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Campus Quotes
Health
Basketball
Wrestling
Why did you get out of bed this morning?
The National College Health Assessment reported that 48.7 percent of college students get 3-5 days of rest per week.
UCO’s men’s basketball won their 19th win.
The UCO wrestling team was trounced by the No. 1 ranked University of Nebraska-Omaha last Friday in Omaha.
student voice since 1903.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A mammoth winter storm bigger than some Midwest cities have seen in years slogged toward the nation’s midsection Monday as the region geared up its defenses against a potentially deadly mix of sleet, snow and ice that could affect a third of the nation. While record snowfalls have pounded the Northeast in what’s shaping up to be one of that region’s most brutal winters, the Midwest has been comparatively unscathed. Not this time: Up to two feet of snow was forecast for some cities, and the storm was expected to carve a frigid path from Colorado to New England by week’s end. For now, officials are urging residents in the storm’s path to stay put. The Oklahoma Blood Institute sought immediate blood donations, saying while its current supply is adequate, it could run low if the storm results in a significant slowdown in donations for a couple days. Freezing drizzle coated roadways across the Plains. A school bus slid off the road in a south Kansas City, Mo., school district, slightly injuring two students. A Wisconsin state trooper was struck and seriously injured while directing traffic around another accident, while the Minnesota State Patrol reported more than 200 crashes statewide. Forecasters predicted between 12 inches and 16 inches of snowfall in Columbia, where the university’s men’s basketball team prepared to leave a day early for a road game at Oklahoma State University scheduled for Wednesday night in Stillwater. After burying the Midwest, the storm was expected to sweep into the Northeast, parts of which already are on track for record snowfall this winter.
WEATHER TODAY
H 20 L 4°
TOMORROW H 13° L 5°
More weather at www.uco360.com
DID YOU KNOW? Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn’t added until 5 years later.
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THE VISTA
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S
WINTER STORM HITTING PLAINS
FEB. 1, 2011
FEBRUARY STARTS WITH FREEDOM By Nicole Ford / Staff Writer Tuesday is the observance of a day set aside for Americans to reflect on the liberation of slaves, equality for the unequal, the reuniting of relatives and freedom for all. Feb. 1 is National Freedom Day, which commemorates the day President Abraham Lincoln signed a resolution proposing the 13th Amendment in 1865. The amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…” During the time Harry Truman was president he signed a bill, making the first day of February the official National Freedom Day in the United States.
“It’s a day for everyone to come together and realize that the United States is a place of freedom,” Brittany Martin said. She also mentioned that it was a great day to encompass everyone’s feeling of freedom, and not just a certain race or ethnicity. Martin is the President of the Diversity Roundtable at UCO. “I think what he did was very courageous, during that time specifically. With all that was going on, with slavery being such a hot issue at the time, it took a very courageous and mature person to realize that everyone needed to be treated equal. And he realized that he had the power to make something of that sort happen and I’m happy that he did that,” Martin said. According to the America’s Library
website, “The purpose of this day is to promote good feelings, harmony, and equal opportunity among all citizens and to remember that the United States is a nation dedicated to the ideal of freedom.”
Black History Month Event Highlights • “Black in America” panel Wed Feb. 3 12pm - NUC 300 • NPHC Black Faculty / Staff Appreciation Day Thur Feb. 4 8:30am - NUC 202 • NAACP Super Bowl Party Sun Feb. 7 5:00pm - Commons Clubhouse • Black History Month - Keynote Address Wed Feb. 10 2:00pm - NUC Will Rogers • NAACP Health Care Forum Thur Feb. 18 7:00pm - NUC Will Rogers • 34th Annual Big XII Conference on Black Student Government Feb. 24 through 27 - Columbia, MO AP PHOTO
International Students
A COMMUNITY OF MANY COUNTRIES Every Thursday, students from various home nations get together to share in a community that reaches beyond borders. The event gives American students a chance to expand their view of the world, and for international students a chance to learn from their local peers. By Chantal Robatteux / Staff Writer “Conversation Café” is a weekly event where a group of International students, American students, and people from the community gather over food for conversations, and sometimes to play games. “Conversation Café” takes place every Thursday evening from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Nigh University Center cafeteria. Kerby Goff and Kathryn Spurgeon had the idea for “Conversation Café.” Goff said they wanted to create a setting on campus that was neutral and a place where students can meet and International students can practice their English. “It’s essentially a place for people to meet other cultures, to improve conversational skills and to connect to the community.” Goff said. He added anybody who is friendly, wants to make friends, and likes people from other countries can attend “Conversation Café.” Goff helps to coordinate with people from the community, to advertise, and he also coordinates the Thursday night activities. Ryan Watson, an International Business major from Owasso, Okla., said he found out about “Conversation Café” through Goff last year. “Kerby told me about people of different cultures getting together on Thursdays and I went to it,” Watson said. Watson decided to continue going because he made a lot of new friends and built relationships. “I like seeing them every week and it’s a good time to relax and chill and hang out with people from other countries and to learn about cultures and languages; you can learn everything about the students here. It’s just an environment to hang out and have a good time,” Watson said. He added he can’t remember how many people he met through “Conversation Café.”
Watson said, “Oh wow, I met, oh, a couple hundred by going Thursday nights, and I still talk to a lot of them, to some who have moved back to their country, and to those who are still studying here. I kept in touch with as many as I can through facebook and Skype.”
“It was a great chance to meet new people and another way to improve my English with a native speaker.” Watson said those who are interested can join them in playing games, or just sit and talk. “We sometimes play games with those who are interested, such as catch phrase, and Yahtzee, today we did a picture telephone game; there are different games we play each week, and sometimes we do karaoke.” Watson has also spent time with some of these students outside of “Conversation Café.” “[…] With these students, I have actually done something outside of the actual “Conversation Café,” for example we take them to our house, have dinner, show them around, we go to coffee shops, just different things with different students; just show them they have a friend here and that people care about them,” he said. One of the International students attending “Conversation Café” is Ali Alfaraj, a student from Saudi Arabia. Alfaraj said he found out about the “Conversation Café” through a friend in Edmond who always talked about it and told him he should go as well. Alfaraj said, “It was a great chance to meet new people and another way to improve my English with a native speaker.”
He added he attends the “Conversation Café” every week. “I come here weekly every week and it [lasts] about two hours. I think it’s not enough, one day and two hours, I’d like to have it every day instead of every week.” He has been going to “Conversation Café” since last year, and has been in Oklahoma for one year and one month. “[Conversation Café] helps me a lot, it helps me find people from all over the world and it helps [me] improve the language, and you also learn about the cultures from the new students.” He has met more than 20 people, and also tries to keep in touch with them via facebook and Skype. Alfaraj said, “I recommend this to all the students, whether they are from Edmond or not, they have to come and meet new friends so they can build relationships and get to know a lot of things about other cultures.” Goff said there are also some outside activities […] and every winter they go to an International Student Conference, the next one will be in Washington, DC.
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