The Vista, Nov. 2, 2021

the

Volume 119, Issue 09

VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”

vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista ucentralmedia.com Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021

Campus to revise mission statement

INSIDE

American Association of University Professors expresses concern over the potential loss of Transformative Learning

Men’s basketball

Sports experience a return to nolmalcy after the pandemic. Basketball comes back with new faces.

See Pg. 8

‘Macabret’

“Freak out!” The Halloween review show debuted last weekend with spooky thrills.

See Pg. 6

The Center for Transformative Learning aids the university financially, with grants up to $7.7 million. (The Vista/ Madalyn Nix)

Madalyn Nix Editor-in-Chief

The university’s President’s Cabinet will decide on the future of Transformative Learning at UCO. In an email sent to the UCO Faculty Senators last Wednesday and obtained by The Vista, Jennifer Barger

Movie Reviews Grab some popcorn because the cinema is ramping up. Check out this week’s reviews.

See Pg. 7

Johnson, 2019-2021 UCO Faculty Senate President and professor of business law and copyright compliance officer in the College of Business offered her concerns over the fate of Transformative Learning.

“Earlier today, our Provost expressed her disappointment that the initial

IMMY Labs continues to provide free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing throughout the week.

See Pg. 2

result of a survey sent out to our campus community” and that “the results revealed that a majority of our campus community did not have a firm grasp on Transformative Learning as a concept.”

“The Task Force came to Continued on Pg. 3

UCO announces fall commencement details Leelandd Gates

Contributing Writer

Around Campus

proposed Mission Statement presented to the President’s Cabinet on Tuesday, would remove ‘Transformative Learning’ as part of our stated mission,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson said that this was not proposed as any larger conspiracy by the administration and that “it was the

UCO’s fall commencement has been scheduled for an in-person ceremony at Hamilton Field House for the first time since December 2019.

In-person graduation was cancelled for all of 2020. Commencement for Spring 2021 had limited guests for the commencement ceremony and was moved to Wantland Stadium.

There will be four separate ceremonies over the course of two days. On Dec. 17, the ceremonies

will be held at 1 p.m. for the College of Education and Professional Studies, excluding undergraduate psychology majors, and 5 p.m. for the Jackson College of Graduate Studies and undergraduate psychology majors. On Dec. 18, the ceremony will be at 10 a.m. for the College of Business and College of Mathematics and Science.

The final ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. for the College of Liberal Arts and College of Fine Arts and Design.

Precautions for COVID-19 Continued on Pg. 3

This will be the first commencement in Hamilton Field House in over a year. (The Vista/File)

2 | The Vista

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 COVID-19 Testing: IMMY Labs is providing free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Lot 11.

FACS: Rob Glaubitz UCO, OCU, OSU Collaboration: Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Unseen: This performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Jazz Lab, located at 100 E. Fifth St. in Edmond. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $10.

Lessons in Leadership - Pat Hall and Jim Dunlap: From 9:30 to 11 a.m. in Constitution Hall, STLR is presenting this series which focuses on presenting numerous viewpoints from varying leaders.

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 COVID-19 Testing: IMMY Labs is providing free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Lot 11.

F/64 Photo Society meeting: UCO’s photo club will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. in the Woody Gaddis Gallery in the Mass Communications building.

Nov. 2, 2021

Around Campus

Native American History Month Kick-Off: Beginning at 2 p.m. in the Nigh University Center Ballroom, celebrate kick-off and purchase items from Native vendors from across the state.

Edmond. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online or by calling (405) 974-2100.

UCO Jazz Ensembles III & I: This performance begins at 7 p.m. at the Jazz Lab, located at 100 E. Fifth St. in Edmond. Tickets are free for students with a valid ID and $18 for all others.

Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (405) 974-2100.

COVID-19 Testing: IMMY Labs is providing free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing from 8 to 11 a.m. in Lot 11.

Puffs: This play is being performed

Dia De Los Muertos: From 5 to 8 p.m. at Plunkett Park, the Hispanic American Student Association is celebrating this cultural event with music, food, crafts, and more.

and welcome to come in costume.

Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021 COVID-19 Testing: IMMY Labs is providing free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Lot 11.

Enacting Equity, Illuminating Inclusion: This speaker series is from 1 to 5 p.m. in Constitution Hall in the Nigh University Center. Light snacks and drinks will be served throughout the event.

Puffs: This play is being performed at 7:30 p.m. at Mitchell Hall Theatre.

Audience members are encouraged and welcome to come in costume.

The Red River Ramblers: This performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Jazz Lab, located at 100 E. Fifth St. in

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Football game: UCO will play against Nebraska Kearney at 2 p.m. at Chad Richison Stadium in Edmond.

Puffs: This play is being performed at 7:30 p.m. at Mitchell Hall Theatre.

Audience members are encouraged and welcome to come in costume.

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 Language and Linguistics Student Conference: From 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Nigh University Center Ballrooms, student presenters, organizers, and attendees will share scholarly research related to language and linguistics.

Oklahoma City Jazz Orchestra: This performance begins at 8 p.m. at the

To submit events for next week’s Around Campus, please email thevista@ucentralmedia.com. Include the title of your event, time and place, and a brief description. Descriptions are subject to editing.

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VISTA

Staff

Madalyn Nix Ainsley Martinez Lyric Peterson Sam Royka Manuela Soldi Sierra Perkins Christopher Conner Jaden Ford Leelandd Gates Aaron Gelvin Chris Lomelin Destini Pittman Jackson Rowbottom George Lang

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Jazz Lab, located at 100 E. Fifth St. in Edmond. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or by calling (405) 974-2100.

at 7:30 p.m. at Mitchell Hall Theatre.

Audience members are encouraged

Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021 COVID-19 Testing: IMMY Labs is providing free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Lot 11.

Puffs: This play is being performed at 2:00 p.m. at Mitchell Hall Theatre.

Audience members are encouraged and welcome to come in costume.

Front Pg. Teaser Photos, from top: Provided/Broncho Sports UCO Photo Services/KT King Netflix via AP/ Stanislav Honzik The Vista/Madalyn Nix

UCO’s Student Voice Since 1903 The Vista is published as a newspaper and public forum by UCO students, weekly during the academic year, at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The issue price is free for the first copy and $1 for each additional copy obtained.

EDITORIALS

Opinion columns, editorial cartoons, reviews and commentaries represent the views of the writer or artist and not necessarily the views of The Vista Editorial Board, the Department of Mass Communication, UCO or the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges. The Vista is not an official medium of expression for the Regents or UCO.

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editor. Letters should address issues and ideas, not personalities. Letters must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s printed name, major, classification and phone number. Phone numbers are included for contacting purposes only.

Letters are subject to editing for libel, clarity and space, or to eliminate statements of questionable taste.

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Letters can be emailed to thevista@ucentralmedia.com.

The Vista | 3

Nov. 2, 2021

Statement/Graduation/The Center

The Center’s safer sex carnival discusses kinks Sam Royka Staff Reporter

Candy bowls on tables decorated with pumpkin lights sat nearby as costumed guests queued through the red-glowing room last Wednesday night. The line was for a “haunted” walkthrough discussion of consent and safe ways to practice kink, which included safe-for-work demonstrations, including the option of hitting a chair with a flogger.

The haunted house discussion was put on by this year’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies class.

“I think my favorite part [of the event] was going to be the kinky maze or the kinky haunted house,” said Maya Fitch, a student at UCO. “It’s not what most people were expecting when

they read about the event,” Fitch said, “It was super educational and my favorite part was that it felt very safe. That’s not always what you want on halloween, but when you’re talking about sex you need to feel that way.”

The discussion also included many examples of verbal consent and explanation of what it meant to be safe, sane, and consensual. “[The presenters] asked for consent every step of the way,” Fitch said, going on to say that kink can be a scary concept for some because of the way it is depicted in the media as a “nonconsent thing.”

The presenters emphasized practical safety, consent, and open and honest communication with one’s partner the whole way through.

Fitch said that a key part of increasing under-

A return to normalcy: fall graduation set for in-person attendance

standing and reducing misconceptions is “making sure people know that the central part of kink is first consent and then to enjoy yourself, it’s not about making someone feel bad.”

Especially for our generation I feel like femme people are told that in order to be sexy they have to endure pain and be submissive in a different way than maybe predescessors,” Fitch said, emphasizing the presence of the nervousness element in sexual situations in the media.

“Even if it’s not explicit nonconsent there’s a coercion element that’s romanticized,” Fitch said.

Grace Payne, another student at UCO, emphasized the importance of having a safeword, which is an agreed upon word that one can use to end a scene if they want to stop.

Transformative Learning hangs in the balance Continued from Pg. 1

the conclusion that it would be best to present UCO’s mission in a manner that would be concise so that it could easily be conveyed by all of campus to the external stakeholders, while what we do would be contained in the Vision and Values and would include concepts that supported Transformative Learning,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson said that after the meeting, “it was suggested that Transformative Learning be reinserted into the Mission Statement” and that none of the participants had any issue with that.

“The Individual College Deans have already drafted, signed, and sent a letter to the cabinet expressing their universal objection to removing Transformative Learning from the Precautions for COVID-19 will be in place and masks will be strongly recommended. mission,” Johnson said.

All four ceremonies will be livestreamed online. (The Vista/File) Emails were sent to numerous deans across campus for response, but most allot four tickets per graduate to manContinued from Pg. 1 either declined or said they underage density during the ceremonies.” stood that Transformative Learning will be in place and masks will be Nobles said if enough graduates rewould remain a part of UCO’s misstrongly recommended. All four cer- turn tickets they are not going to use, sion. emonies will be livestreamed online. it might increase the number of availHowever, on Oct. 27, The AmeriAll graduates that have applied for able ones. The guest ticket amounts can Association of University Profesgraduation and have been cleared would go up by one or two allowing sors, University of Central Oklahoma through the Office of Degree Certifi- graduates to invite more guests. These Chapter, sent a letter to UCO Presication will have access to four guest remaining tickets would be handed dent Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar extickets. According to vice president out in December. pressing its own concerns. of communications and public affairs While the Graduation Central event “We write to voice our strong opAdrienne Nobles, “Graduates have in the Nigh University Center has end- position to your plan to remove been limited to a set number of ticked, graduates are still able to buy all Transformative Learning from UCO’s ets for several years to manage capacregalia from the UCO Barnes & Noble mission,” wrote Mark Goulding, presity and ensure that each graduate has ident of the AAUP’s UCO chapter. the opportunity to invite family and Bookstore or the Herff Jones website “Part of what makes this institution friends. The last time the university until Dec. 17. According to the UCO unique is its commitment to transforhosted commencement in Hamilton Commencement’s page, STLR trans- mative education. We wonder what Field House was in 2019, and students formation graduation cords also may has prompted this move away from were allotted six tickets each. With be picked up from the bookstore. a program that has been integral to Information regarding the class commencement returning to Hamthe university’s academic mission for ilton Field House amid an ongoing rings and announcements can be years.” pandemic, the decision was made to found on the Herff Jones site.

The letter also says the university’s

mission “shows our core commitments and values as a university” and that “it should be shaped by all members of the institution, and most especially by the academic faculty, who are most directly responsible for making this an institution of higher learning.”

The AAUP said it is looking forward to the president’s response.

On Friday, President Neuhold-Ravikumar emailed the Cabinet Notes from Oct. 27 to university faculty and staff. It reads, “The task force will make revisions based on feedback and present a revised draft for review and consideration.”

In an email response about the possible elimination of Transformative Learning, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Adrienne Nobles said, “That is not accurate.

End of story.”

Transformative Learning provides students with transformative experiences across six core areas: Discipline Knowledge, Global and Cultural Competencies, Health & Wellness, Leadership, Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activities, and Service Learning & Civic Engagement.

In a 2015 Civitas Learning report, Transformative Learning provides the university with $7.7 million in federal grant funding.

The Student Transformative Learning Record gives students an opportunity to track their growth in these key areas that help them stand out to employers and higher education institutions.

The Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning is located on the second floor of the Center for Transformative Learning building.

This is a continuing story and will be updated as we receive more information.

4 | The Vista

Nov. 2, 2021

International festival returns after a yearlong postponement Jackson Rowbottom

Festival/Enrollment/HASA

Priority enrollment now open for 2022 Spring semester

Contributing Writer

The Edmond International Festival, hosted by UCO’s International Student Council, will be held on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Edmond Farmers Market.

There will be free food and admissions for everyone wanting to come and learn about the various cultures of the world.

“Learning and experiencing different cultures and seeing the beauty and uniqueness of each region is what is most important to us,” Yuyu Yoshida, Marketing Director for the ISC, said.

The festival will be represented by 12 different regions and nations, from Japan to various regions of Africa, and many places in between. Each nation will also be giving live performances and offering unique cuisines from their respective countries and regions for the people attending to enjoy.

There will be a vote at the end of the

The festival was cancelled last year due to COVID-19. (Provided/Yuyu Yoshida)

festival to determine which country or region’s booth was the crowd favorite.

In the event of poor weather on the day of, the festival will be postponed to Nov. 13 and will be moved to campus into the Nigh University Center Ballrooms.

The festival has been a UCO tradition since 2015 and was original-

ly hosted on the UCO campus, but due to the high number of attending individuals, the venue was moved off-campus to the Edmond Farmers Market in order to host more people and expand its outreach.

The festival will be returning for the first time since 2019 due to COVID-19.

HASA promotes cultural diversity inclusion Keely Sanchez

Contributing Writer

UCO Hispanic American Student Association hosted their annual event, “Salsa Under the Stars,” in the Nigh University Center on Wednesday.

The event is an evening filled with different styles of Hispanic music used to teach students across campus dances such as salsa and bachata. HASA organized the event by reaching out to dance instructors across the state.

HASA President Destiny Perez said, “This event helps us all get out of our comfort zones and meet new people as well as introduce them to dances they’ve never learned or seen before.

“I was never taught dances like these growing up so it’s nice to see different kinds of dances in the Hispanic culture.”

“Salsa Under the Stars” was inside this year due to weather. In previous years, it has been held outside on the Nigh balcony.

Instructor Marti Rickman taught UCO students various salsa and bachata moves that were put together to perform combinations.

Rickman taught basic salsa moves to UCO students that are styled to teach boys to lead the dance and girls to follow the lead.

HASA Vice President Eddy Rodriquez said, “After everything with COVID-19 last year, it’s nice to be able to get together with classmates and learn something new together.”

HASA also hosts a dance event in the spring, Norteñas En Los Noches, which is country style dancing. HASA plans to continue these events each se-

Marti Rickman teaches salsa at HASA event. (The Vista/Sierra Perkins)

mester. HASA events can be found on Instagram @UCOHASA. HASA will host one of their largest events on Nov. 5, Dia De Los Muertos.

Members of Sigma Kappa help with fall move-in day. (The Vista/Manuela Soldi)

Aaron Gelvin Contributing Writer

Priority enrollment for the Spring 2022 semester opened for undergraduates online through UCONNECT on Monday.

“Students who enroll for spring before Thanksgiving break are more likely to graduate than those who wait, and we have data to prove this.

This is in part because students get the classes they need for their majors with the schedules that work best for their busy lives,” said Dr. Samantha Kramer, director of student advocacy at UCO. Enrollment for graduate and post-baccalaureate students opened on Monday, while undergraduate students could begin enrolling on Tuesday. Enrollment is open until classes begin in January.

“Seniors enroll first because they’ve earned the most credit hours, then juniors, and so on. If students have earned zero hours, their enrollment window opens based on the first letter of their last name,” Kramer said.

She also encouraged students to review their degree sheet and meet with their advisor before enrolling to make sure they are on track for graduation.

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The Vista | 5

Nov. 2, 2021

Consulate/LLSC

Mexican consulate announced in OKC

Ainsley Martinez Managing Editor

The Mexican government announced an addition of two more consulate locations in the U.S., including one in Oklahoma City, an area with over 106,000 Mexican residents. The new consulate will provide greater convenience to Mexican residents in the metro area, who would have previously had to travel to the nearest location in Little Rock, Arkansas.

UCO student Trasey Ramirez said her family is grateful for the new consulate as it will shorten the time spent dealing with legal affairs. Her father, who asked not to be named, immigrated from Mexico.

“When [my dad] has to renew his green card, I believe, [he] always gets a bit upset that there wasn’t one in Oklahoma, and he had to travel to either Little Rock or the one in Texas,” Ramirez said. “When making an appointment he didn’t have the choice to choose which one.”

Her father said he hopes the services improve with this new development, and immigrants are given more choices. However, he said that non-Hispanic Oklahoma City residents shouldn’t see this as changing the culture in Oklahoma.

“It helps us to do paperwork, like Mexican IDs, birth certificates and passports—stuff like this. That's the only thing it helps. Our cultures and traditions, what we do in Mexico, that doesn't have anything to do with it, he

Oklahoma City has seen a multitude of small businesses that celebrate Hispanic culture. (AP Photo/John Locher)

said.

The consulate “operates on several levels,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said, including assisting in legal paperwork for citizenship and acting as an “economic hub” for Mexican-Americans. However, Holt said the consulate aids in more than just legal assistance.

“I think that it really makes a statement about the growth of the Mexican-American population in Oklahoma City,” Holt said. “It's a community that's clearly growing in prominence not just locally, but nationally, and is recognized now by the government of the nation of Mexico as a place that needs some attention—and that deserves this physical presence here in

our city.”

The prominence of the Mexican-American population in Oklahoma City continues to grow, and the city has seen a multitude of small businesses that celebrate Hispanic culture. Last month, Oklahoma City held the annual Fiestas de Las Americas event in the Historic Capitol Hill, a predominantly Mexican area, to celebrate various Hispanic communities.

Some argue that this increased occupancy is exactly why a Mexican consulate is needed in Oklahoma City: to streamline the legal process for this ever-present community.

“A Mexican consulate carries many beneficiaries to the outsider or lawful Hispanic/Latin community. The office

offers administrations for legitimate issues, losing an identification, having a birth or passing of a relative while abroad, health related crises, and the sky's the limit from there,” Hispanic-American Student Association member Ricardo Trujillo said. “The office likewise can authorize authoritative archives to be utilized in Mexico and disperse data about the insurance of Mexicans in the US.” More details regarding the Mexican consulate, particularly location, have not yet been revealed. The consulate will be the second in Oklahoma City, joining the Consulate General of Guatemala located off Northwest Expressway.

Language, linguistic presentations set for Saturday tics as well as applied to different fields.

Sam Royka Staff Reporter

The twelfth annual Language and Linguistics Student Conference is set for this Saturday in the Nigh University Center Ballrooms.

The broader human phenomenon of language affects our whole world, said Cynthia Johnson, coordinator of the LLSC, a STLR-tagged event.

“Language is everything,” Johnson said.

It shapes who we are, what we think, and how we connect with one another. This conference takes us back to those foundations and encourages students to think about how language and linguistics define our experiences as humans, as well as how language can be a conduit for positive change in the world.”

The LLSC is an annual international conference open to presentation submissions from students enrolled in at least three credit hours. The submission deadline for this year has passed.

Student organizers are continuing to gear up for the conference.

“The conference is a celebration of language, linguistics, and student scholarship. It's also an ideal venue for students to practice presenting at a con-

The LLSC is free and open to the public with an optional $20 lunch by RSVP. On the day of the conference, programs will be available at the registration table. In addition, individual presentations will be around 10 minutes long while panels will run about one hour.

“This conference is a wonderful opportunity for students to participate in conference planning and presenting, and it's an avenue for reflecting on how our lives are shaped by language. I hope students will stop by to hear their peers present and gain The conference was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Vista/Sam Royka)

ference and for the student organizers to gain experience organizing a conference event,” Johnson said.

On Saturday, student presenters will explore a variety of relationships between language and linguis-

some STLR credit. I'm also immensely proud of the work of this year's conference planning committee: Israel Ragle, Katerina Schultz, Kaycee Williams, and Anastasia Matveeva,” Johnson said.

6 | The Vista

Theatre

Nov. 2, 2021

‘Macabret’ brings spooky thrills to Jazz Lab

Adam Thomas sings various festive songs, such as ”Monster Mash.” Greg Scott said the review format allows for characters to be tailored to students. The clown character highlighted Thomas’ 6’8 stature. (Provided/ UCO Photographic Services)

Ainsley Martinez Managing Editor

of creative liberties to the students, and they are expected to create their own costumes and makeup looks for their characters. With the help of director Ryan Steer, their characters’ styles “evolved as the rehearsal process went on,” Scott said.

Sarah Scott performs “Season of the Witch,” as the opening song. “I got my costume from the Salvation Army and Ross, and we all had a craft night to distress our costumes and make it spooky,” Scott said. (Provided/ UCO Photographic Services)

a craft night to distress our costumes and make it spooky. It was really fun to be able to go on stage with something that I made myself.”

Director of Musical Theater Greg Scott said it is important that “curriculum supports endeavors like “Macabret.”

Review: A handsome devil, an alien princess and a creepy clown… it must be the season of the witch! UCO Musical Theater presented the Halloween review “Macabret” last weekend in the Jazz Lab. The spooky decorum and foggy stage transformed the popular chart-topping songs into festive pieces with dark undertones.

The review format of “Macabret” acts differently than traditional shows the department puts on. Unlike shows like “RENT,” “Macabret” is entirely developed by faculty and students. Of course the songs are not original pieces, but they are used in unique contexts that compliment the show. This creates a very tailored experience, musical theater major Sarah Scott said.

“The director talks Pictured left to right: Auburn Hilliard, Sophie Mings, Dylan with us one on one about Herrin and Sarah Zorn. (Provided/UCO Photographic Services) what songs and ideas we’d like to do, so a lot “Normally, with main- Students are able to utiof the students actually stage shows, costumes lize elective classes, such were the inspiration for are given to us for spe- as stage makeup, in the the songs that we did,” Scott said. “It’s different cific characters, but since show, and gain more exbecause it is very in- this is Macabaret we got perience in their trade.

“The thing I do love volved with the cast, [for to make our own costumes, ” Scott said. about the review format example] a lot of the cast “I got my costume is that you can tailor the wrote their own lines for from the Salvation Army material to feature your the show.”

The show gives a lot and Ross, and we all had students,” Scott said.

“You can choose shows all day long and there still might be one individual that might not be necessarily right for a role in one of the shows.”

The show’s location at the Jazz Lab also highlights its unconventional, but unique styles, musical theater major Auburn Hillard said.

Traditional, previously written shows are usually performed at Mitchell Hall, but have some limitations for a show like “Macabret.”

“It’s intimate. Mitchell Hall is like a typical stage that you perform on, but I like the Jazz Lab because I like interacting with the audience,” Hillard said. “I mean, in ‘Rock of Ages’ I climbed on one of the poles and slid down a pole and stairs, and in “Macabret” I’m walking through the aisles and I can touch people, you know, I like that.”

“Macabret” debuted last Thursday with four shows throughout the weekend. UCO Musical Theater will present their 19th annual Christmas themed review next month.

UCO theatre presents “Puffs”

The Harry Potter phenomenon continues in Mitchell Hall.

Destini Pittman Contributing Writer

The university’s theatre department will perform its first performance of “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic” at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in the Mitchell Hall Theatre.

The play can also be seen on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m and on Sunday at 2 p.m.

“Puffs,” written by Matt Cox, tells the story of Harry Potter and Hogwarts, but from the perspective of the huffle puff characters.

Many background characters from the original books are brought to the forefront of the show, according to Puffs cast member Ian Wehrenberg.

“It’s a piece of theatre that is really immersive while being funny at times,” said Wehrenberg.

The audience is encouraged to wear costumes to the show’s performances. Audience members who wear a costume to the show will be eligible for a costume contest where they could win a prize.

Last year, “Puffs’ was ranked as one of the most produced plays by the Educational Theatre Association.

“It’s cool that so many people have decided to do a high energy improv based show during a darker time in human history,” said Wehrenberg.

Balcony tickets for the show are free to students who order tickets at the Mitchell Hall box office, while floor tickets are $10 for students, $15 for senior citizens and $20 for others. To purchase tickets, visit UCO’s website or Mitchell Hall’s Box office Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m.

Movie Reviews

Nov. 2, 2021

The Vista | 7

REVIEW

‘Antlers’ lacks sharpness of classic horror “Antlers” has the potential to become a great horror film series with good acting and storytelling, but the pacing of the story is slow and the underdeveloped themes leave a lot of questions for the viewer. The film does a good job of representing the Native American spirit that becomes the threat in this film, also showing the audience that people must respect nature, as well as respecting members of our families and ourselves.

Christopher Conner Contributing Writer

“Antlers” is the latest horror movie produced by Guillermo Del Toro from director Scott Cooper.

The film is based on the short story “The Quiet Boy” by Nick Antosca. The film focuses on a teacher, played by Keri Russell, who wants to help a student who is behaving oddly in class.

SPOILERS

The teacher, Julia Meadows, soon learns that her brother, Paul, who is the county sheriff played by Jesse Plemons, visited her student’s home and also suspects that there is something strange going on.

Julia finds drawings made by her student that horrify her. Julia and her brother take the drawing to a Native American expert, played

by Graham Greene, who explains that there is a legend of an ancient cannibalistic spirit who becomes connected to a person who has committed sins such as greed or addiction.

The film was slow in the beginning. Most horror movies have at least one graphic scene at the beginning. This movie did not have

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Jesse Plemons, from left, Jeremy T. Thomas and Keri Russell in a scene from “Antlers.” (Kimberly French/Searchlight Pictures via AP)

a scene of graphic horror until much later.

I enjoy watching a good horror scene, and missed it when the film didn’t show graphic horror in the first few minutes. The film takes a long time to explain the origin of the evil spirit that wreaks

havoc upon the town. I think the film would be more exciting if the director had begun the movie with a horror-filled scene, however, if you prefer suspense, you might enjoy this approach. Fans of gore will enjoy the suspense the movie does have.

Looking back on the events of the film, the characters who were targeted by the evil spirit are all people who have issues in their lives that could lead them to sin, and this makes this horror movie into a story that is as much about morality and caring for creation as it is for horror for the sake of a horror film.

Overall, the film was slow, but good. With better pacing and more development of each character, this film has the potential to be turned into a good horror franchise for a new generation of horror fans.

‘Army of the Dead’ prequel makes its way to Netflix Christopher Conner Contributing Writer

“Army of Thieves” is the newest film in the “Army of the Dead” franchise.

Mattias Schweighofer directs and stars in this prequel to “Army of the Dead.”

“Army of Thieves” focuses on Schweighofer’s character, Ludwig Dieter, six years before the events of “Army of the Dead.” The action centers on a heist, not zombie attacks, as Ludwig gets a chance to pull off three robberies on famous safes named after Richard Wagner operas. No one has ever broken into these safes before.

The film’s change of direction from a zombie film to a heist film was interesting. The few scenes that have zombies, experienced in a nightmare by Ludwig, remind us

of “Army of the Dead.”

Both “Army of the Dead” and “Army of Thieves” were filmed in 2020 and released in 2021. “Army of Dead,” directed by Zack Snyder, acted as a spiritual sequel to his directorial debut film, “Dawn of the Dead” (2004).

I was surprised because it focuses only on the heist, while “Army of the Dead” was both a heist film and zombie film.

SPOILERS

The new film does a great job of fleshing out a character who was killed in “Army of the Dead,” showing that these two movies have potential to become a great franchise. It can not only showcase zombies but also expand on different characters in other genres.

This film doesn’t change or add anything to the heist genre, but

Schweighofer does a good job from both behind and in front of the camera. A minor character from “Army of the Dead” was not only given a spin-off, but it was made before “Army of the Dead.”

Because of how well both films have done, several minor characters from both films might get their own project in this franchise.

Fans of both heist and zombie films should enjoy this expansion of the “Army of the Dead” franchise. There is a very high chance now, due to the film’s successful showing on Netflix, that many other characters might be given their own spin-off projects hopefully set before “Army of the Ruby O. Fee stars in “Army of Thieves.” (Netflix via AP/ Stanislav Honzik) Dead.”

8 | The Vista

Nov. 2, 2021

Sports

Bronchos soccer positioned for quarterfinals Chris Lomelin

Contributing Writer

UCO finished its 2021 regular season with a 0-0 draw against Newman University on Friday night and a 1-0 victory over Rogers State University on Sunday as the Bronchos head into the conference tournament starting next weekend.

Having already secured a spot in the postseason, the Bronchos have now found themselves in a good position to host the quarterfinal match this Sunday.

UCO outshot the Newman Jets 21-5 through 90 minutes of regulation and the additional 20 minutes of extra time on Friday despite the score line showing zeros across the board.

Sunday’s match went differently as UCO was tied with RSU on shots 1515 after 90 minutes, with UCO’s Eden Jones finding the net in the 48th minute resulting in 1-0 for their Senior Day match, where the team’s seniors are honored in front of their family and friends before the first whistle.

The Bronchos are now 12-4-2 for the season and 8-2-1 in the MIAA. The last time the Bronchos faced the Jets in September, the match ended in a 2-2 draw – the only game where Newman has scored more than one goal in their respective season.

Bronchos Associate Head Coach Amel Muhamedagic explained that this weekend’s play helps determine

our kids have handled it really well.

They’ve actually met together as a team without even coaches being there and saying, ‘Hey…we need to make sure we stay as safe as we can. We need to create our own bubble if we want to have a spring season,’ so we’re really proud of our kids for really stepping up and taking it on themselves to have the best spring season they can have,” Muhamedagic said.

Head coach Mike Cook reflected on Sunday’s game and his decision to play the seniors on their last regular game before the tournament begins.

“We felt like we pretty much were in control of the game … [the seniors] started us off real well. It’s always a special time. For me, as a coach, it’s Taryn Kedzior blocks a Newman University player during Friday night’s game at Tom kind of bittersweet; you get to know Thompson Field. (The Vista/Sierra Perkins) these kids for four years, some of these which four teams will host the first- ally fit. We’ve picked up where we left girls for five years, so it’s always imround matches in the conference off in the Spring, and it’s been really portant,” Cook said.

UCO will face Missouri Western in tournament. fortunate for us. We’ve got a lot of kids “It’s really coming down to the on our roster who are working hard, a quarterfinal match at 1 p.m. Sunday wire…so this weekend’s games are contributing in lots of different ways,” at Tom Thompson Field.

“We’re hoping we can put it together really important for all of us,” Mu- Muhamedagic said. for three games in a row and maybe hamedagic said.

As far as COVID-19 precautions The Bronchos are looking to wrap and protocols go, the team has been win the conference tournament. That’s up this season immediately after com- taking measure to maximize their our plan—to work hard on finishing this next week to get ready for the ing off the previous season, which was ability to play all season. pushed from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021.

“Once spring came, we wanted to playoffs,” Cook said.

MWU is 9-7-2 overall and 6-5-0 in “I think that the one thing that we make sure that we give it our all bethe MIAA, with UCO winning their were all concerned about was just the cause you never know, you don’t take overload on the players. But I thought things for granted. We really worked previous matchup in September 2-0. we handled that well. We came in re- hard to get ourselves ready and fit and

Men’s basketball shoot for legacy this season Jaden Ford

Contributing Writer

The UCO men’s basketball team hasn’t played a normal regular season since COVID-19 changed Division II sports a year ago.

Central finished fifth in the MIAA last season with a 13-11 record. The men are looking to improve this year with high preseason hopes.

Coming into this season, Central was picked third in the preseason polls, just two spots behind defending national champions Northwest Missouri, whom the Bronchos face at home on Jan. 20.

Central keeps experience as a common denominator for the team lineup.

Starting with the team’s leading scorer from last season Callen Haydon, who averaged 15.6 points per game and 5.1 assists with 53.8% shooting from the field in his first year with the Bronchos as a junior college transfer.

No. 1 Davon Richardson guards the ball during a game in Feb. against Fort Hays State. (Provided by Broncho Sports)

Senior forward Isaiah Wade averaged 14.8 points per game and also led the team in rebounds with 9 Junior forward Cameron Givens also averaged 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds.

The Bronchos added forward Manny Crump, who transferred from Sam

Houston State as well as returning multiple threats.

Also, the Bronchos signed Oklahoma City’s Crossings Christian standout Cooper Gudell, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard who led the Knights to their first ever class 3A state cham-

pionship, winning 51-49. Gudell averaged 16 points per game and three rebounds in his senior season.

The Bronchos’ men start their season against Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hamilton Field House.