the
Volume 119, Issue 04
VISTA “Our Words, Your Voice.”
vistanews1903 @thevista1903 @thevista1903 The Vista ucentralmedia.com Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021
Extended fall break in jeopardy
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INSIDE
Football
In a disappointing fourth quarter, UCO Bronchos lost to Missouri Southern. See Pg. 7
Adrienne Nobles, vice president for communications and public affairs, announced the university has now reached 30% in reported vaccinated students. For an extended fall break, 50% of students need to report. (The Vista/ Photo Illustration by Madalyn Nix)
Kaleb Simmons and Christopher Lomelin Contributing Writers
Melton Gallery
Zines and magazines are featured in this exhibition that highlights Women’s rights. See Pg. 4
With the Oct. 1 deadline rapidly approaching to extend fall break by up to a week, UCO needs another 20 percent of students to reach the goal to extend break by even one day. A number of students told The Vista that more days off really doesn’t matter to them. Rachel Stokesberry, a sophomore at UCO, stated, “I don’t really care for it, but it would be nice.” Bradley Burk, a UCO student, also said that he didn’t care about having
the longer fall break. Ashlyn Hanlon, a senior at UCO stated: “It would be nice but I won’t complain if it isn’t extended.” The Move the Needle campaign has three goals: one being when 50% of the student population has reported that they have been vaccinated, the next at 60%, and the third at 70%. Each goal will give an additional day of fall break for each goal. As of Monday, 30% of the student population had self-reported that they have been vaccinated.To report a vaccination, the student must provide a picture or PDF as proof of a vaccina-
tion. This caused some problems with reporting COVID-19 vaccinations for one student. The student, who wishes not to be named, said they could not find their vaccination card, which no longer allows them to report their vaccination. They said that they would report their vaccination if they could. Students interviewed by The Vista did not seem to mind UCO knowing that they had been vaccinated. Amy Wilder said she had no problem with the university knowing her vaccination status. Stokesberry, Burk, and Hanlon all also had no issue with their vaccination status being known.
Bike safety a priorty since thefts
Esports
Sam Royka
Esports makes its debut with new coaches and players.
Staff Writer
See Pg. 7
Since 2020, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and hospital officials in Oklahoma City encouraged residents to voluntarily socially distance, wash hands and wear masks, but he will not allow schools to mandate masks. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
UCO struggles with mask mandates Around Campus Events and seminars! UCO hosts a Marijuana Through the Ages event along with a blood drive. See Pg. 2
Ainsley Martinez Managing Editor
Last week, UCO students asked a panel of administrators why more wasn’t being done to prevent the spread
of COVID-19 on campus. At a town hall meeting on Sept. 14, students suggested that the fall break incentive wasn’t doing Continued on Pg. 3
Since early August, there have been six or seven bike thefts on campus, said Jeff Harp, executive director of Public Safety and chief of police at UCO. “We are keeping a close eye on campus and bike racks,” said Harp, mentioning that police are checking security camera footage when bike thefts are reported. Harp urged students to report any suspicious behavior on campus to UCO Police. A motivating factor for
the thefts may be that people are taking the bikes to sell on social media or to part out to sell or fix other bikes, Harp said. “For some people, the $50 they make off a bike might be worth it,” he said. Buying a good lock is a great place to start when keeping a bike safe, Harp said. Harp recommended a steel U lock, one that cannot easily be cut with bolt cutters or lockpicked. This is the same kind that comes with the Bum-A-Bike rental at UCO, free with a UCO ID. Harp urged students to Continued on Pg. 3