Volume 116, Issue 14
This July Say Goodbye (to Ayers Street)
the VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”
ucentralmedia.com vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
BronchoThon Recognized as Visionary
Katie Standlee
@katiestandlee Managing Editor
East Ayers Street will close July 9 and construction work will begin to turn this section of Ayers into a pedestrian walkway with a two-story dining facility that will replace Buddy’s Cafeteria and open in January 2020. “The only section closing is the portion between Buddy’s and Hamilton Field House,” said David Stapleton, director for Architectural and Engineering Services. “There is a stop sign at the east side of West Hall that is the west end of the closure and the wide sidewalk at the east side of Buddy’s is the east end of the closure.” The department of Architectural and Engineering Services oversees the construction project which, that will cost $19 million. According to Stapleton, part of the project includes converting the closed section of Ayers into a pedestrian plaza, which will cost approximately $140,000. “From a housing perspective, we hope that the closure of Ayers will make all students safer as they traverse the campus, as well as bring some quiet to the north side of campus for the residents in these buildings,” said Benjamin Hastings, assistant vice president of Operations in Campus Enterprises. Closing Ayers to create a seamless passthrough that connects campus
Christian Tabak
The 2017-2018 BronchoThon Executive Team is awarded the Children’s Hospital Foundation Visionary Award alongside UCO President Don Betz and campus administrators. (Provided/UCO Student Engagement)
@CaffeineWallace Editor-In-Chief
The University of Central Oklahoma was awarded the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation’s inaugural Visionary Award for having raised more than $97,000 over the last year for sick and injured children through their second annual BronchoThon dance marathon activities. Accompanied by a citation of recognition from the State of Oklahoma, the award recognizes the efforts of its associated dance marathon programs, such as BronchoThon, for positively impacting the community and Oklahoma’s children. “We are grateful for the tremendous passion and energy these UCO
students displayed,” said CHF Executive Director Kathy McCracken. “The growth of BronchoThon these past two years has been incredible and we are excited to know that this program has set a standard for their campus for the years to come.” BronchoThon was founded at UCO in 2016 as part of the international Children’s Miracle Network charity and served as the successor to the university’s annual Spring Sing fundraisers, according to Jacob Tidwell, assistant director of Student Engagement. While Spring Sing focused primarily on the campus’ Greek life organi-
zations, Tidwell said it inspired the campus to become involved with a program that addresses a greater need in the community. “Spring Sing came to a close in favor of creating a larger, more impactful experience for the entire campus community,” Tidwell said. “We saw great success at other institutions in the state and knew our campus could find success and meaning in a similar program.” During its first year, BronchoThon raised more than $68,000 through a series of fundraisers that culminated in an eight-hour long dance marathon. The marathon paid tribute Continued on page 3
Continued on page 3
CAMPUS NEWS
Endeavor Games Return to Edmond on pg. 6
BRONCHO SPORTS
Meet MLB’s Newest Broncho
on pg. 6