The Vista Oct. 17, 2016

Higher Ed “Starving,” Page 6

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Native Americans Organize at UCO Queila Omena @queilaomena Reporter

“Touch the Clouds” rests at the southwest edge of University of Central Oklahoma’s campus, on Second St. The sculpture, brought to Edmond from Houston in 2015, depicts a chief of Miniconjou of the late 19th century. (Photo from Vista Archives.)

A newly formed association at University of Central Oklahoma, plans to honor and serve Native American students, faculty and staff by celebrating their historical culture in Oklahoma.

Native American Faculty and Staff Association (NAFSA) has the mission to support success among Native American students, providing programs and policies to highlight the importance of understanding Native American issues.

“It’s really important for everybody to have the context and to understand that this state is very

unique in our indigenous history. The history needs to be kept alive, recognized and honored because it’s so much of the life blood of the state of Oklahoma,” Jamie Clark, lecturer for the Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies and vice-president of NAFSA, said.

NAFSA is collaborating with the broader Central Community and Oklahoma’s Native American Nations to promote awareness of the history of Oklahoma, providing empowerment and cultural preservation.

See NAFSA on 5

TEDxUCO Tryouts Ending This Month Elisabeth Slay @Eslayslay Reporter

The University of Central Oklahoma is accepting submissions until Oct. 24 for the second TedxUCO Conference, where university-affiliated students, professors or alumni may create a presentation that portrays the event’s theme of Live for Tomorrow Today.

Although Student Executive Director, Stockton Duvall, and Assistant Director of Student Leadership Programs and Leadership Central, Laura Butler, have until Feb. 2, 2017 to bring the event together, they have been working on all the

details for several months.

“We’ve been planning, doing a lot of the behind the scene stuff ever since we started planning for the last one— so for a while,” Butler said.

Last year, TedxUCO was an all-day event that featured several speakers who presented various presentations.

This year’s event, however, will be a half-day period consisting of nine speakers total.

“It’s hard to ask people, especially students and full-time professionals, to take full time out of their work day.

So we’re really hoping to consolidate, as well as stay in line with the Ted regulations,” Butler said.

See TEDxUCO on 5

Cameron Neal, professional musician and lead singer/ guitarist of Horse Thief, performs at TEDxUCO on Sept. 25, 2015. Neal is a graduate of ACM@UCO. (Photo from Vista Archives.)

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CONTENTS

2

Captain Jeremy Allread of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Bomb Squad demonstrates to students how their bomb diffusal robot works at the annual Criminal Justice Day, hosted by UCO. Photo by Ryan Naeve, The Vista.

CONTENTS UCO News.....................................................3

NAFSA/TEDxUCO.......................................5

Around Campus.............................................4

Higher Ed.......................................................6

UCO Warnings...............................................7

STAFF NAME AND POSITION

Kateleigh Mills Alex Brown A . Suave Francisco Cara Johnson Ta y l o r M i c h a u d Elisabeth Slay Elizabeth Spence Megan Prather Queila Omena Peter Agnitsch Ike Wilcots Ryan Naeve Te d d y B u r c h

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Copy Editor Re p o r t e r Re p o r t e r Re p o r t e r Re p o r t e r S p o r t s Re p o r t e r S p o r t s Re p o r t e r Photographer Advisor

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UCO NEWS

3

UCO Students Develop a Video Game Siali Siaosi

@sialisiaosi Contributing Writer

Students at the University of Central Oklahoma spent the summer developing a computer game and hope to have a demo completed next year.

The group, Zero Set Gaming, includes UCO computer science majors Remington Steele, Caleb Mills and Josh Drumm, along with Selena Gjovaag and Sara Handy, who both contribute to the game’s artistic design. A sound engineer from Washington named Zack Ormiston produces the game’s music.

While there’s no official title yet, “Project Music Man” is the codename the team has given the game for the time being, said Steele, the project leader.

The game is being created using a developing software called Unity and will feature 2D graphics and mechanics similar to old-school classics like Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda.” “‘Project Music Man’ uses the elements of a music game and an RPG,” Steele said, referring to a genre of video games called role-playing games. “You’re using music as a weapon.”

In the “Project Music Man” universe, there are musicians called creators who use music to generate an energy force opposed to just sound.

Among these creators are ‘alphas,’ the champions of a specific kind of music, Steele said.

“So if somebody is making a thrashing metal riff on his guitar, it’ll slash down a building. Or if a character is making a techno percussive beat, it’s going to cause an earthquake,” he said.

Creators are divided by certain music types; such as strings or percussionists. As the game’s main character, the player wields a reprogrammable keytar and uses multiple musical powers similarly to show

keep their interest.

“We have a dynamic supporting main cast that has everything from a recluse — a guy who’s been a wallflower his entire life — to a character that comes from a broken home,” Steele said. “We’re including all these archetypes to help people see themselves in that character’s shoes.”

While he admits the mechanics and graphics of “Project Music Man” are nothing innovative, Steele said Zero Set Gaming hopes to maintain players’ attention with a compelling storyline surrounding the impact

"If you have a dream, do it, because otherwise it’s going to well up inside of you and you might end up regretting it in the future." how different music genres blend to create jazz or rock ’n roll.

The player also gets new sounds and upgrades to power up as the game progresses, Steele said.

As they navigate a virtual city with musical districts organized by genre, players will encounter new characters and have opportunities to embark on side quests.

Steele said the team wanted to include a variety of relatable characters throughout the map to help players establish emotional connections and

of music and a fun, original game soundtrack.

“It’s like a mixture of reading book, watching a movie and playing a tabletop game — it tells a story,” Steele said.

Zero Set Gaming’s original goal was to get a working demo done before the fall semester began; however, designing a video game is no simple task, Steele said.

The team held weekly meetings during the summer where Steele would assign goals and discuss up-

coming deadlines.

“We got most of our predevelopment stuff done this summer — the story-making, script-writing, character development, concept art and some music,” Steele said.

“We have the world and the actions between characters within the world established,” Steele said.

“What we’re mainly working on now is the menu system, enemy AI and combat.”

Each member of Zero Set Gaming is responsible for helping with different aspects of Project Music Man, including coding, character attributes and fighting mechanics. Some processes, such as character design, took a lot of collaboration from individual team members.

Once the “Project Music Man” demo is complete, Zero Set Gaming plans to begin a kickstarter campaign to help fund the rest of the game, Steele said.

Currently, those involved in the project have been working for free and on their own time, but the team is hopeful that the final product will be worthwhile.

Steele said Zero Set Gaming’s ultimate goal is to engage players with the story of “Project Music Man” and help them develop new tastes in music.

For aspiring game designers hoping to someday develop their own virtual adventures, Steele offered some advice.

“All I suggest is to do it,” he said.

“I realized even if I just do this as a project, a hobby, or something I do in my free time, I’m not going to know what the limits of being a game designer are until I actually do it.”

The great thing about video games is that it’s not just someone reading the story to you — you’re creating the story. That dynamic can be applied to any life goal, Steele said.

“You’re the main character — you’re the protagonist of your life.

If you have a dream, do it, because otherwise it’s going to well up inside of you and you might end up regretting it in the future. It never hurts to try,” Steele said.

For more information about Zero Set Gaming, email Remington Steele at rsteele5@uco.edu.

Remington Steele, project leader of Zero Set Gaming, works on developing “Project Music Man,” a game that he and two other UCO students are working on. The group plans on releasing a demo next summer. Photo by Ryan Naeve, The Vista.

AROUND CAMPUS

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AROUND THE CAMPUS Monday, Oct. 17, 2016

Tuesday Oct. 18, 2016

UCOSA: From 1-2 p.m. the University of Central Oklahoma’s Student Association will meet for their weekly congress meeting in the Will Rogers Room located on the fourth floor of the Nigh University Center.

for Counseling and Well-Being will be in the Nigh University Center’s Room 402 to offer tools for living life effectively as well as focusing on skills such as emotion regulation and mindfulness.

CANDY COMMUNICATOR: UCO’s Student Programming Board will be in the Cherokee Room in the Nigh University Center from 11:30- 1:30 p.m. for a leadership lunch where UCO students can prepare for conversations in any professional setting.

GET OUT THE VOTE: From 11- 4 p.m. in the Melton Gallery, there will be an exhibition of design posters, reminding students of the importance of their responsibility to vote. The exhibit will be open through Oct. 19.

CENTRAL SPEAK: Beginning at 1 p.m. UCO’s Project

SPEAK will host a Facebook live discussion talking about ‘Why don’t victims leave?’ These live Facebook discussions are only on Mondays and Fridays in October to raise awareness on societal and cultural aspects of abuse. To participate in the live discussion, go to Project SPEAK’s Facebook page.

PASSPORT TO GLOBAL KOREA ‘Movie Mondays’:

Beginning at 7 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Building’s Pegasus Theater, the movie ‘Breath,’ a romantic drama centered on the relationship between a prisoner and a married female artist. The event is a STLR-tagged event is co-sponsored by Literature in Perfomance at UCO.

EMOTIONAL FITNESS: From 10:30- 11:30 a.m. the Center

PUMPKIN FRENZY: From 5:30- 8 p.m., Bronchos with Kids

will decorate mini pumpkins and mingle with one another.

LIFT THE CHAINS: From 7 - 9 p.m. in Plunkett Park at UCO,

the Black Student Association and the Asian American Student Association will collaborate in an event wher students and staff can write messages of racial or stereotyping experiences. These messages will be linked together in a chain. BSA and AASA will also read off names of those who have died as a result of discrimination and indirect innoncent involvement in violence. The event is to reflect and bring awareness to discrimation and racism in society and the community.

Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 UCOSA: From 9- 10 a.m. the University of Central Oklahoma’s Student Association’s President, Cash Dietz, and Vice-President, Macie Snowden, will be by the blue tent and clock tower on campus to listen to student concerns as well as talk with students about UCOSA. BGLTQ+ SUPPORT: The Center for Counseling and Well-Be-

ing will be in the Nigh University Center’s Room 402 at 12 p.m. for individuals thinking about coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or for people who have recently come out and are seeking support.

These groups are free and confidential.

PASSPORT TO GLOBAL KOREA: Beginning at 1 p.m. in

the Liberal Arts Building’s Pegasus Theater, there will be a lecture series on the ‘Characteristics of South Koreans.’ Speakers Dohwon Kim and Anish Peringol will speak on their travels in Korea and America as well as on teaching language and culture. This event is also Student Transformative Learning Record-tagged.

MY MEATS ATE

REAL VEGGIES

SEEKING STRENGTH: Beginning at 1 p.m. in the Nigh University Center Room 402, the Center for Counseling and Well-Being will have a workshop to reduce trauma and substance abuse symptoms, as well as including boundaries in relationships and other topics. The workshop is both free and confidential.

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WATCH PARTY: From 8- 10 p.m. in the Liberal Arts Building Room 120, there will be a watch party for the third presidential debate with Student Transformative Learning Record tenet, Sercice Learning & Civic Engagment and event host, Matthew Moore. Students can watch and discuss the debate and also talk about the upcoming election.

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016 - Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 FALL BREAK- Classes for the University of Central Oklahoma

will not resume until Oct. 24, 2016.

SERIOUS DELIVERY!

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TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST YOU VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM ©2014 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

5

NAFSA/TEDxUCO

NAFSA

Queila Omena @queilaomena Reporter

(Continued from cover) Clark received her undergraduate degree from the University of Central Oklahoma in the 90’s, and she said she had an experience that changed the way she looked at diversity. She met a student from a reservation in Mexico that wasn’t satisfied with the amount of Native American culture on campus.

Clark dedicated her time to make sure students felt accepted on campus and could identify with a group of people, even though she also believes students need to branch out.

“It’s really nice for Native students who come on campus to see themselves represented in faculty and staff. [It’s important] to also to be able to connect with other students and resources that might be available to them. It’s important to have a group that is looking out for them, letting them know what’s going on,” she said.

Last month NAFSA organized a community dinner at the Internation-

al house that included a lot of fellowship and remembrance of Natives histories in Oklahoma, she said.

The Native American Faculty and Staff Association replaced Columbus Day on campus to Indigenous People’s Day. UCO adopted the changes and explored the importance of the alternate name after several requests from student groups and the UCO Faculty Senate.

During the Indigenous People’s Day Celebration on Oct. 5, UCO welcomed leaders of Oklahoma’s Native American Nations and offered a banquet honoring Native Americans’ achievements and valuable contributions to Oklahoma’s civic and cultural vitality.

“It’s our opportunity to bring together individuals on campus to recognize the Native Nations that are part of Oklahoma. Indigenous People’s Day is designed for us to express appreciation and recognition of the roll that Native Nations play, and at that same time, to encourage greater understanding of those nations and to focus of the preservation of the culture,” UCO President Don Betz said.

“They are full citizens just like anybody else, and they are really just part of our overall culture. But their distinctiveness and particular tribal

The Blackbird Family Drum and Dance Troupe perform a Native American dance in Constitution Hall during the 2015 Passport to Native America series at UCO. (Photo provided by Vista Archives.)

approaches are very important to us to understand in terms of the quality of the life they lead and the qualities they emphasize. I think we can all learn from them,” Betz said.

Betz said that UCO currently

has students from over 22 different tribes.

For more information about NAFSA or Indigenous Peoples Day, contact Botello at 405-974-5571 or rbotello@uco.edu.

TEDxUCO Elisabeth Slay @Eslayslay Reporter

(Continued from cover) TedxUCO will be held in one of the ballrooms of the Nigh University Center, and ticket prices and availability will be announced closer to the actual event date.

The theme of the event is different every year, and this year’s theme is inspired by a quote from Albert Einstein.

“Live for Tomorrow Today— basically it’s supposed to stay broad so that people can talk on any topic, but it’s mainly talking about making sure each day you’re continuing to live it out and make an impact in whatever you’re doing,” Duvall said.

The event started for the first time last year by a UCO faculty member as part of the university’s 125 year anniversary.

“There were a lot of campus events and a lot of campus involvement. Dr. Robert Epstein who is a professor in the business college— he actually came up with the idea and took the initiative and moved forward with Tedx,” Butler said.

According to Butler, Ted Talks has certain requirements for organiza-

Daniela Perieda, founder of Bilingual Families, speaks to the University of Central Oklahoma on the importance of bilingual speaking families during the TEDxUCO Talks in Fall 2015. (Photo provided by Vista Archives.)

tions that wish to hold an event such as this, and it is her role to help meet them.

“There were two people at UCO who got certified, that was Dr. Epstein and myself. So last year we were certified, and we maintain those certifications,” Butler said.

Duvall is in charge of campus involvement in the event, specifically with the requirement of students.

“I am heading up the volunteers and stuff. I’m working on getting a diversity of students [and] on setting a speaker selection committee.

So we’re trying to get students of different demographics [and] different colleges — just stuff like that so we can get an input on what different students want to see in Tedx,” Duvall said.

According to Butler, the main purpose of this event is to give the UCO community the opportunity to learn about interesting concepts.

“Ted Talks really is founded on the sharing of information and the sharing of ideas. With the location of UCO in the metro and the connections UCO has throughout the metro

community, we felt it was the perfect place to host [this event],” Butler said.

Butler said she thinks people should attend this event because it provides an environment for continued learning.

“We’re at a higher education institution where people should value life-long learning and continuing to learn about these scenarios, and I think this provides the space to do just that— to share diverse ideas, topics and learn from one another,” Butler said.

HIGHER ED

6

Higher Ed “Starving,” Film Shows Elisabeth Slay @Eslayslay Reporter

Around 100 faculty and students at the University of Central Oklahoma viewed the new documentary “Starving the Beast” Oct. 14 in the Radke Fine Arts Theater, where they learned about decreased state funding at UCO, which reflects a national trend of higher education bankruptcy.

“I think the trends they were identifying in the film are parallel to trends we see in Oklahoma. For example, at the University of Central Oklahoma, fifteen years ago a much larger percentage of our budget came from the state than it does now,” UCO President Don Betz said.

The film features public institutions such as the University of North Carolina, Louisiana State University, University of Texas, and Texas A&M, all of which endured some form of budget cuts from state legislatures.

According to a statement made by the film’s director, Steve Mims, stories of government officials cutting higher education budgets never made the news until Texas A&M and the

University of Texas at Austin went through a reform process made by then governor, Rick Perry.

“It is an important film because it talks about issues that touch virtually every university and community. It’s about the continuing underfunding or [defunding] of public higher education in favor of private education,” Betz said.

The movie provided information

is a public good and if so how do we continue to support it financially through our government services and our tax dollars at work,” Jarrett Jobe, executive director of Leadership Central, said.

According to Betz, UCO works with other universities to prevent the school from going through situations the colleges in the film experienced.

“We are in close connection with

“I think the trends they were identifying in the film are parallel to trends we see in Oklahoma,” Betz said. regarding a shift in the initial concept of public higher education as being accessible to anyone, to a more economic ideology that views students as consumers.

“The documentary really frames this question of do we believe this

all the other public universities in the state. What we try to do is demonstrate to the legislature and to public, the quality of what we do, the affordability of what we do and the access we give students who would otherwise not have a chance to go

college,” Betz said.

Betz also said that the film will be publicly screened at education institutions in the weeks to come and he will be interested to witness student responses.

“I’ll be watching. The students that I know have watched it have lots of questions and many of the students don’t understand that we’re underfunded. They just know that their tuition went up, but to see this in a larger context that there’s a very united almost calculated approach to making sure that fewer dollars go to public higher education, that usually comes as a surprise,” Betz said.

All the experts in the film that provided the information regarding the importance of public higher education were older white males who were important figures at the varying schools.

“In several of the examples that they chose, there were students involved you just didn’t hear their voices... these people that were speaking were the decision makers or those who were trying to influence the decision making. This is an important film for students, I believe, as background,” Betz said.

‘Starving the Beast, shown on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 in Radke Fine Arts Theater for President Don Betz, shows the declining nature of public universities and their funds.

(Photo provided by ‘Starving the Beast’ movie trailer.)

7

UCO WARNINGS

What The “Timely Warning” Means for UCO Safety Elizabeth Spence @lizzlynn Reporter

The University of Central Oklahoma recently sent out a mass email to all students and faculty on campus titled Timely Warning. This warning was issued after a dead body was found within proximity of campus; here is what this warning means for the safety of UCO. Every year the university releases an annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which is available to the public online, or a printed version could be provided by the UCO police department.

On the second page of this report is the Clery Act, or “The Clery Act (Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, 1990, as amended),” as stated in the annual report. This means that because UCO is an institution of higher education and receives federal financial assistance under Title IX of the Higher Education Act, they are required to release annual information about campus crime, security policies and timely warnings when deemed necessary.

The people who decide whether or not to send out a warning for the campus, such as the recent one that was sent on Oct. 5, would be the President of UCO, Don Betz, and the UCO Chief of Police, Jeff Harp.

The UCO Police Station, located in the northwestern side of campus, provides saftey for the university as a whole.

In emergencies, UCOPD sends out notifications of what’s going on and how students should react until more information is gathered. Photo by Cara Johnson, The Vista.

According to Harp, UCO was not involved in the investigation of the body that was found because it was not a UCO student, but because of the suspicion and proximity to the UCO campus, they decided to send out a warning that read: “Edmond Police are investigating a death that occurred near the northeast side of the UCO main campus in Edmond. The deceased is not a UCO student. We have no information to indicate that there is any threat to the UCO community but wanted you to be aware of this information. We will continue to work with Edmond Police and

will provide updates as new information becomes available.”

The email was constructed by Harp and Betz for this situation. This is to keep everyone on campus informed with their surroundings and to be on guard because there was suspicion with the body that was found, but there was no known threat.

“We don’t want to scare people, but we want them to be aware,” said Harp.

Until the investigation is over, students and faculty have been urged to keep their heads up and pay attention to their surroundings.

THIRSTY THURSDAY GET YOU BUSTED? I CAN HELP. Call Tommy Adler for DUI and Criminal Defense.

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SPECIAL EVENT T UESDAY , O CT . 25 Free Public Event at UCO Nigh Constitution Hall: 7-9 p.m.

Private Ticketed Event Best of Books: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

MEG CABOT No. 1 New York Times’ best-selling author MEG CABOT, most noted for “The Princess Diaries,” has sold more than 25 million copies of nearly 80 published books in 38 countries!

SEE HER TUESDAY, OCT. 25: n 7-9 P.M. NIGH UNIVERSITY CENTER’S CONSTITUTION HALL. (A signing will follow after a presentation and Q&A.)

For more information: contact Michele Baker at 405-974-2877 or mbaker@uco.edu. UCO’s Max Chambers Library is collaborating with Best of Books for the event. Books must be purchased at event.

n 5:30-6:30 P.M. Ticketed event benefits Oklahoma Center for the Book.

For more information: Go to bestofbooksok.com or call 340-9202. The event will be at Best of Books, 1313 E. Danforth in Edmond’s Kickingbird Square Shopping Center, not far from UCO.