The Vista October 6, 2020

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the

Volume 118, Issue 7 v

VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”

vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista ucentralmedia.com Tuesday, October 6, 2020

UCO student victim of deadly crash

INSIDE

Kiel Kondrick Managing Editor

Voter Registration The deadline to register to vote is coming up. Details on this and other election information. See Pg. 8

COVID-19 Changes UCO has updated it’s guidelines surrounding what type of face coverings are allowed on campus. See Pg.4

MIAA Announcement Information on winter and spring sports at UCO after the MIAA met last week. See Pg.6

Around Campus Events are happening all over campus this week! Experience Salsa Under the Stars with HASA! See Pg. 2

A UCO student died Saturday after being critically injured just after midnight on the Kilpatrick Turnpike in a head-on collision with a wrong way driver. Marissa Murrow, 19, was traveling in the southbound lanes of the Kilpatrick Turnpike near SW 15th Street when Malcom Douglas Penney, 39, traveling northbound in the southbound lanes, hit Murrow head on, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Murrow was pinned for 21 minutes before the Oklahoma City Fire Department was able to free her. Murrow was then transported to the ICU at OU Medical Center where she later died due to her injuries, according to a statement on the UCO Sigma Kappa facebook page. “A piece of our hearts left when Marissa did. Our chapter will never be the same – a light is missing from this house. Marissa was the kind of person everyone strives to be,” stated the sorority in it’s facebook post. According to an OHP tweet, Penney was under the influence while driving, which caused the collision. Penney initially ran from the scene on foot but was arrested Saturday morning and booked on second degree murder and felony DUI charges, OHP reported. Murrow was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority at UCO. After learning of the incident and death of Murrow, the sorority created a GoFundMe

Marissa Murrow was a 19 year-old sophomore at the University of Central Oklahoma. Murrow died due to injuries sustained in a head-on collision with a driver who was reportedly under the influence, according to OHP. (Provided/UCO Sigma Kappa)

page to help raise support for Murrow’s family to help with medical and memorial costs. The fundraising page states, “We hope to spread awareness of driving under the influence and to also show the world how bright Marissa continues to shine.” As of Monday afternoon, the page had raised more than $25,000. Sigma Kappa president, Kenzie Taylor, tweeted on Saturday evening: “As

the president of UCO Sigma Kappa, my heart is broken. Never drink and drive. Marissa, we love you. Fly high my beautiful sister.” According to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office, between 2016 and 2019 there were 2,660 alcohol-related vehicle crashes across Oklahoma, 494 of which resulted in fatalities. Within the same time frame, 1,130 total drug related vehicle crashes occurred, which resulted in 661 fatalities.

virtual watch party last week hosted by the Debate and Speech Team at the University of Central Oklahoma. Rastakhiz, American national government professor at UCO, labeled which tactics stood out to him as most persuasive or repulsive. “I think it’s more a distraction strategy that Trump uses to avoid the question and throw it at someone else and put the spotlight on someone else because he’s cornered,” Rastakhiz said. “If you’ve been following Trump since 2016 or 2015 basically, this is his debate tactic. When he is cornered he just immediately throws something more colorful at you even if it’s not

true. It will at least divert attention as a strategy,” Rastakhiz said. Students participated in a live chat during the debate. The comments were informal and fluid. The more structured analysis took place afterward as the team specifically broke down each topic discussed during the debate. For example, the persuasiveness of the arguments made by the candidates under the COVID-19 section of the debate. Matthew Moore, Debate Team coach at UCO, led the discussion after the debate. He introduced why the

STLR credit offered for 2020 election debates Sarah Hite Editor-In-Chief

Students can earn STLR credits by watching the Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday at 8 p.m., with the University of Central Oklahoma Speech and Debate team. This event is STLR-tagged in the Service Learning & Civic Engagement tenet. The watch party and discussion is intended to help raise awareness of issues in the 2020 presidential elections. Abbas Rastakhiz quickly spotted a familiar debate tactic used by President Donald Trump during a similar

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The Vista October 6, 2020 by The Vista - Issuu