freshman Dynel Bessah, the news hit closer to home. Born in the East African country of Cameroon, Bessah lived in Ukraine from 2011-2015 and considers the eastern European country a true home. Q: What is your story with living in Ukraine and how did it become your home? A: “I moved to Ukraine from Cameroon, and it was unexpected. Adapting to the culture was a little bit challenging but honestly, after just six months of living there and I had learned the language and everything, I just fell in love with the people. I clicked with everyone, and everyone was so nice. I was like, ‘Wow this truly is home.’” Q: What do you love about Ukraine? A: “I love their culture and tradition. It’s probably one of the most colorful and brilliant. When I say the people are genuine; I mean it. They accepted us so greatly, each person like their own children. That’s the thing I really love about Ukraine, like the culture, the people, and the food.” Q: In daily life, was there ever an idea of the possibility of a Russian invasion? A: “Sort of. In a way, we anticipated there could be an invasion, but we still went about our days and everything until one day Russia annexed Crimea. In 2014, my grandma was wounded and that’s when we knew things were getting serious. It was totally out of nowhere. We didn’t expect things to get that serious.” Q: Do you have any family members still in Ukraine? A: “We all escaped Ukraine and are now just all over the world, but I still have friends there. That’s what worries me a lot right now.” Q: Is there anything you want people to know about Ukraine that I have not asked? A: “Seeing how everyone is worried about it is what is making me happy. It’s like, ‘Oh people care about Ukraine.’ To those who support Ukraine, the Ukrainian people are very grateful. People are messaging me asking, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ We love the support so much” news.ed@ocolly.com
Courtesy of Dynel Bessah He lived in Ukraine for four years as a child.
What's Inside
Perkins Page 3A
Construction on a major Stillwater road is causing delays for students.
Welfare Page 6A
The April 5 bond proposition for a new animal welfare facility is put on hold.
Intimate Page 7A
Another OSU production was a success as the next one begins.