The Vista February 23, 2021

Page 1

the

Volume 118, Issue 17

INSIDE

VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”

vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista ucentralmedia.com Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Cafeteria Hours

Dining options return to UCO campus after being closed through the alternative learning period. See Pg. 6-7

Broncho Lake freezes over

Oklahoma dealt with record-low freezing temperatures for much of the last week and a half. Nearly a foot of snow covered central Oklahoma, including UCO’s campus. On Feb. 22 when students returned, the lake remained frozen. (TheVista/Bryce McKinnis)

Broncho Basketball

Sports writer Rudy Barnes breaks down last week in basketball. See Pg.5

Child Study Center See how children in the Child Study Center are handling COVID-19 health protocol. See Pg.6-7

Rising tuition creates barrier to higher ed. Jacob Silva

@jdsilva_ Editor-in-Chief

This story is the first in an ongoing series that will examine issues surrounding education budgets on a state and local level. Oklahoma college students are paying a larger portion of their income to get their degrees as state funding has been cut by 35.3% since the Great Recession, according to a recent study. Those cuts came before the pandemic with only Louisiana (-37.7%) and Arizona (-54.3%) cutting more from their education budget, according to the Center on Budget and Pol-

icy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C. Oklahoma reduced its higher education spending by 35.3% between 2008 and 2019 according to a statement by Oklahoma Policy Institute member Dave Hamby. That equates to each student losing $3,515 each year in tuition funding. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that only Louisiana (-37.7%) and Arizona (-54.3%) have cut more from their education budget. These cuts all came before the pandemic started. With state budget cuts pulling money from higher education, universities responded by increasing tuition costs

Students paymore than ever before for their education. (Provided/Pixabay) Continued on Pg. 4

UCO Vaccine clinic quickly reaches capacity Amanda Siew

@amandasiewyk Contributing Writer

Around Campus Students return to campus after a period of alternative learning and a week lost to icy weather! See Pg. 2

Passport Health is asking members of the University of Central Oklahoma community not to sign up for upcoming COVID-19 vaccination clinics on campus unless they qualify for the selected phases. The announcement came shortly after UCO faculty, staff and students received an email notice about an

upcoming vaccine clinic Wednesday. This clinic would add groups under Phase 2 of Oklahoma’s vaccination framework that includes adults under 65 with comorbidities (additional medical conditions; see list of comorbidities below), and pre-K-12 teachers and staff. “The clinic filled up quickly, and Passport Health wanted to make sure there was no confusion on eligibility for this phase of distribution with the

addition of comorbidities,” said Adrienne Nobles, UCO vice president for communication and public affairs. Individuals who signed up for the clinic but do not meet the criteria below should cancel their appointment to avoid being turned away during the event: 1. Phase one health care worker providing direct inpatient care, first responders, medical technicians, and Continued on Pg. 7


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The Vista February 23, 2021 by The Vista - Issuu