15 April 2019

News

The Collegian: 2

15 April 2019

PPRC announces sweeping department cuts The faculty-led committee will cut 84 degree programs as part of an effort to prepare TU for changes in the academic landscape.

Ethan Veenker Editor-in-Chief

Recent, drastic changes announced at the University of Tulsa have a significant portion of TU studentry and faculty challenging decisions made by the administration. Specifically, TU will be losing 40 percent of its degree programs, going from 196 programs across five colleges to 112.

This restructuring also includes a reorganization of the various colleges on campus into three distinct categories: Henry Kendall College, which will retain the Arts and Sciences curriculum with a new emphasis on interdisciplinary studies; Engineering and Natural Sciences, which will retain curriculum from those two fields of studies; and a “Professional Super College,” which will combine the business, law and health colleges.

In addition, a new compulsory area of study aimed toward “student success,” as termed by President Gerard Clancy, will be formed, called University Studies.

“Our central focus is on student success. We want our students to be successful when they come here, and that means graduating on time with low debt, with a job in hand or a graduate school in hand … That’s really the focus[,] student success … We want people to feel like they got the degree and the preparation they wanted.”

Regarding these large changes, President Clancy said, “I actually call it the third transformation of TU.” This is the largest and most significant change seen by the university in over three decades.

The PPRC and its decisions The “True Commitment” webpage shared by President Clancy with the entire campus announces that the PPRC compiled and reviewed the data “that reveals clearly who we are.” It goes on to say, “For too long, we have tried to be everything to everyone. We have been spread too thin and, in many cases, have not been able to achieve excellence as a result.”

To that end, the PPRC’s responsibilities have primarily revolved around the decisions of which programs to cut. What Clancy sees as a need for the university to adapt to a changing landscape for higher education influences the decision to cut programs.

“This is for the long-term benefit of the students, and for the long-term benefit of the institution,” said Clancy. He referred to a line chart that showed the number of college-attending students dropping rapidly and suddenly by 2030. “I’m going to look to the future — it’s my job to do this.”

The PPRC, however, never saw the costs of the programs they were suggesting to cut or retain.

“This wasn’t budget control,” Clancy said. “This was really looking at program review, program viability. … The PPRC did not see money at all.”

The PPRC’s suggestions were reportedly made regarding participation rates and other aspects of program viability. “We didn’t want the decisions to be financially driven; we wanted it to be quality of education. … We didn’t want that hanging over their head over and over again, that we’ll do this for cost-cutting measures; that we’ll do this for financial reasons,” Clancy explained.

Nominees to the PPRC, according to Tracy Manly, were asked if they were willing to make cuts to their own programs, and they were denied a seat on the committee if they refused. “Were they willing to work for the university, rather than just their departments,” Clancy said.

The PPRC was formed following a visit by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) in 2018. The HLC is the organization that reports to the government and grants accreditation to post-secondary facilities in the central part of the United States, in which Oklahoma is included. In the “Academic

Strategy for the University of Tulsa” — a 52-page PDF that breaks down the PPRC’s decisions, calculation methods and the future of the university of large — the HLC is credited as the genesis of these changes. A statement directly from the HLC regarding TU, made during their visit to campus last March, is listed as follows: “Decision-making has not been strategically driven. For example, academic programs are eliminated through attrition and scarce resources.

“Some 20 programs have had six or fewer graduates per year over three recent years[.] The only mechanism shared for the elimination of programs is the attrition of program faculty.

“The current process of program review also does not include a mechanism to evaluate program alignment with mission or strategic plan to allow for missiondriven allocation of resources.

Program elimination appears to be primarily driven by faculty attrition rather than institutional mission and enrollment.

Student Success Center “will bring the most critical student services under one roof, knocking down silos while streamlining and enhancing our current levels of support for our students. This one-stopshop approach has made a positive impact at other universities, and we already see the benefits of student success teams working more closely at TU.” While this aspect of TU’s reorganization is apparently inspired by other universities, Clancy proudly asserted, “We’re not like OU and OSU, and we’re not like WashU, either. We’re kind of in between that. … We have excellence in certain areas that universities our size don’t have. … There really is no one like us at all.”

The other two major shifts mentioned in the “Academic Strategy” document involve the shift from departments to “interdisciplinary division[s],” as well as the creation of the new Professional Super College.

Perhaps the changes most noticed by students, however, are the program cuts and changes. A great

faculty immediately began planning protest events. That Thursday, flyers appeared around campus, announcing “This is NOT who we are,” with a call to wear black during the week of April 15 – 21 to mourn the lost programs, as well as the announcement of a funeral walk on April 19.

A protest meeting was hosted by students and faculty in Kendall Hall at noon on Friday, April 12, at which students and faculty gave testimonies in the interest of retaining the liberal arts programs planned to be cut at TU. Student Kara VonWyl detested the changes, saying, “Our loyalty is being thrown out into the streets.”

Professor Julianne Romanello asked, “I hear they’re going to honor degree programs for incoming freshmen and current students.

What’s your degree going to say about you — coming from a university in turmoil, a university that doesn’t know its purpose?”

Following this, on the morning of Friday, April 12, a day after the PPRC’s suggestions were an-

“Clancy also clarified that the loss of the theater major won’t necessarily signal the loss of theater on campus.”

“The review team recommends intense institutional oversight to ensure that there is a systematic review of all undergraduate programs including those that cross disciplines. Program reviews should include a detailed financial component and discussion related to program sustainability. In addition, a systematic process that allows for the elimination of programs is recommended through shared governance.”

The PPRC, then, can be viewed as a response to these comments, among other stimuli on campus.

“Beginning ten months ago,” Clancy explained, “we began a faculty-led process. … [The PPRC’s] charge was to review all programs for growth: to maintain, or to be phased out. … Which programs are viable, which ones look strong going forward, which ones are low-enrollment, and such.”

Clancy also mentioned that he stayed out of the PPRC’s decisionmaking process to keep it facultyled. Overarchingly, as Clancy put it, “We needed to change. The Higher Learning Commission told us we needed to change.”

Beyond the program cuts, perhaps the largest change coming

portion of the program changes affect graduate programs, and as the True Commitment webpage states, “the program prioritization decisions admittedly impact graduate programs more than undergraduate programs.” Clancy reaffirmed this in the Student Forum held on Friday, April 12.

Many undergraduate programs are affected as well, however, including the philosophy and religion majors, which have now been consolidated to a single minor, many of the foreign language minors, most of the music majors and every theater major. Administration has repeatedly stated that these changes won’t affect current, enrolled students at the University of Tulsa, and that each student will have the full support of the university in attaining their degree.

Clancy also clarified that the loss of the theater major won’t necessarily signal the loss of theater on campus. “That’s where over the next five years, we can figure that out. Because I think there’s a lot of different ways we can do this, other than having a major. … Extracurricular, or let’s put it in some of the other classes we have as well. Just because the

nounced, a document penned by philosophy professor Jacob Howland began circulating between student emails. The manifesto, which numbers almost 5,000 words, decries what Howland sees as the corporatization of the University of Tulsa.

The document claims, “Absent a board willing and able to defend our integrity as an academic institution, we have experienced a hostile takeover that has effectively made TU a subsidiary of Tulsa’s biggest charitable foundation and an agent of the city’s corporate interests.” It also criticizes the university’s lack of faculty raises since 2015 and its attachment to the athletics department, which did not undergo any cuts or changes from the PPRC. The document also criticized the data-gathering methods used by the PPRC, stating that with at least one example of data retrieval, “The PPRC ultimately admitted that it had overstated instructional costs for my department by 40 [percent].” The document also draws comparisons to totalitarianism, explicitly stating at one point, “It is reminiscent of the Stalin’s [sic] extirpation of the

photo by Ethan Veenker (From left to right) President Gerard Clancy, Janet Levit, Esq. and Dr. Tracy Manly talking at the Student Forum.

to campus is the introduction of University Studies, described in the “Academic Strategy” as “one of the boldest and most inspired decisions,” and also as the “common entry point for all entering freshmen.” University Studies will consist of “Global Scholars, Honors/Classical Studies, Presidential Leaders Fellowship and the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge.”

It is also billed as the “academic analog to the recently announced Student Success Center,” which is defined in a graphic as encompassing the interests of University Studies, Engineering and Natural Sciences, Professional Programs and Arts and Science Interdisciplinary Studies. Further defined on the True Commitment webpage and located in Hardesty Hall, the

majors go away doesn’t mean the classes have to go away, and the experiences have to go away. So I’m actually open-minded on what will happen next with the theatrical arts.”

These changes are slated to begin after December 2020, after which incoming freshmen will not be able to enroll in these programs.

Administration is also vocal in affirming that the affected programs only account for six percent of the studentry at TU, both for primary and double majors. The Collegian was unable to confirm if this statistic also included program minors.

Aftermath Following the April 11 announcement of the university’s upcoming changes, community backlash was swift. Students and

peasantry, required to destroy the organic communities that stood as reproach to the depredation of the State.”

According to Clancy, cuts to the athletics department were not viable and “could not be done quickly,” due to contractual obligations with the American Athletic Conference. “We have a long-term obligation to the conference,” Clancy said, “and we can’t leave the conference.”

The PPRC was primarily concerned with academics.

In a statement to The Collegian, Howland claimed, “Clancy and Levit were very surprised at the passionate and intelligent response of the student body to the cuts. The tragedy of this situation is that they failed (or were perhaps unable) to see value in the existing

The following information is paraphrased from a more in-depth timeline at utulsa.edu/ truecommitment.

June 2018: The Provost’s Program Review Committee (PPRC) is formed.

Nominees are chosen by the Faculty Senate and interviewed by the president, provost and Faculty Senate. Tracy Manly, an accounting professor, is named chair of the committee.

July – Sept. 2018: Program data collection methods are devised and put into action. Data will be used to determine which programs will be cut.

Sept. – Dec. 2018: Data from every program on campus is reviewed. Data sheets are released and available for review in the provost’s office.

Jan. 2019: PPRC finalizes suggestions with deans.

Feb. – March 2019: Suggestions are shared with other administration staff, as well as the board of trustees. Plans for implementation come into focus.

April 2019: Board of trustees approves the PPRC’s suggestions, which are subsequently shared with all teaching faculty in a meeting between 10:00 a.m. and around 11:20 a.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2019. university, and so could not understand why others might value it. Because of this fundamental mistake, their attitude toward our programs, students, and faculty has consistently come across as disdain. I hope we can educate them about the precious resources we have here.”

Julianne Romanello,visiting assistant professor in the philosophy department, also provided a statement, criticizing the transparency of the PPRC’s process and what she interpreted as poor communication with faculty.

“The administration sent faculty periodic email updates about what was in store, but these usually contained exhortations to embrace change, suggestions that the failure to do so would mean the end of TU as we knew it anyway, a summary of the laudable wor and credentials of the PPRC, and many quaint reflections on the pleasantries one might experience on any given day at TU,” she said, continuing with, “I was completely shocked to hear the individuals who are charged with the protection of our institution […] deliver their unanimous, market-driven, and ‘data-supported’ (read: blatant

Continued on pg. 3.

15 April 2019 Continued from pg. 2 falsehood) resolution to preserve the TU brand (read: appearance) by dismantling its substance (read: reality) altogether.”

She also defined the methods by which the decisions were made and their announcements “an injustice.”

Various anonymous faculty sources reached out to The Collegian expressing concern and outrage over the cutting of liberal arts, the efficacy and utility for the university in cutting those programs and the transparency of the PPRC’s data-gathering methods. Other anonymous faculty, however, leaned optimistic toward the new changes, claiming that the PPRC’s methods were more transparent than anything in that vein that the administration has done in the past 30 years and that the changes could lead to more good than bad.

Overarching criticism asserted that the University of Tulsa was gradually shifting away from the liberal arts with the interest of becoming a vocational school. To this end, Clancy responded, “I was a religion and biochemistry major, and it did me very well … One of our quiet strengths is we’re really good at double majors. … There’s not a phasing-out of liberal arts; we’re not becoming an engineering school.”

Clancy also asserted that the changes coming to campus have come about as a result of the HLC’s accreditation standards, and that rather than corporatization, the changes more accurately reflect organization.

Clancy also stated that while there has been a fair bit of criticism, he has also received compliments from students and staff alike: “I’ve actually received a huge number of very, very positive comments directly from the students saying, ‘This is the right move,’ from the students and a huge number of very positive comments from the community, too.”

News As of yet, the administration has not levied a specific response to Howland’s manifesto, but Clancy did call for a student open forum at the Reynolds Center on the evening of Friday, April 12. Present at the forum were President Clancy, Provost Janet Levit and Dr. Tracy Manly, an accounting professor who served as chair of the PPRC. When asked what the value of a degree from the University of Tulsa would mean in the wake of a cut program, Levit said, “The value of your degree is the value of a TU degree.”

She also mentioned later on that the PPRC’s data sheets are all available for review in the provost’s office and that very few students have come to look them over.

The Collegian: 3

that “the arts and humanities are fundamental to a college experience.”

In his meeting with The Collegian, Clancy also saw the detractors of TU’s reorganization as misinformed and under-read.

“They have just jumped to conclusions and used rumor and innuendo, when what we do as a university — we are fact-finders, and the facts are in here [referring to the “Academic Strategy” document],” he said. “This is how it worked, this is what we did, this is how we did it, rather than what’s on Twitter and what’s on Facebook.”

He was adamant that students and faculty familiarize themselves with the “Academic Strategy” document, which is hyperlinked at utulsa.edu/truecommitment.

photo by Madison Connell A gathering of students in protest of department changes on April 12 in a full Kendall Hall theater.

The three on the panel also denied a request to upload the document to the internet, reiterating that the information is available in the provost’s office.

A complete video of the student forum is available on The Collegian’s Facebook page. Following the open forum, Clancy remained on the stadium floor and spoke to students individually for some time.

Prior to the forum, Clancy sent out an email to students that cleared up misconceptions about the PPRC’s decisions, broken up into seven points. These include “the changes reflect TU’s identity,” and a reaffirmation

“The university is financially strong,” Clancy said. “[We have] a $1.1 billion dollar endowment. But when we look to the future, it was very clear that we needed to make some changes.”

Clancy is concerned about the future of universities as institutions, and wants to ensure TU’s continued existence. “As hard as it is,” he said, “this is important for us to take these steps, it really, really is.”

Conclusion The protests on campus will seemingly go on, and some students are attempting to

get the hashtags “#TUReorganization” and “#WeAreTheSixPercent” trending. Online chatter is high and, for the most part, angry.

Clancy mentioned at the end of the student forum that there would be more events like it, and that communication between the administration and the studentry would continue. Administration has shown no sign of retracting any of the changes thus far.

These changes, part of TU’s five-year academic plan, will only begin after 2020, and the entire transition will take four to five years. It remains to be seen how permanent the changes will be.

Clancy, as mentioned above, also termed this as the third transformation in TU’s history. “The first,” he explained, “was when we moved from Muskogee to Tulsa. The second was when there was a deep commitment in the early ‘80s when all the other universities moved in to go residential and academic excellence, and this is the third version. I call it ‘TU 3.0.’”

Clancy, and the administration at large, see the changing landscape for higher education and have acknowledged doomsday predictions from respected economists like Harvard’s Clayton Christensen, who posits that half of the higher-learning facilities in the United States will close in the next decade. The coming changes will be made in the interest of braving this theoretical storm.

As Clancy said, “Part of what we’re doing right now is getting ready for this.” It remains to be seen if the changes will ultimately be implemented or if the protests will bear a settlement with the administration.

TU’s performance in the coming years amid the highly-theorized “higher education bubble” also remains to be seen, but Clancy hopes it can hold on. “It’s my stewardship responsibilities to move the university to be able to be strong during that. … If people don’t want to look to the future, that’s fine, but I’m going to look to the future. It’s my job to do this.”

TU Copy closed by parent company due to lack of use The sudden closure of TU Copy left students and employees scrambling to find affordable alternatives.

Madison Connell News Editor A vital campus resource. Three long-time employees. No notice. The closure of the University of Tulsa’s student copy shop, known as TU Copy, involved all of these things, surrounded by rumors long before and after it closed.

It started with a deal with Cambridge Information Group (CIG), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Petroleum Abstracts, the company that ran TU Copy and Petroleum Abstracts Document Delivery, was suffering, and it was looking for a potential buyer, according to two former employees of Petroleum Abstracts, Alice McCommas and Kathy George. Talks with the privatelyheld investment firm started at the beginning of the fall semester.

Alice McCommas, who was in charge of document control, said the employees of Petroleum Abstracts were kept in the dark.

“We had to kind of be in limbo from August to March, which was really, really stressful,” McCommas said.

In October, McCommas was moved from directly working at TU Copy to being located in the Petroleum Abstracts offices in the law college, shortly after the deal with CIG. “They probably knew by then [that they were going to shut down TU Copy], but their excuse was that they wanted it to look full in the law school when CIG came by to look at the department,” McCommas speculated.

so far none of them have come through,” George said.

McCommas quit soon after in late March.

She was told that normally, administration is willing to bridge the time left to retire early by months. McCommas’s date to retire was in October 2019, but she was set to retire early. However, university administration did not tell McCommas until March that they would not let her retire early, she said.

Now, instead of paying what was around $350 a month for insurance, McCommas has to pay around $760 for another 16 months. George is in a similar situation, but for her, unemployment does not pay enough to cover this over-doubling in price.

Rumors of TU Copy shutting down with the purchase of Petroleum Abstracts reached the TU Copy office January 24, George said.

George emailed the interim director of Petroleum Abstracts, Ivana O’Brien, about this rumor, saying, “Good afternoon, guess we have a question for you. The saying over here in the library is that we are closing February 1. Is this true or just rumor?”

O’Brien responded back a few hours later.

“Negotiations are still on-going as far as I’m told, but I hope to know more in a couple of weeks,” O’Brien’s email read.

A week later, TU Copy was shut down.

In a statement from Mona Chamberlin, senior executive director of marketing and communications at the University of Tulsa, she stated, “Before the decision was made to end services, administrators reviewed the actual monthly utilization of TU Copy for student copying. They found that the utilization numbers for students not having theses and dissertations printed by TU Copy were exceptionally low. We believe Kinko’s/FedEx or another professional copying service

“Of the two remaining TU Copy employees, one was able to retire.”

Then, on January 30, the two employees who worked at TU Copy were brought in at 10 a.m. to speak with Janet Levit and human resources representatives.

The employees were told they would no longer have a job. The director of Petroleum Abstracts, Ivana O’Clark, was out of the state at the time.

The employees continued working until 2 p.m. that day, helping students until the human resource representative told the them to close TU Copy. The human resource representative, George said, needed to get back to their job.

Of the two remaining TU Copy employees, one was able to retire. The other, Kathy George, was one year away from being able to retire. George had worked for the university for 42 years — since she was 18 years old.

When George left the university, she and the other employee were told they would get preference for any future jobs. George does not believe it.

“I have interviewed for three jobs and

within close proximity of campus is a better long-term solution for the printing of theses and dissertations.”

She continued, “We will continue to monitor usage of printers, and we welcome input from students on the best ways to meet their needs while identifying avenues to increase efficiencies across campus.”

However, other accounts claim that TU Copy’s place at the university was not simply to generate revenue.

“It was supposed to be a service to the student. As far as I know, we were designated a non-profit,” McCommas said.

George added, “It’s true, just on our own, document delivery or TU Copy, no, we were not making enough to cover enough people’s salary, expenses, the papers that were going to it.”

Some of the services TU Copy provided included making and distributing course packs, copying students’ notes and chapters out of textbooks and printing various personal requests of students and faculty. While it was not free, it was considerably cheaper

photo by Madison Connell Sign placed in front of what was TU Copy’s window ledge in McFarlin Library notifying students about the shutdown.

than outside printing options, such as FedEx, which charges 20 cents a page compared to the five cents that TU Copy charged.

The effects of TU Copy’s shutdown are already being felt on campus. “It is going to be a big deal,” said Jon Arnold, associate history professor. “I have some classes, like the course I’m teaching in the fall, where the only textbook is the course pack.”

Course packs that were previously sold in TU Copy will now be available at the campus bookstore. However, there are limitations to this new arrangement.

Arnold claims that he will no longer be able to include his own translations or include certain texts, such as ones that are out of print, with the two companies that the bookstore will outsource to.

“That puts me in a position of, do I make the course pack, put it on Harvey, and say, ‘You guys need to print this’?” Arnold said.

“Do I go to Kinkos, print 25 of them, and say, ‘You guys need to buy this from me’?

Do I self-publish? I don’t really know.”

When TU Copy closed this semester, half of the students in Arnold’s class had not purchased the course pack yet. Without advance notice, the students and professors were left scrambling.

made through TU’s Bookstore at 11th and Harvard.”

Frequent TU Copy user and women’s and gender studies student DC Hegdale found out about the closure on her way to use the copy shop. She argues the free printing allowance from campus computers is not enough.

“I love the way TU gives us a pretty high, pretty free printing allowance, and it’s pretty standard in my experience at one other institution,” Hegdale said. “That’s great, but printing is not the only thing I do as a student. There are times when I have to print something for a presentation and it requires copies, where we are only allowed black and white on our printing allowance, and there are times when I need to get a photocopy of something, and our printers don’t do that.”

Petroleum Abstracts now houses the expensive color printers once held in TU Copy, but they are now only accessible to Petroleum Abstracts employees — not to students.

Hegdale’s email to University President Gerard Clancy, sent the day of the closure, said this has caused her to “strongly consider” transferring to OSU-Tulsa. “These combined issues push me more and more toward

“... [O]ther accounts claim that TU Copy’s place at the university was not simply to generate revenue.”

An email sent out to professors by administration said, “Course pack materials and other course content can be made available to your students through your Harvey courses. You are encouraged to use Harvey for this purchase and using Harvey will reduce student cost and make all of your course material readily available to your students.”

The email continued, “If physical course packs are necessary, arrangements can be

feeling disregarded and discounted as a student — but especially as a future alumni,” said Hegdale.

President Clancy was not able to comment as to whether there was a relationship between the closure of TU Copy and the larger administrative changes recently announced by the PPRC. Ivana O’Brien and other administrators did not respond to requests for interviews.

News

The Collegian: 4

15 April 2019

Parents, ringleaders charged in college admissions scandal Rick Singer led the 50 individuals that were part of a conspiracy to get children of wealthy adults into elite universities.

Hannah Robbins Student Writer On March 12, U.S. federal prosecutors charged Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and 50 other people in a scheme for wealthy Americans to buy their children’s attendance at elite universities. This investigation, entitled Operation Varsity Blues, involved approximately 200 FBI agents, millions of dollars and universities like USC, Yale, Wake Forest, Stanford and Georgetown.

The scheme, headed by Rick Singer, started in 2011. Under the guise of a college preparatory business called Edge College and Career Network LLC (nicknamed “the Key”) and a non-profit charity Key Worldwide Foundation, Singer conspired with parents, athletics coaches and SAT/ACT test administrators to get children into universities without merit. This was referred to as using the “side door.”

Singer’s scheme had several aspects to it. The first was test score fabrication. For a typical donation of between $15,000 and $75,000, parents could get a higher SAT or ACT score for their child. Singer was able to accomplish this by having the children ask for extended time, then have the test transferred to one of two locations that Singer controlled. Administrators bribed by Singer allowed Mark Riddell, one of Singer’s partners, the ability to take the exam for students or provide the students with answers.

The second aspect of Singer’s operation was athletic recruiting deception. Parents

could pay money to bribe Singer to get their children designated as athletic recruits.

Singer bribed various university administrators and coaches to allow these students this designation even if they lacked the skill to compete at the college level. Some had never even played the sports before. Bribed administrators include USC’s Senior Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel and water polo coach Jovan Vavic, along with former Yale soccer coach Rudolph Meredith.

Finally, Singer used his charity, Key Worldwide Foundation, to commit wire fraud. Instead of directly paying the Key for Singer’s services, parents would pay the charitable foundation, allowing them to write off payments in the millions as charitable donations to Key Worldwide Foundation, which claimed to help organizations like Friends of Cambodia and the LadyLike Foundation. Instead, the majority of the money went to paying the athletics departments that were receiving fake recruits.

After the release of these charges, Singer pled guilty that same day. However, it was not as simple as that for all the parties involved. On March 28, Rudolph Meredith pleaded guilty on all counts. On April 9, 16 of the 33 parents charged in the case who had pleaded not guilty to original charges were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. On April 11, a motion was filed to have the case of all 33 parents that pled guilty moved from a judge that had a reputation of harsh sentencing to another random judge, but this was rejected, and the current judge will be able to determine how the case will proceed from there.

It is not clear if the students currently enrolled as part of this scandal will lose their enrollment.

courtesy Associated Press Jeremy Richman, father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting, in a 2013 town hall meeting.

Social impacts of mass shootings poorly understood After a spate of suicides related to mass shootings, experts are further exploring the relationship between trauma and mental health.

Thomas von Borstel Student Writer The first week of April has been the only week since 2013 without a mass shooting.

Shooting-related suicides are becoming repeated occurrences in the United States. The only growing category of homicide today is the mass shooting. In 2019, several suicides related to the aftermath of mass shootings have been publicized. Laymen and experts alike are questioning the nature of such trauma as survivors and secondhand casualties are being identified with severe PTSD and survivor’s guilt.

“The only growing category of homicide today is the mass shooting.”

Some of the recent cases include surviving students from the Parkland shootings.

Sydney Aiello took her life in March after suffering for months following the death of her good friend Meadow Pollack. Her family and the school mourn her loss as the shooting continues to take its toll. Her issues with PTSD manifested into a fear of being in a classroom, according to Fox News. A connection has been drawn between last year’s calamity at Stoneman Douglas and the young woman’s suicide.

Following the funeral of Sydney Aiello, a second student was found dead by suicide.

The young man, Calvin Desir, was 16 years old. His family described him as bright and said that he wished to become an engineer.

Much less information about Calvin Desir has been circulated pertaining to his struggle with trauma stemming from last year’s shooting.

The long term effects of mass shootings are beginning to become far more apparent.

Courtroom sketch of Joe Exotic from his early April hearing.

Emily Every Managing Editor A federal jury has convicted Joe Exotic, an Oklahoma native, zoo owner, YouTuber and former Libertarian gubernatorial candidate, of attempting to hire a hitman to kill Carole Baskin, the founder of the Big Cat Rescue located outside of Tampa, Florida.

Joe Exotic, 56, born Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, propositioned an undercover FBI agent in December 2017 to murder Baskin, a known critic of Maldonado-Passage’s past treatment of animals, for $10,000. The agent recorded the interaction, which the prosecution played for the jury during the trial. In the recording, Maldonado-Passage is recorded to have told the agent to “Just, like, follow [Baskin] into a mall parking lot and just cap her and drive off.”

Maldonado-Passage opened a private zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma in 1999 that became controversial for its allowance of guests to play with its tiger cubs, reportedly until the paws of the tigers bled from overinteraction. His conviction for murder-forhire follows an October 2017 conviction for causing the death of five tigers, as well as November 2016 and March 2018 convictions for selling tiger cubs.

these tragedies, the incidence of fear and the feeling of environmental insecurity as cited in the academic journal Trauma, Violence and Abuse.

The scramble to obtain a solution to this national epidemic is more heightened now with the widespread mourning of these tragedies. The enormity of the issue is leading many to find more questions than answers, as the standard procedure to provide counseling and psychiatric services following these cataclysmic events does not appear to be completely effective. Researchers are working rapidly, and many passionate individuals are constantly searching for an explanation, but the nature of this rampant issue remains obscure.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.

courtesy Todd Pendleton and The Oklahoman

Former gubernatorial candidate found guilty of murder-for-hire Joe Exotic paid an undercover FBI agent to take the life of a critic of his private zoo practices.

Seven years following the tragedy at Sandy Hook, Jeremy Richman, a parent of victim Avielle Richman, took his life within 10 days of Aiello’s death. Richman was a neuropharmacologist who founded a non-profit to study the nature of violence. Those surrounding him spoke on behalf of his intense grief and passion for motivating change and aiding prevention efforts against mass violence, according to ABC News.

These are not the first trauma-induced casualties of a mass shooting. The Columbine shooting in 1999 saw two additional victims of suicide within a year of the catastrophe: Greg Barnes, a witness to the death of Dave Sanders, and the mother of Anne Marie Hochhalter. A causal relation has been identified between these terrible occasions, but researchers do not have a clear link between the two as of yet. What they have identified is a pattern and the connection between

Prosecutors also stated that MaldonadoPassage had paid Allen Glover, one of the workers at his zoo, $3,000 as a down payment in exchange for that worker to murder Baskin. Glover has since testified that he never intended to harm Baskin and that he allowed Maldonado-Passage to believe that the teardrop tattoo beneath his eye signified that he had killed before. Glover purportedly drove to Florida to warn Baskin, but ended up drunk and high at a beach party.

He then told an anonymous informant about the Maldonado-Passage plot, who contacted authorities.

Commenting on Maldonado-Passage’s trial, Baskin has stated on BigCatsRescue. com that she is “grateful that justice was served and Joe Schreibvogel-MaldonadoPassage hopefully will serve time in prison and no longer present a threat either to [herself] or to his former big cats.” She goes on to explain that “For years, a network of big cat owners like [Maldonado-Passage] who have engaged in cruel cub petting schemes and the exhibition of big cats have also been engaging in the illegal sale of tigers.”

U.S. District Judge Scott Palk has yet to set a sentencing date, but MaldonadoPassage could theoretically expect up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

Several film crews and documentarians have approached Maldonado-Passage for the rights of his story, including “Dateline” producers, but it’s currently unclear what, if any, creative work will come from these meetings.

tucollegian@tucollegian.org

2018 – 2019 editor-in-chief

Justin Guglielmetti managing editor

Raven Fawcett news editor

Ethan Veenker sports editor

Brennen Gray variety editor

Emma Palmer commentary editor

Emily Every satire editor

Madison Connell photo & graphics editor

Conner Maggio

business & advertising manager

Brian Kwiecinski

social media & web manager

Sara Serrano

distribution managers

Jacob Lee

Jesica Santino and Katelyn Baker copy editor

Bryant Loney

The Collegian is the student newspaper of the University of Tulsa. It is distributed Mondays during the fall and spring semesters, except during holidays and final exam weeks. The University of Tulsa does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including but not limited to the classes protected under federal and state law. Inquiries regarding implementation of this policy may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-9700, (918)631-2616. Requests for accomodation of disabilities may be addressed to the university’s 504 Coordinator, Dr. Tawny Rigsby, (918)631-3814. To ensure availability of an interpeter, five to seven days notice is needed; 48 hours is recommended for all other accomodations.

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2019 – 2020 editor-in-chief

Ethan Veenker managing editor

Emily Every news editor

Madison Connell sports editor

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Sara Serrano photo & graphics editor

Emma Palmer

business & advertising manager

Brian Kwiecinski copy editor

Hana Saad

News

15 April 2019

The Collegian: 5

12:30 p.m.

Officers discovered a vehicle parked in Shuttle lot with a broken window. Officers determined that the vehicle had been burglarized and contacted the owner. The incident occurred between 02 APR 2019 at approximately 0330 and 02 APR 2019 at approximately 1230. Officers were unable to determine a suspect at this time. Officers advised the student to file a report with the Tulsa Police Department.

April 2 12:05 a.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to the West Park apartments after an unidentified male punched out the North Eastern exterior door. Officers made contact with a non-TU affiliate at 1st and Lewis, after the suspect left the scene. Emergency Medical Services Authority arrived on scene to treat the suspects wounds. Tulsa Police Department arrived on scene to cite the suspect for malicious mischief. The individual was trespass warned and released by TPD. 8:50 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to the Keplinger Shuttle Lot in reference to a vehicle window that was broken. Officers determined the vehicle had been burglarized between 01 APR 2019 at approximately 0730 and 02 APR 2019 at approximately 0850. Officers were unable to determine a suspect at this time. The victim was requested to file a report with the Tulsa Police Department.

9:30 a.m.

An university employee reported their university-provided vehicle was struck by another vehicle while parked offcampus at 5956 S. Lewis Ave. The unknown driver left the scene without providing their information to the employee.

No injuries were reported.

10:00 a.m.

Officers responded to a report of an injured person at Collins Fitness Center. An employee was injured while working on an electric light and transported to a local hospital for further treatment prior to officer arrival. Officers gathered further information from witnesses at the scene.

10:30 p.m.

Officers discovered a vehicle parked in Shuttle lot with a broken window. Officers determined that the vehicle had been burglarized and contacted the owner. The incident occurred between 02 APR 2019 at approximately 0330 and 02 APR 2019 at approximately 1230. Officers were unable to determine a suspect at this time. Officers advised the student to file a report with the Tulsa Police Department.

April 3 1:20 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to the Sigma Nu fraternity house regarding a possible carbon monoxide leak. Upon arrival, officers spoke to several students who were concerned and complained of headaches. Tulsa Fire Department tested the house for carbon monoxide and stated the house had no trace of carbon monoxide.

6:35 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to the West Park apartments in response to an unidentified male walking through the parking lot. Upon arrival officers made contact with a non-TU affiliate behind the dumpsters. The Communications Center checked the individual for prior contact and active warrants, both came back negative. The individual was trespass warned and escorted off the property.

3: 55 p.m.

Officers conducted a pedestrian check near Alexander Health Center. Officers noticed a subject sitting in a tree north of the AHC. Officers determined the subject was a TU affiliate. Officers advised the affiliate climbing trees on campus was a safety issue as well as a possible property damage issue. No contact card was issued or trespass warning was issued.

April 4 1:00 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to Mayo Village in response to a verbal argument. Upon arrival officers met with a student

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor Lindsey Prather Student Writer

Israel election results On Tuesday, Israel held elections for the 21st Knesset, the nation’s unicameral legislature. What originally looked like a dead heat between current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party has now been declared a victory for Likud. With 100 percent reporting, they have won a 30 percent plurality of the vote, which is more than enough for Netanyahu to form a governing coalition.

This will give Netanyahu his fourth consecutive term as PM and make him Israel’s longest serving leader. The conservative hardliner is also about to face formal corruption charges as a sitting PM. Due to Likud’s dependence on parties further to the right than itself, this election only pushes Israel deeper into the political fringe and farther from its allies in the West with Netanyahu’s promises to annex the West Bank.

Iran Revolutionary Guard given terrorism designation On Monday, the United States designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. President Trump announced the decision by saying, “This unprecedented step … recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft.” This would place an arm of the Iranian military under the same classification as al-Qaeda and IS. The guard is a paramilitary organization that operates outside of the regular Iranian military and according to U.S. projections may control up to 50 percent of the country’s economy. This decision could potentially make any kind of negotiations with the middle eastern power difficult, since the Iranian government quickly responded by accusing the United States of also being a supporter of terrorism.

United States turns trade war rhetoric toward the EU The European Union has reacted strongly to the United States’s newest round of proposed tariffs on European goods. According to a statement from the U.S., the new tariffs would entail $11 billion worth of tariffs on a variety of goods; this is in response to a ruling from the World Trade Organization that declared that the EU was providing illegal subsidies to the aerospace company Airbus. The items in the newly announced tariffs would include items spanning from dairy products to aircraft.

The World Trade Organization has been attempting to broker agreements between the two economic titans, as accusations of illegal market manipulation have been rampant in previous years. However, stakes are particularly high due to the Trump administration’s history of implementing broad tariffs and other forms of economic retaliation.

who reported they were assaulted by fellow students. Officers gathered statements from all parties involved. TPD arrived on scene to take a report of the incident. The victim was transported by EMSA to a local hospital to be treated for minor wounds. Officers left without further incident.

April 5 11:45 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to Lorton Village Apartments in regards to a possible argument inside an apartment. Officers discovered the noise was between a student and their significant other. Both parties advised officers they were verbally arguing, neither party wanted to file a report with the Tulsa Police Department.

April 6 1:55 a.m.

An officer witnessed a reckless driver. The driver failed to turn their vehicle lights on while traveling west down 8th Street to Tucker Drive. The officer attempted to signal to the driver to turn their vehicle lights on. The driver failed to do so and then preceded to run the stop sign at 8th and Tucker Drive. The officer was able stop the vehicle and cited the driver with reckless driving.

5:35 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to West Park in regards to two males burglarizing vehicles. Upon arrival, officers were able to locate and detain one of the suspects. Upon investigation, the suspect was not going through any vehicles. Two victims were identified and interviewed. Both victims stated nothing of value was stolen from their vehicles. The suspect was not arrested but issued a trespass warning and banned from campus.

April 8 11:30 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to Fisher West in regards to a medical emergency. Upon arrival, officers observed the victim holding their hands over their face, stating their eyes hurt.

EMSA responded to the scene and flushed the victims eyes out with saline solution. The victims condition improved.

The victim took some medication and went back to their dorm room.

The Collegian does not produce or edit the Campus Crime Watch except for content and brevity.

Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Lorton Performance Center TU Wind Ensemble/Symphonic Winds Concert The University of Tulsa Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Winds will present their final concert on Monday evening, April 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Lorton Performance Center’s Gussmann Concert Hall.

The Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Wagner and Andrew Anderson, will feature TU faculty member Danny Arthurs as trombone soloist in “Red Sky” by Anthony Barfield. The Wind Ensemble will also perform Michael Gandolfi’s “Flourishes and Meditations on a Renaissance Theme”, and “Mars and Jupiter” from Holst’s “The Planets”.

The Symphonic Winds, conducted by Dr. Aaron Wacker and Andrew Anderson, will perform Silver Light by Benjamin Yeo, An American Elegy by Frank Ticheli and music by Ron Nelson and John Barnes Chance.

The concert is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, April 16 at 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Allen Chapman Student Union Self Defense in the Real World Professor Anne Sheaff will be giving a talk titled, “Self Defense in the Real World”.

Anne Sheaff has been a self-defense instructor for 19 years. She has her black belt rankings in Hap Ki Do and Tae Kwon Do and is currently studying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu where she is ranked as a blue belt. Free food will be provided.

Tuesday, April 16 at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Great Hall, Allen Chapman Student Union How to Go from Grit to Great Based on her best selling book, Grit to Great, Thaler reveals that the world’s most extraordinary successful people were completely ordinary growing up. In fact, their meteoric rise had little to do with an “it” factor — a brilliant IQ or virtuoso talents — and everything to do with having the “grit” factor — guts, resilience, initiative and tenacity. Through myriad interviews and cutting edge research, Thaler illustrates why grit is the most important determinant of future success and offers tips on how anyone can improve their concentration, perseverance and determination.

Tuesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Hardesty Hall Grownish Dinner and Watch Party Grownish is a show that follows Zoe, a Black college student, in her quest to figure out who she is and how her ideals may change from her college experience. We will focus on a few topics highlighted in the series and see how accurate it is to our college experience at TU. The 3 topics are relating to drug abuse, relationships, and the confiscation of Black public spaces. This is a great way to take a current and relevant pop culture influence to start a conversation.

Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Gilcrease Musuem Reimagining the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Join songwriter and playwright Ronvé O’Daniel and novelist Jen Latham (author of Dreamland Burning) as they discuss the role that art, fiction, and music play in helping us remember the past–in particular the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Free and open to all.

The Collegian does not produce all event descriptions in the Community Calendar.

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

The Collegian: 6

News

15 April 2019

Course evals used by professors, administration

Professors read and reflect on their course evaluations, which are used in determining their eligibility for tenure.

Emma Palmer Graphics Editor Your student course evaluations matter more than you might expect. According to Dr. Teresa Reed, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, course evaluations are a portion of what is considered for a tenured professor, an important way for students to communicate class experience to their professors and a potential signifier to higher administration if something is wrong. However, a lack of student response and implicit bias make it questionable if student course evaluations are filling the role they should.

Course evaluations, while a standard evaluation method for universities, are susceptible to students’ implicit bias, as studies have shown. The American Political Association found that the wording of the evaluations themselves changes when a professor is a woman versus when they are a man.

Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Lisa Cromer cited these facts, adding, “Women are evaluated based on their personalities, they are based on how they dress, they are based on how nurturing they are.

Whereas men are based more on how smart they are. And when women aren’t genderconsistent, if they aren’t nurturing, if they’re

not understanding, then it’s reflected poorly in student evaluations.”

In the digital age, it makes sense that course evaluations would move from being taken in class to being taken online. However, a study from 2016 by the American Association of University Professors discovered that online evaluations come with their own host of issues. The study found the rise of online course evaluations has led to response rates dropping drastically, and some comments become more akin to internet trolls than the constructive criticism student evaluations set out to measure.

These troll-like quotes, while not a majority, do impact and affect professors. Dr. Jennifer Airey said, “I still remember every bad evaluation I’ve ever gotten. I can quote them verbatim. They do hurt your feelings sometimes, if they’re personal.”

everyone was in class, so everyone would do them. When we switched to the online evaluations, the response rate dropped substantially. In a class of thirty, about five to ten students will fill out an evaluation.”

The real issue with student evaluations comes down to how they are used. They are doled out at the end of the semester after students are aware of their potential grades, and students can be vindictive. As Cromer put it, “Student evaluations get at satisfaction, not quality of teaching.”

Not all of the negative feedback given in student evaluations is unhelpful, however.

As Airey pointed out, the ability to report anonymous feedback can lead to opportunities for students to report instances they might not be comfortable reporting otherwise. Reed mentioned that at TU, “On rare occasions, those evaluations may present

“These troll-like quotes, while not a majority, do impact and affect professors.”

When student evaluations can count for so much and are seen as a valid measuring system, this can be problematic. Academic research and writing shows that the fix to student evaluations could be as simple as going back to pen and pencil.

All three professors interviewed agreed that pencil and paper evaluations yielded higher response rates. As Airey put it, “When I used to do paper and pencil evaluations,

a case in which the instructor’s aggregate numbers are a signifier of concern.”

At TU, course evaluations are an important portion of tenure reviews. Evaluations go into the candidate’s portfolio under the teaching section along with other evidence of teaching competence, such as their syllabi and curriculum. In addition, course evaluations are taken into consideration for teacher awards.

While evaluations play a role in tenure reviews, Reed was quick to assure that this is a minor portion of what is considered.

At other universities, however, use of student evaluations in job placement has lead to lawsuits. Kristina Mitchell, an author on the APSC’s study, spoke to Slate about the use of course evaluations: “Our research shows that they’re biased against women,” she said. “That means using them is illegal.”

Despite the issues with student evaluations, they can and should serve an important purpose in academia: giving professors valuable feedback. Every professor I spoke with had the same thing to say about evaluations’ utility to them in planning courses down the road. Airey said, “I have gotten good feedback over the years. Most students do seem to come at this with a genuine desire to report their experience in the class, and I respect that, and you can learn from that.”

Cromer agreed that there is no doubt evaluations are helpful. “I go and read all my teaching evaluations when I’m preparing for a class,” she said.

Reed spoke to the importance of making not just your dissatisfactions known but also letting professors know when they are teaching a course well: “This is a powerful way for students to use their voices. We want to hear about the praise — teachers need that too. They love that affirmation.”

TU student shared racist and homophobic messages Former statewide Chair of College Republicans Sheridan Nolen posted offensive memes, inciting controversy among party figures.

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor Lindsey Prather Student Writer On March 7, the OU student newspaper, OU Daily, leaked multiple screenshots from the OU College Republicans GroupMe that contained explicitly racist, homophobic and otherwise insensitive content. The president of OU College Republicans, Luke Harshaw, was present in a vast majority of these posts, prompting serious questions surrounding the leadership of the chapter.

Swiftly after the release of these College Republican screenshots, Brandon Swearingen, an accounting and pre-law major at the University of Oklahoma, posted a tweet calling out a member of the TU student body for similar actions: “If you think discrimination is limited to OU College Republicans, you’re wrong. These screenshots feature the statewide Chair of Oklahoma College Republicans [Sheridan Nolen] literally making jokes about killing gays. Luke Harshaw is a statewide officer.”

The screenshots attached to the tweet were a series of jokes made at the expense of racial minorities and the LGBTQ community. Nolen was featured prominently

throughout the screenshots. The tweet resulted in the posting of other screenshots from various group chats that were similarly themed. References to Mike Pence killing gay people, racial slurs and poking fun at exaggerated Republican talking points were all present.

According to Swearingen, he received a phone call from Nolen directly after making the post. In addition to confronting him about the tweet, Nolen allegedly offered her resignation from her position as statewide Chair of College Republicans in exchange for Swearingen removing the post from Twitter. Swearingen refused.

He later claimed that his position as a policy researcher at the Oklahoma State Capitol was in jeopardy due to his Twit-

ing OU, signed a letter condemning Sheridan Nolen and Luke Harshaw and calling for their resignations. One of the signees was the president of TU College Republicans, Erica Martin. Martin declined an interview, citing instead the content of the letter and its corresponding Facebook post. Shortly after this letter was signed and published on social media, the undersigned College Republican chapters received a cease-anddesist letter from Nolen, putting the threat of legal action on the table if the posts were not removed.

Regarding what the Student Code of Conduct said in relation to questionable conduct on social media, Earl Johnson, the vice president of Student Affairs at TU stated, “TU expects all members of the campus

“TU can act as it sees fit to enforce the Student Code of Conduct ...” ter post. Swearingen later said that highranking members of the Oklahoma GOP demanded his removal from the Capitol due to his posting of the screenshots. In addition to the threat to his job, Swearingen also experienced fallout in the form of intimidating phone calls and messages from many claiming to be associated with the Oklahoma GOP. On March 12, all chapters of College Republicans at Oklahoma universities, exclud-

community to interact with one another and the university — whether on social media, verbally, in writing or through any form of digital communication — with mutual respect, dignity, trust and honor. Engaging in irresponsible conduct or behavior that does not model good citizenship or reflects poorly upon the TU community is prohibited.

Such conduct can include communications — whether in person or online.

“In addition, actions that rise to the level of harassment or degradation of any member of our community related to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity and expression are not tolerated. Any of these actions would be reviewed and investigated as a breach of the student code of conduct.

Sanctions would depend on the severity of the conduct.”

The University of Tulsa is in a unique position to handle these kinds of situations as a private university. TU can act as it sees fit to enforce the Student Code of Conduct, as well as unilaterally work to ensure an open and inclusive environment on campus.

This kind of conduct, both online and in the legal realm, goes beyond what the Code of Conduct outlines. However, the University of Tulsa administration has yet to issue a public statement regarding the incident.

When asked about issuing a statement, they responded by saying, “The university does not comment on actions related to specific students.” Nolen was contacted for an interview but declined, citing the same privacy reasons as TU administration.

The situation connects to the more widespread OU College Republican situation, which additionally acts as an area that many universities are not ready to act on when policy is broken. However, what differs this incident from the one in Norman is the retaliation attempts that followed the screenshots being posted.

TU Treks a perfect opportunity to get off campus The club offers outdoor excursions throughout the year, including rock climbing, kayaking and a trip to the Appalachian trail.

Thomas von Borstel Student Writer TU Treks has long been a member of the university’s Student Association. As a group, they host all manner of activities ranging from short trips to the Gathering Place to week-long excursions into the wilderness.

TU Treks is intended to provide accessibility to new experiences for students at the University of Tulsa. When questioned regarding their purpose, Treks president Jesica Santino answered, “TU Treks aims to inspire students to get off campus and go outdoors! We also hope to help students appreciate and explore the outdoors around the Tulsa area, as well as around the nation.”

The organization provides excursions near and abroad. While not leaving the domestic region, the club has visited New Orleans, Orange Beach, The Guadalupe Mountains, Asheville, Sevierville, Nashville and hiked the Appalachian Trail.

Outside of the lengthier adventures, most events are local and entirely free. They annually host the Hurricane Thursday drive-in movie night at the Admiral Drive-In. Within the last year, they have gone indoor rock climbing, taken an overnight kayaking trip,

hiked Turkey Mountain, partaken in urban hiking in downtown Tulsa and played laser tag. They also host shorter and more condensed trips, such as yoga sessions held on campus.

Santino specifically pointed to the fact that “almost all of our events are free and provide all the equipment you need.”

The journeys can vary in duration and difficulty, but the group welcomes “all abilities and experience levels.”

TU Treks does not hold weekly meetings, but the club provides an array of activities for the general populace, spanning all difficulty levels “so almost everyone can participate in some form.”

Santino encourages those who are interested in a more engaged capacity to “run for officer positions to be involved in the planning and execution of events.”

Throughout the year, they hold a variety of events, specifically aiming for a few indoor events amongst other “high-intensity” adventures. Prior to an event, the group will gather for an information meeting. Transportation is provided, as Santino notes, “If it’s an off-campus event, we will set up a carpool and meet beforehand; for overnight trips, everyone will meet up at the Treks Closet to help pack supplies, like tents, sleeping bags, cooking supplies, etc.”

The organization’s grand excursion of the year is usually held over spring break. This year, the club journeyed to Colorado. This included “hiking in the Flatirons, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Garden of the Gods and the South Table in Golden. We explored down-

A TU Treks adventure at Climb Tulsa from February.

town Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder, went white water rafting, horseback riding, did a bike tour of Colorado Springs and went foraging.” Such adventures do come with a fee, as longer treks come with a larger price tag.

When questioned specifically about her favorite trek, Santino answered, “My favorite event would probably be kayaking, which is great because it happens yearly.

The campground is always gorgeous, and

courtesy TU Treks’ Facebook page

it’s so fun to get away from campus for a night and then kayak the whole next day!”

To participate in TU Treks, sign up for their email list by emailing Jesica Santino at jls614@utulsa.edu or direct messaging their group page on Facebook. You can also follow updates and events on their Facebook and Instagram pages (@TulsaTreks).

Sports

The Collegian: 8

15 April 2019

Crystal ball: summer 2019 edition The Collegian sports staff gives their brilliant, ridiculous and sometimes conspicuous predictions for upcoming sports news around the world.

1. Warriors lose, sign Kawhi Leonard: I know this one may be a hot take, but the numbers are all there. Golden State is running out of souls to trade for NBA success, and the devil is getting tired of rigging the league for them. James Harden will swoop in and score about 40 points per game in free throws, mostly by drawing fouls from an increasingly frustrated Draymond Green, who will be ejected in games 1, 4 and 7.

Steph Curry will forget how to do anything but shoot and wave to the crowd, and KD

That’s when it will fall apart for Bay Area villains. Golden State will be so jazzed about winning a championship (they really do act like they weren’t supposed to win every year) that they will be too cocky, making fundamental mistakes as the Rockets muscle away a close sixth game. Then, in game seven, Houston triumphs over Golden State with a buzzer beater.

2. Regular season play for the National Hockey League is over, and prediction markets try to decide the eventual Stanley Cup

down to straight chance, and an unexpected victor will appear.

In the third round, Tampa Bay will edge out the Washington Capitals in game six to head to the Stanley Cup. The Nashville Predators will meet them there after stomping the Calgary Flames in a sweep. Finally, the Stanley Cup. The dice tell the whole story. Nashville wins the first game (14 to 1), the second game (18 to 4). After that Tampa Bay will have the home field advantage but will still lose the third game (17 to 10) and

testing Orlov’s urine sample. The report will likely take until the summer to be released due to the difficult question of how much of President Trump’s “pee tape” Putin is willing to release as restitution for this heinous violation of international sportsmanship.

4. Despite a bad draw, the U.S. shows signs of improvement in the international soccer scene. This summer, the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be held in the United States, Costa Rica and Jamaica. The tournament features teams from North America,

graphic by Emma Palmer

Putin dopes the world cup; Steph Curry and the Warriors lose the Finals; Tampa Bay wins Stanley Cup.

will be so busy bullying fifth graders that he will forget to show up to at least three of the games. DeMarcus Cousins will show up in the Western All Stars uniform because that team and GSW have the same roster. Klay will not be enough to save the Warriors from their inevitable fate.

Here’s how it will all go down:The Warriors will win the first game from sheer power, then use that momentum to take game two. Houston will rally and take the Warriors down in the third. Golden State will be so flustered by losing the sweep that they will lose game 4 as well. Houston will get tired and give game five to The Town.

winner as usual. Using the powers of charging dice to get those high rolls, I predict the eventual winners and losers of the Stanley Cup simply by rolling Dungeon and Dragons multi-sided dice that correspond to the different seeds that teams have.

For the first few rounds of the bracket, the seeds are king, with the closest matches coming between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets (Tampa Bay in seven) in round one, and the Washington Capitals beating the New York Islanders in game seven in round two. Once seeds stop playing a factor, the games got closer. With both teams getting a d20 to roll, it comes

get murdered the fourth game (17 to 1). This led Nashville to be the unexpected winners of the NHL’s Stanley Cup. 3. FIFA investigators will confirm the rumors that Russian President Vladimir Putin was indeed doping the 2018 World Cup Trophy. One year after Russia hosted one of the most exciting World Cup tournaments in history, the Russian patriarch will be slammed with yet another doping scandal. The evidence points to this conclusion due to the trophy’s (who has been asked to be referred to as Orlov) recent win in the “World’s Strongest Man” competition. Investigators have already left Paris and begun

Central America and the Caribbean. Unlike Mexico, whose group looks like a cake walk, the U.S. has to face off against Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. Still, the younger and restructured team should be able to turn what is a minor tournament into a breakout stage. This will be the first major chance for players like Timothy Weah and Josh Sargent to share the field with already established wunderkind Christian Pulisic.

If new manager Gregg Berhalter commits to a younger and more international squad, then the U.S. could use the Gold Cup as the beginning of a successful qualification campaign.

TU smashes SMU Rowing takes on top-12 teams Tulsa Hurricane covers the men’s tennis Tulsa Hurricane captures TU’s races team’s 5-2 win over SMU on Friday. against top-ranked teams at Lake Natoma.

The University of Tulsa men’s tennis squad (14-11) sent out senior Majed Kilani with a 5-2 victory over SMU (11-16) on Senior Day at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on Friday evening.

SMU jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after doubles play. Tulsa struck first as Tom Thelwall-Jones and Stefan Hampe took down Michael Smith and Andrew Buhelos, 6-1.

The Mustangs retaliated with twostraight wins, topping TU at No. 1 doubles, 6-2, and No. 2 doubles, 7-6(5), to claim the early advantage heading into singles.

The Golden Hurricane came out swinging in solo play, winning five of the first six frames. Jarod Hing snapped his four-match loss streak with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 to even the match up at 1-all.

SMU bounced back with a straight-set win of its own, winning at the No. 5 spot, 6-3, 6-2. With possibly the biggest win of

the day, Kilani earned a ranked victory in his final home match, knocking off No. 66 Carles Sarrio, 6-3, 6-4 to even up the match.

Shortly thereafter, Kody Pearson topped Jan-Simon Vrbsky, 6-1, 7-6(5) for the TU lead. Hampe clinched the match for the Golden Hurricane at the No. 4 position, winning 6-4, 7-5 and earning Tulsa its second conference win of the season.

In the lone remaining singles match, Daniel Siddall secured the 5-2 victory for TU, earning his seventh solo victory of the season in a 6-2, 7-6(6) battle in the No. 6 slot.

With regular season play wrapped up, the team shifts its focus to the American Athletic Conference tournament next week. The Golden Hurricane will compete in Orlando, Florida, at the USTA National Campus from April 18-21 vying for an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.

courtesy Tulsa Hurricane

The Tulsa rowing team faced three top12 teams in the first day of racing at the Lake Natoma Invitational in Gold River, Calif.

“I thought the team had some really good racing today,” Head Coach Kevin Harris said. “Our goal was to jump in and take these teams on and I think we’ve done that pretty successfully. It is nice to see us improving against some of the best teams out there. We are going to go out tomorrow and continue to improve, which is our goal, to leave California better than we arrived.”

In the morning races, the Golden Hurricane took on California, ranked second in the latest CRCA/USRowing poll, as well as Notre Dame.

Tulsa turned in a time of 6:40.58 in the Varsity 8+ race, as California crossed the finish line in 6:23.2 and Notre Dame posted a time of 6:37.19. The 2nd Varsity 8+ race finished in the same order with California (6:25.9), Notre Dame (6:38.99) and Tulsa (6:46.61), as did the Varsity 4+ with California (7:06.5), Notre Dame (7:16.35) and Tulsa (7:23.62).

In the afternoon, TU faced third-ranked Stanford and 12th-ranked Southern California. Stanford earned a top finish in the Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+, while USC was second in all three events.

The Golden Hurricane was third in a time of 6:34.4 in the Varsity 8+, while posting a time of 6:49.8 in the 2nd Varsity 8+ and a time of 7:34.0 in the Varsity 4+.

In Tulsa’s only race in the 2nd Varsity 4+, Sacramento State posted a top time of 7:43.2, while TU was second (7:55.1) and Gonzaga (7:57.5) finished third.

Varsity 8+ 1. California – 6:23.2 2. Notre Dame – 6:37.19 3. Tulsa – 6:40.58 Varsity 8+ 1. Stanford – 6:15.9 2. Southern California – 6:20.3 3. Tulsa – 6:34.42nd Varsity 8+ 1. California – 6:25.9 2. Notre Dame – 6:38.99 3. Tulsa – 6:46.61 2nd Varsity 8+ 1. Stanford – 6:30.07 2. Southern California – 6:39.5 3. Tulsa – 6:49.8 Varsity 4+ 1. California – 7:06.5 2. Notre Dame – 7:16.35 3. Tulsa – 7:23.62 Varsity 4+ 1. Stanford – 7:16.3 2. Southern California – 7:31.5 3. Tulsa – 7:34.0 2nd Varsity 4+ 1. Sacramento State – 7:43.2 2. Tulsa – 7:55.1 3. Gonzaga – 7:57.5

Sports

15 April 2019

The Collegian: 9

Spurgeon breaks long jump record Tulsa Hurricane covers Tulsa Track and Field’s Carsyn Spurgeon breaking the school record in women’s long jump on Friday.

Tulsa redshirt sophomore Carsyn Spurgeon leapt into the record books with a school record long jump of 5.99m/19-8 feet to take first at the John McDonnell Invitational on Friday.

Spurgeon crushes the previous record school record, set in 2004

by Margaret Glover with a leap of 19-4.25 feet.

Including Spurgeon’s gold, the University of Tulsa track and field team notched three event wins in the team’s showing on John McDonnell Field at the two-day Arkansas meet.

Tulsa went on to sweep the 3,000-meter steeplechase, picking up personal-best marks on both the men’s and women’s side. Reed Sahadevan brought home the gold in 9:27.82, while Katharina Pesendorfer also earned a PR for first in 10:37.46.

Henry Visser added a strong performance in the 400-meter hurdles, running a season best 53.33 for third overall. His time slots him in a tie for fourth in the event

in the American Athletic Conference.

Tulsa saw a strong race in the women’s 800 meters, as four runners placed inside the top-10, led

by Allison Bailey’s 2:12.10 PR for fourth place. As of now, all four runners would be slotted inside the AAC top-10 in the event for their performances.

Freshman Jerik Embleton also found conference success, earning a time of 3:54.72 for a personal best and eighth in the conference.

Redshirt-junior Aleks Rapp picked up a season-best mark on Thursday, taking fourth overall in the hammer throw. On his final attempt, Rapp launched the hammer 52.31 meters/171-feet-7-inches for his best toss of 2019.

To close the meet, the Golden Hurricane ran two season-best marks in the 4x400-meter relay.

The foursome of Jaidyn McCallon, Jaidah McCallon, Allison Bailey and Ca’Purnika Galbert ran a season best of 3:48.79, while Tulsa’s quartet of Visser, Emmanuel Ok-

courtesy Tulsa Hurricane

Spurgeon flew through the air at the John McDonnell Invitational in Arkansas on Friday.

wuone, Hans Kunsch and Joseph Nemec ran a 2019 best in 3:18.41.

The Tulsa squad will once again split next weekend, set to take on

the Bryan Clay Invite and Mt. Sac Relays, with both meets taking place in California. For all Tulsa track and field news and informa-

tion, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.

Houston should be our school rival Former TU football player Thomas von Borstel explains why the Cougars would make a good pick as a rival to the Golden Hurricane.

We are perpetually the small school. The closest-sized FBS university in NCAA Division I is Rice University with an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 4,000 students. With that, we maintain underdog status, a chip on our shoulder and a blue collar mentality. I start jittering at the thought of plunging the Power 5 schools into the depths of despair at the vile clutching hands of a “small school.”

While this is all well and nice, that’s not what we play for. TU competes to stupefy all foes, notwithstanding the big guys. I’ve heard questions of the nature of our school rival many times; usually, this infers some negative connotation of a lack of competitive power. This strikes me as odd, as the blow-outs of my time have been few and far between, usually performed after indignant struggle with the powers-to-be: not to mention our several championships at the hands of softball, track and rowing.

So who is our rival? We have some candidates near and far.

Purportedly, Arkansas was at one point a diabolical foe, seeing as they sit about 100 miles away from TU. OSU and OU again lie in close proximity, making them regional opponents, but few would consider any of these schools our rivals due to the nature of our Group of 5 status (although I will

graphic by Emma Palmer

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane squares up against their rival, the Houston Cougars.

vehemently argue for the label of Power 6). In my time here, our regional adversaries have escaped with unsatisfying victories.

Our conference opponents are the most likely candidates for rivalry. Yearly competition is the most consistent in fostering a despairing, nauseating loathing for an enemy. Proximity and consistency is the ultimate incubator of true hatred.

While I don’t truly believe that we hate our opponents, it is quite fun to think in such terms. Our most consistently gut-churning, teeth-gnashing nemesis, in my mind, is the University of Houston. Our history is long: first, we lost the honorable Dr. Phil to that damned place. Second, if such things hold any significance to you, we are the victims of one of the widest spreads in collegiate

15

football history: 100-6 … at the hands of UH. Every year, I see both parties hereto claw, gouge, rip, shred and concuss with such venom; it is clear there is a malice rupturing the team psyches. Our victories are all the more glorious and our defeats find us wallowing in our deficiency. No one leaves unscathed or apathetic. Not to mention, the, ahem, words that have been ex-

changed by certain coaches of said establishments.

It is with great honor and privilege that I will actively watch the bouts between Tulsa and Houston until one or the other is stricken off the Earth in the inevitable heat death of the universe or nuclear apocalypse.

Apr. 15 - Apr. 21 Monday

Tuesday 15

W Golf @ American Athletic Conference

Wednesday 16

Softball @ OSU 6 p.m.

W Golf @ American Athletic Conference

Thursday 18

17

Track and Field @ Bryan Clay Invit.

W Tennis @ TBA

M Tennis @ TBA Track and Field @ Mt. SAC Relays

Saturday

Friday 19

20

Sunday 21

No Events No Events No Events

Variety

The Collegian: 10

15 April 2019

Lil Nas X pushes genre boundaries

“Old Town Road” challenges Billboard’s separation of music genres by straddling hip-hop/rap and country.

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor

Late last month, Lil Nas X, a little known singer-songwriter, released the song “Old Town Road.” Billboard originally listed the song in the Hot Country Songs list, where it debuted at 19. It was subsequently removed from the list by Billboard, who stated that the song did not “merit inclusion on Billboard’s country charts” because although “Old Town Road” “incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”

Since then, the song has risen to the top of Billboard’s The Hot 100 and Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs lists. Additionally, a remix of the song has been released featuring country star Billy Ray Cyrus. He then wrote, “Don’t try and think inside the box” in an Instagram post that also featured the #Horsesintheback, a reference to the song’s lyrics. The remix is now No. 1 on Spotify’s United States Top 50, followed closely by the original at No. 3.

The debate ignited by the song itself and Billboard’s choices regarding its classification has covered a lot of ground in the few weeks the song has been out, and there isn’t a real answer to any of the questions posed by identifying “Old Town Road” as not country enough. Instead, it has caused fans of country music, hip-hop/rap and the music industry in general to begin grappling with whether Billboard should hold the kind of

Lil Nas X combines hip-hop/rap and country music in “Old Town Road.”

courtesy NBC News

“... [G]enres can begin to shift because of a song like ‘Old Town Road.’” power it does, what defines genre and the ways in which genres can begin to shift because of a song like “Old Town Road.”

Billboard was founded in 1894, and since 1991, they have been putting out their Hot 100 list, quickly followed by lists for specific genres. People have lamented that one

media outlet has dictated such a large part of how we view out music for so long, and the “Old Town Road” incident re-enforces those criticisms. It is less that people do not want anyone defining what song belongs in which genre and more that Billboard seems less relevant now than it did to many in the

20th century. For decades Billboard was the authority on song charts and even though it uses streaming numbers in their rankings, it seems more logical to let streaming services themselves have more power to classify music than a publication like Billboard.

The “Old Town Road” debate asks fans of both hip-hop/rap and country to reassess what makes their genres distinct. Do heavy drum machine work and sampled baselines make something hip-hop/rap, or is it rhyming verses? For country, is it favoring an acoustic guitar over an electric one, or is it vocals performed in a southern drawl?

One not-so-subtle distinction between hip-hop/rap and country is the setting which they predominantly try to represent. Rappers often root their music in the ethos of the city that they grew up in. Additionally, hip-hop/rap is often defined by themes of life in an urban setting, while country tries to see itself as being a rural genre. That distinction comes with inherent racial connotations, but for “Old Town Road,” this is important. The song, whether in truth or for laughs, is filled with references to the rural life that defines country music, but Lil Nas X is not the first black artist to make a song with country overtones. However, he is the most recent one in memory to make a hit song that blends elements of both genres, which could eventually lead to a blending of the racial conventions many associate with the two genres.

Maybe it’s hip-hop and maybe it’s country, but “Old Town Road” has started a lot of conversations in the past few weeks, and both the song and the debate surrounding it are not likely to leave the public consciousness any time soon.

courtesy Mashable

Rain Dove draws attention to industry standards for femininity by posing in Victoria’s Secret lingerie and photoshopping models’ faces onto their photos for comparison.

Agender model Rain Dove speaks about gender

Rain Dove encouraged open dialogue and discussed their experiences coming to terms with their identity.

Piper Prolago Variety Editor The Student Association sponsored a lecture by the androgynous, agender model Rain Dove on April 8 at Lorton Performance Center. Dove has been featured in Vogue, Buzzfeed, Cosmo, People and more.

Throughout their career, Dove has struggled to form and express their gender identity and encouraged the audience to consider the language they use in discussing this complex topic.

Dove began by telling their own story, recounting how they came to understand their gender identity. “I was an ugly girl,” they remembered. As a child, they struggled to come to terms with feeling unattractive as a result of not fitting into specific gender molds. Instead of being the “hot girl,” they reassured themself they were the girl that would survive in the apocalypse instead.

woman told Dove to “be a man” and stop his suffering. Under the persona of a man, Dove was expected to do the “dirty work” and make this difficult decision. Dove was air evacuated to a hospital more than half an hour after the woman in spite of having a worse injury when the medical officials told them “ladies first.” Everyone involved survived, but the experience exposed Dove to the negativity of imposed gender roles.

At this point, Dove became interested in the idea of gender capitalism. They realized that “every time people thought I was a particular gender, I’m held down by it.”

They decided to start switching gender personas based on the situation in order to benefit from a system that they felt oppressed within. For example, they would assume a female persona in a bar to get free drinks, but become more masculine when walking back home in the dark.

Around this time, Dove became homeless after coming out to their parents who did not support them. They slept in their car and in peoples’ yards, barely finding enough food to survive. They described being depressed and feeling alone, in part because there

“Pronouns like ‘he’ and ‘she’ carry histories of others’ experiences.”

This struggle with femininity took a different path when Dove moved to Colorado, working to prevent wildfires. Here, they were mistaken for a man early on and never told their coworkers differently. For eleven months, they existed under a male persona; during this time, they became acutely aware of the different expectations between men and women. Doing manual labor, the men were expected to pull more weight and felt burdened by working with women who were perceived as doing less.

After experiencing a life threatening accident, Dove spoke about the expectations imposed on them by a female coworker. While another colleague was bleeding out, the

wasn’t a language to express their sexuality and find a community that accepted them.

After several months, they went to a dollar store and bought three things, the only things they had enough money to afford.

One of these was a pair of clippers that they used to go door-to-door, offering to trim bushes for a few dollars. This idea transformed into a small business that allowed them to afford college. They then attended UC Berkeley, where they got a degree in genetic engineering.

Dove entered the modeling world because of a bet they lost. A few weeks later, they went to an audition for Calvin Klein; they were mistaken for a male and cast in the men’s underwear show. When they real-

Rain Dove speaks about their gender identity at Lorton Performance Center.

ized this, they decided to try to embarrass their friend and hid backstage right before they were supposed to walk. They walked the runway with exposed nipples, wearing only men’s underwear, shocking the audience.

Dove went into the modeling world with “two middle fingers up,” intending to make a change in the industry. However, they only got two jobs in their first year. In a last ditch effort, they supported themself by participating in medical tests. During one of these sessions, they checked their phone and saw hundreds of notifications, including calls from Ellen and Oprah. One person, who Dove had met while bartending, had shared their story. This catapulted them to fame, opening opportunities to model for major names like Vogue and provided a huge social media platform to share their experiences with the world.

Dove spoke about the challenges they faced in understanding their gender identity and how they want to help others understand

photo by Piper Prolago

this complex issue. Pronouns like “he” and “she” carry histories of others’ experiences. People understand each other based on categorizations, but the histories that they carry pushed Dove into a box. Rather than conforming to specific guidelines, Dove described finding fulfillment in creating themself as a completely unique being, independent of prescribed traits associated with either gender.

Throughout Dove’s lecture, they continuously offered their personal advice and support for anyone struggling with their identity. They encouraged the audience to find an “exit buddy” to confide in. “That can be me,” Dove told the crowd. During the next two days, Dove offered to personally speak to anyone who wanted to. They described listening to messages that fans (or critics) left on their phone and scrolling through comments to ensure that everyone was heard. Dove wanted to be sure that no one felt as alone as they did and that everyone could have an exit buddy.

Variety

15 April 2019

The Collegian: 11

Zora J Murff photos tackle intersectionality Murff engages with the history of lynchings and redlinings in contemporary spaces through photography.

Piper Prolago Variety Editor TU Photo Club brought photographer Zora J Murff to campus to speak about his work on Thursday, April 11. Murff is a visiting professor of photography at the University of Arkansas and received his MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including the New Yorker, New York Times and British Journal of Photography.

Murff introduced his photos with the term “complicated grace,” which was how his mentor used to describe some of his work.

This, Murff believed, spoke to his personal desire to focus on issues that are difficult to talk about. He aims to use his photography to engage with these problems and encourage viewers to reconsider their perspectives.

Intersectionality — the junctions between different social categorizations like race,

class and gender — plays an important role in Murff’s work. “We don’t exist in one particular way,” Murff told the audience. With this in mind, Murff often considers historical context when approaching specific ideas or landscapes. In his project “At No Point in Between,” Murff photographed North Omaha in the present while considering the effects of redlining that took place in the 1900s.

Redlining refers to a practice of appraising neighborhoods that led to diminishing resources of communities composed of people of color. Murff drew on an idea from Harvard English professor Robert Nixon called “slow violence” to describe the long term effects of segregating the city. There are two kinds of violence, Murff outlined.

“Fast violence” is easy to recognize because it takes the shape of physical pain. “Slow violence,” on the other hand, has more space between actions and their consequences.

With this in mind, Murff started the “At No Point in Between” project by photographing the landscape. Many redlined neighborhoods are often divided by freeways. Based on this, Murff photographed aspects of neighborhoods in North Omaha

courtesy Photo District News

Murff photographs North Omaha landscapes.

like streets that became dead ends with the intrusion of the freeway. Thinking about “slow violence,” Murff noted that there was always a constant hum of the freeway that seemed to perpetually hang over the residents.

Videos of police brutality against people of color engage with viewers in a similar way. Today, they circulate as violently emotional experiences for viewers, who are disgusted by officers’ inhumanity just as they are by lynching victims. However, Murff

“... Murff hoped to engage with this history as it pertains to contemporary issues.”

Murff also explored the history of lynchings that took place in this area. The idea of intersectionality and history weigh on the environment that has been created as a result of these factors. He discussed the role of photography in lynchings that contributed to its status as a form of entertainment.

Photographers would document these acts of horrible violence and advertise them in local newspapers or even distribute postcards to commemorate them. This became a means to “consolidate white supremacy and preserve their positions of power.”

Murff used archival images of lynchings to repurpose them. Rather than evidence of entertainment, Murff cropped out the disfigured black bodies to turn the blame on to the perpetrators of this violence. By shifting the context in which viewers consume these images, Murff hoped to engage with this history as it pertains to contemporary issues.

Zora J Murff works as a visiting professor of photography at UNL.

also identified a lack of accountability for the perpetrators. While photos of lynching victims with their violators were presented as evidence, the criminals were almost always acquitted. Similarly, dash cam videos of police murdering people like Rodney King, which Murff played in part for the audience, are not always enough to indict the officers.

Murff deals with the complicated relationships between socio-cultural constructs and the history of photography. His work depicting the landscapes of North Omaha subtly call upon the history of redlining to create meaning. His direct approach to evidence of violence dives head-on into this history; he challenges viewers to confront the role that images play in constructing truths and considering our collective past.

courtesy University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The elevated horror genre is an arbitrary distinction Subdividing the horror genre unneccessarily restricts films and misleads viewers.

Emily Every Managing Editor “Elevated horror” is a term I’ve seen people slinging around a fair bit recently, particularly in reference to the rise of films like Jordan Peele’s “Us” and “Get Out,” as well as John Krasinski’s entrance into the horror genre with “A Quiet Place.” The term “elevated horror” refers to the relatively recent rise of allegedly artsy horror, films that are somehow designated to be highbrow, standing above and looking down at the thrashing commons … or whatever sort of pretentious imagery could be easily associated with this sort of holier-than-thou status.

to be, does that mean that regular horror is a lesser art form? The term itself implies that horror is an innately “low” genre, that it needed some dusting up. And perhaps that’s true — I could see myself agreeing with someone saying that Jordan Peele reinvigorated popular horror as an artistically rich genre, but I don’t buy the argument that his work, important as it is, is above the rest of the genre.

The creation of another subgenre of horror in itself is a bit frustrating. I think that at this point we know that genre-divisions are arbitrary and often restrictive, so why are we trying to create a category specifically for things that resist the categorization of genre?

“Hereditary,” another film often considered to be “elevated horror,” was described as a “family drama that curdles into a night-

“The term itself implies that horror is an innately ‘low’ genre...”

Krasinski’s film received its “elevated” label due to its unique, somewhat anti-horror gimmick: make a sound and you’ll get mauled to death. It’s not cerebral or abstract or particularly elegant, but the premise works directly against the shrill, jumpscareheavy construction of the past decade or so of horror films. Krasinski saw the sort of stuff that works well as horror in theaters (sit down with friends, string instruments build up tension, a ghost or creepy, wideeyed child bursts onto screen to make the whole audience jump, rinse and repeat) and made some slight variations to the formula.

It’s different enough to be artistically unique without being unrecognizable as horror.

The thing with “elevated horror” is that I’m not even sure it really exists the way that viewers and critics describe it. There’s no clear delineation between baseline horror and “elevated horror,” and if there were

mare” by director Ari Aster up until its release. He avoided labeling it as a horror film to try to temper people’s expectations. Trying to mold a whole new genre to fit films like “Hereditary,” which can be negatively reviewed by people if they watch it in theaters expecting a fast-paced horror film, only furthers the genre problem. Let people go into a film with an open mind rather than with genre expectations stamped into their head.

Trying to label exciting new films as “elevated horror” is misguided. It seems like proponents of the label are trying to promote directors and projects they’re excited about by calling them “elevated,” but it will only serve to put those out-the-box ideas into a newer, different box. The label also attempts to reduce the dynamic history of horror films into something insignificant.

Just let “elevated horror” films be films, no labels attached.

Critics have lauded Jordan Peele’s “Us” as an “elevated horror” film.

courtesy Collider

The Collegian: 12

Commentary

15 April 2019

The Legislative Digest is your weekly look at the happenings of Oklahoma’s state legislature and the bills and politics you need to know.

Raven Fawcett Managing Editor Emeritus

After three years of weekly write-ups on the bills passing through Oklahoma legislature in the spring, this is my final article. While I might no longer be around to yell into the void over Oklahoma policies, know that you can always get your updates through the Oklahoma legislature’s website (www.oklegislature.gov) or through www.legiscan.com, where you can keep track of bills from any state and see what’s happening every step of the way. And remember kids: voting is the only way to keep people like Donald Trump from ever getting into office again. More important, voting shapes the bills you’ve seen in this column every spring semester. Don’t hesitate to vote and then, when your representatives make choices you disagree with, call, email or write to their offices to let them know what they’re doing wrong.

SB1024: There’s a lot to unpack here. Not that it’s a controversial bill, there’s just a lot of things I didn’t know. First, this bill was signed into effect by Governor Stitt on April 4 and repeals the Oklahoma American Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. “Sesquicentennial” isn’t, unfortunately, a fake word; it means the 150th anniversary of an event. The commission was created in 2009 and set to last until 2015. That makes sense, as the American Civil War occurred between 1861–1865. The commission assisted the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma History Center with preparation for the anniversary. The commission consisted of 12 members and seems to have been successful if the documents I found while researching this are any indication.

HB2334: Another bill on commissions! This bill, though, is called the “Maternal Mortality Review Act” and would create one. The Maternal Mortality Review Commission would review pregnancy-related deaths to determine if the death could have been prevented; it would work with other agency to prevent future deaths; and it would “Identify gaps in the provision of health care services including, but not limited to, quality of care, access to the most appropriate health care, transportation and lack of financial resources.” That’s a win all around! The results will likely be that the healthcare system is failing us, but you can’t fix a problem without discovering the specific causes and promoting attainable, implementable solutions. This is a good start, and will hopefully inspire similar legislation and interest for other health-related causes in Oklahoma. It’s not created yet, though. The Maternal Mortality Review Act has been engrossed to the Senate, where it received approval from the Appropriations Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee. It has not been voted on by the chamber at large.

Argument to arm teachers goes against data

The recent TPS Board election kept Tulsa from falling in line with the rest of the state’s stance on guns.

Nathan Hinkle Student Writer In an election for the Tulsa Public Schools Board of Education on April 2, candidates Stacey Wooley and Nicole Nixon ran on opposing platforms. In the election, Wooley defeated Nixon 68.1 percent to 31.9 percent.

Although Nixon lost, her campaign promise of giving public school teachers guns and the training necessary to use them has wide-sweeping implications that must be addressed. In an interview with Channel 8 News, she said, “I think a well-trained teacher should have the right to defend their students.” This policy promise promotes the idea that schools and the students inside would potentially be safer from mass shooters if all the teachers were armed and trained with firearms. This policy of arming teachers is a new proposal by the National Rifle Association to prevent school shootings in response to people who argue that gun access is the real problem behind the escalating number of mass shootings in the United States.

This policy is the exact opposite solution to our current problem of school violence.

This potential loss of lives is costly, and it is, therefore, unnecessary to put weapons in the hands of teachers, where it could cause problems in the lives of these students.

This policy of arming teachers is not supported by a wide variety of educational professionals due to its costly measures. These include The American Federation of Teachers, The National Education Association, The National Association of School Resource Officers and the U.S Department of Education. This is because of two reasons: it does not improve the safety of teachers and students, and it is an unnecessary expenditure on the education system. NEA President Lily Eskelsen García argues, “The idea of arming teachers is ill-conceived, preposterous and dangerous. Arming teachers and other school personnel does nothing to prevent gun violence.” She additionally argued that this policy would be a waste of resources that could be better spent on more important needs, such as school counselors.

By spending money on more important issues, schools could improve safety without the need for dangerous firearms.

The policy of arming teachers also makes the lives of police officers harder. If teachers are armed, it increases the risk of dangerous mistaken altercations with the police.

J. Thomas Manger, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and police chief of Montgomery County, Maryland, believes arming non-police officers makes the lives of police officers harder. This is due to the fact that whenever “a cop shows up and there’s people with guns in their hand … We don’t know who’s the good guy, who’s the bad guy. That is very dangerous for the police. And it is dangerous to the community.”

By including guns in the hands of teachers, the high tension inherent in school security opportunities could lead to unnecessary injuries or even casualties.

“While the policy of arming teachers may have failed in Oklahoma, it has gained steam across the country.”

It leads to accidental injury or death, is an economic strain on the education system and makes the lives of police officers harder.

Money that would be spent on arming teachers and administrative staff would be better spent on guidance counselors and psychological help for problematic students.

In a 2018 study by the New England Journal of Medicine, titled “The Major Causes of Death in Children and Adolescents in the United States,” researchers found that death due to firearms was the second greatest killer of children in the United States after motor-vehicle accidents. 20,000 children died in 2018 and 3,143 of those died to due to firearms injuries. One of the major threats to children and adolescents is the misuse of firearms across the United States.

The NRA has been the policy’s largest supporter.

While the policy of arming teachers may have failed in Oklahoma, it has gained steam across the country. According to the Education Commission of the States, at least 10 states allow teachers to possess or have access to a firearm on school grounds.

In states such as Texas, Florida and Ohio, school teachers are already armed or have access to firearms. The policy of arming teachers should not be applied in the state of Oklahoma or the rest of the country. It is dangerous around children, it is a waste of resources and it makes the jobs of police officers harder than necessary. Money spent on firearms could be better spent on improving education facilities and hiring counselors necessary to stop potential shooters from making the final step toward violence.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The status of “qualified breeder” is easy to attain.

courtesy Flickr

SB950 brings to light the important issue of pet sales

The bill failed in the Senate, but a future version of it could be brought back up in the future.

Hana Saad Copy Editor On Tuesday, the Oklahoma House voted on Senate Bill 950, a new bill that would create the Pet Store Licensing Act. As of April 9, the enacting clause was stricken, meaning that the bill is no longer active.

This bill, if it had been passed, would have changed the requirements that regulate the sale of dogs in pet stores, according to a summary put together by LegiScan. That might sound like a good thing, but the legislation would likely worsen the dog overpopulation issue in Oklahoma.

surrounding area feared that if SB950 had passed, large corporations — such as Petland — would establish stores in the state and take advantage of the new law to sell puppies, which would most likely be from puppy mills.

Oklahoma does not have any regulations concerning the breeding of dogs and cats. In Tulsa, people aren’t allowed to breed animals with out a breeder’s license, but most people do it anyway because authorities don’t actively enforce the law.

One could see how this bill might have been a good thing. Part of it would require all pet stores in the state to ensure that the animals they sell are vaccinated and microchipped. In addition, pet stores would no longer be allowed to sell pets to minors.

Provided that the demand for purebred puppies would be high enough (which it most likely would), then I could easily see out-of-state breeders selling their dogs to Oklahoma pet stores, which is the last thing this state needs.

As anyone familiar with animal rescues in Oklahoma knows, the overpopulation problem is out of control. Tulsa Animal Welfare is inundated with more animals

“The best-case scenario would ban the sale of all dogs bred in puppy mills or by registered breeders in Oklahoma pet stores.”

According to an article from Tulsa News on 9, SB950 would have taken away local control and given it to the state. The authors of the bill believe that the state would be in a better position to regulate the sale of dogs in pet shops.

SB950 would have also allowed “qualified breeders” to sell puppies — most likely purebred — to local pet stores. The term qualified breeder essentially means nothing, as almost any person in Oklahoma or the surrounding states can get a license that allows them to breed dogs.

To become a licensed breeder, applicants are required to fill out a short application and pass an inspection. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry can deny licenses if the applicant “fails to meet the standards of animal care” or convicted of animal cruelty. Since the process isn’t that stringent, nearly anybody can obtain a license.

In addition, out-of-state breeders would be allowed to sell dogs to Oklahoma pet stores, which is a major cause for concern.

Some animal welfare organizations in the

than they have the resources to handle on a daily basis. Stray dogs and cats are a regular occurrence on Tulsa streets.

The language in the bill needs to be changed so outside breeders and large corporations that make money off of uninformed consumers would not be allowed to sell dogs or cats in Oklahoma pet stores.

Luckily, the bill most likely won’t be revived and will not move forward this session. It may be held and reviewed again next year after changes are made to its language.

Local animal welfare organizations will keep a close eye on the status of the bill.

The best-case scenario would ban the sale of all dogs bred in puppy mills or by registered breeders in Oklahoma pet stores. Purebred dogs often have health issues due to their genetics and the environment they are raised in, which, if they are from large-scale puppy mills, are often unsanitary. Oklahoma would do better if they encouraged pet stores to showcase dogs from local animal shelters. They are the ones that deserve a second chance.

15 April 2019

Commentary

The Collegian: 13

Milo Yiannopoulos tries, fails to book talk at TU

Yiannopoulos has gone from conservative upstart to a fringe figure of the alt-right.

Lindsey Prather Student Writer On April 4, controversial alt-right figure Milo Yiannopoulos posted on Facebook: “GREAT NEWS! Will shortly be speaking at The University of Tulsa. Details soon...

That’s two golden hurricanes in your town.”

The next day, Yiannopoulos posted something similar referencing a speaking engagement at Tulsa Community College. The first post prompted a frenzy of action on behalf of TU, primarily because no one invited him.

Almost immediately, TU spokeswoman Mona Chamberlin insisted that there were no plans for Yiannopoulos to speak at the university. Frankly, it’s unlikely that the supposed event was a subject of any modicum of oversight or approval in the first place.

Ignoring the free speech argument (which wouldn’t apply to the private University of Tulsa in the first place), it’s unlikely that a figure as controversial as Yiannopoulos would be approved to speak at the school in the first place, even if the proper procedures were followed.

I find it hard to believe that any argument in favor of Yiannopoulos visiting TU can be made in good faith. He is perhaps most notorious for his comments surrounding pedophilia in the gay community, and his time as a writer at Breitbart News only adds to his polarizing image. Yiannopoulos’s alleged hate speech famously incited riots a few years ago at the University of California-Berkeley, and he is banned from Twitter as well as the entire country of Australia.

Yiannopoulos isn’t your typical right-wing speaker, and it’s important to remember that.

Yiannopoulos was famously barred from appearing at CPAC, the Conservative Politi-

cal Action Conference, following his comments about young gay men and pedophilia.

He has effectively moved too far to the right for mainstream conservatism. However, it’s important to consider that the other venue eyed by Yiannopoulos —Tulsa Community College — does not have the luxury of turning him down due to the nature of his event.

The booking at TCC has similar origins to that of the University of Tulsa’s: a group with no affiliation to the school has attempted to schedule the event.

Although TCC has not officially confirmed the event, a letter was released confirming that the college is working with organizers to coordinate a time. However, this is contingent on them meeting the criteria outlined in their venue rental agreement.

The most important detail of this must be reiterated: no one affiliated with TCC invited Yiannopoulos, and no student organization at the college is sponsoring the event.

However, one organization has been responsible for the controversial speaker, Transparency for Oklahoma. The group is spearheaded by Chris Barnett, an individual with a relevant history with both the Uni-

“ ... [I]t was a fast, decisive response from TU that reinforced a standard for the speakers invited to speak on campus.” versity of Tulsa and Tulsa Community College. Barnett and his husband have been embroiled with a lawsuit against TU for the past several years as well as a related lawsuit and similar legal history with TCC. This lawsuit is one of many that was prompted by the expulsion of Barnett’s husband, Trey, from the TU theatre program around five years ago. The cascade of legal action has spawned a variety of litigation related to the free release of university documents, communication between the two colleges, as

Conner Maggio Graphics Editor Emeritus Good day, professional super collegiates.

I have worked for this university for four years now and would like to show you a highlight reel of moments from my time here. But unfortunately, since newspaper technology is a little outdated, and also I was not filming my entire life, I will type them and forward them to The Collegian instead.

My first year, I came in as an anthropology major, took 18 hours of classes, and then did not do well in any of them. But because I immediately hate things I am bad at, I switched to marketing because I knew I was good at writing and at being creative.

This story is short, but I must establish my hubris now, so in later chapters, my downfall before a final moment of victory makes sense. It’s like Chekhov’s gun, for all those gun fanatics out there.

My second year, I became a resident assistant at Fisher South. My time there imparted many, many lessons. Not the ones you would expect, however. The first lesson I learned was that people can be incredibly draining to deal with all the time. I had enjoyed my time there my freshman year, but now I needed time alone. I think the defining moment of this year for me was when my friend George and I were writing our papers during the election of 2016. George turned to me and said, “Wouldn’t it be kinda funny if Trump won?” and I, like a moron, said, “Yeah, that would be kinda funny,” and now we live in political hell. So as a small lesson, knock on wood every now and then.

My third year, I moved to the John to become an RA there. And in fair John Mabee we lay this scene: April 1, 2019. 3:00 a.m.: I get woken up by the duty phone playing “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed.

And as I lay in bed, with the harsh and ungentle noise of “Oh-Wa-AH-AH-AH,” I climbed out of bed, stumbling toward my desk and picking up the phone that had since rung twice. I said “Conner Maggio … Duty phone?” and the desk assistant who had been calling me filled me in on the situation.

Someone had put Taco Bell hot sauce on all the door handles in the first floor west wing.

Presumably this was so that whoever went out of there room would use the handle and then wipe their eyes. What they did not realize was that the hot sauce would dry almost immediately. So I was stuck with about 30 doors that needed to be cleaned before anyone got up.

Of course, I called campus security to help me in my time of need. Yet there was nothing they could do. So I busted out my own sponges and cleaned all the doors I could before going to sleep at 4:30 a.m.

However, I did not do a good enough job the first time, so the first thing I did, at 10 a.m. on a Sunday, the Lord’s day, was grabbing paper towels and cleaning everyone’s door handles. So the lesson there is, if you put Taco Bell hot sauce anywhere near me, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Also I broke up with a girl on Dec. 26 — do not do that, it is rude. Wait until Dec. 29 so they can’t say you weren’t considerate.

My fourth year, I have become overwhelmingly busy. Maybe it is the rush towards graduation, maybe it is the four jobs.

The drain toward the end has made me feel nostalgic. My years at college were happy and enjoyable, despite everything I have said up until this point. I will miss everyone and everything about TU that made it special and great. And not to be too selfcentered, but you guys are gonna miss me too. Or else.

communities. Barnett attempting to stoke bad publicity for his opposing litigants is a compelling motivation, although it remains to be seen if this will harm TU in any tangible way. The speed in which this unsolicited “event” was addressed was admirable; it was a fast, decisive response from TU that reinforced a standard for the speakers invited to speak on campus.

courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Yiannopoulos was at one point scheduled to speak at CPAC.

Farewell TU, Taco Bell sauce

well as the lack of transparency surrounding disciplinary action towards students.

It can be reasonably inferred that this history has something to do with the intentional stirring of controversy for the two college

A love letter to stress

Raven Fawcett Managing Editor Emeritus I am a very stressed person. Part of it is the anxiety that I’ve lived with for more than a decade now, and part of it is just the constant challenge of college. I won’t say I haven’t enjoyed how hectic the past few years have been, but I’d be remiss not to point out that I have been overwhelmed, in one way or another, every day for the last four years.

fessors, bosses and coworkers who listen to my thoughts and who are honest with me in turn.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the editorial staff my three years with The Collegian.

They’ve taught me that you can disagree with your friends, argue passionately about important things, and still respect each other and each others’ opinions. I don’t think I knew that was an option before college.

The writers taught me so much about being passionate about writing, so much about the world around us and the way that I experience it, about my privilege and my missed opportunities. Every week is a new chance to learn, a new chance to fall in love with life again. The news is bad a lot of the time, I know. It’s scary out here. But people still care, and there are still good things to balance out the bad, too. Some days, an article I’ve read (or many of them) have reminded me that there are things to care about and

“Thank you for joining me, for making this paper something to look forward to every week ...”

I’ve been overwhelmed with schoolwork, with weeks when I had to read more than 300 pages of academic text. When I’ve had to write articles and edit still more articles.

When I’ve had projects due at work and not enough sleep to do them well. I’ve been insecure and lonely and overwhelmed by the emptiness that is trying to find whatever great epiphany that you’re supposed to find in your twenties.

But far more often, I’ve been overwhelmed by other people. The kindness of complete strangers who have offered me an umbrella when it’s raining, by people who have told me they liked my smile, my outfit, the Legislative Digest. By the compassion of my friends, who have listened to me and supported me and valued me. By my pro-

cherish, even if it didn’t feel like it ten minutes ago.

All farewell letters are love letters at heart. This one is a love letter to anyone who cares so deeply they can feel it in their throat, that it’s a second shadow. This one is for everyone who’s so excited to share the fun and lightheartedness of happy news, and the people who care enough to report on the hard, the depressing and the daunting news, too. And, of course, for everyone who cares enough to read about our school and our world a couple times a semester.

Thank you for joining me, for making this paper something to look forward to every week and for giving me an overwhelming optimism for the future.

Commentary

The Collegian: 14

To a bittersweet graduation

Bryant Loney Copy Editor Emeritus College, where weekends are too short for sleep, and sleep is the only thing I stay awake for. College, where life happens so fast — and by the time you feel settled, they ask you to leave.

Well. I won’t miss the class discussions.

The exams and the essays and waiting anxiously for the instructor to grade them and the worrying and attaching my sense of worth to whatever they thought. I won’t miss falling asleep at five in the afternoon

occasion. Ice skating. Homecoming. Snow angels. Netflix marathons and Candyland naivete. How love manifests.

Ireland with Diane and her car, Iceland with Jess and the black lava fields, the pink skies. New Year’s Eve with the high school friends and Nick’s mom asking if champagne expires. Catching up with Carlos and finally having good news to report. Reading Raymond Carver for the first time, the neon of the city, those years of self-discovery.

Or when I asked her on a date and heard that enthusiastic yes. The date itself — the one with the dead spider in my hair and the horrified expression on the waiter’s face.

Miniature golf and dancing. Wet with sprinkler dew. Mint chocolate chip. When she kept her Converse on.

Capture the flag in front of the library with the boys at one in the morning. Dinner with the visiting author and her family before the reading. Selfies. Bonfires. Concerts.

Weddings. Complimenting her so effortlessly. Romantic idealism. Watching “500 Days of Summer” from Summer’s perspective — wait, no, that never happened.

“College, where weekends are too short for sleep, and sleep is the only thing I stay awake for.” and then waking up at midnight to read and study and eat nothing but baby carrots and hummus for a week straight. And I won’t miss the professor spending the hour lecturing over pages five and six of the book’s preface that wasn’t even written by the author. Words are just words.

However, I will miss the look on Hannah’s face when she successfully hosted her first college party. The scripts we wrote.

Scribbled thoughts. When I was late to class because a sorority girl tried to get me to join her charity Zumbathon. Kept calling me John. I think she was drunk.

I’ll miss sneaking around the water treatment plant and wondering when we’d be murdered. Taking a shot whenever the art history prof mentioned Crystal Bridges.

Ranting about No Child Left Behind and men’s bathroom etiquette on more than one

Sleepy English majors. Grey Goose with pineapple juice. Sangria by the rooftop pool.

The idea of soulmates, when we could fantasize about everything. Sensation, flirtation, narration: wine nights, cooking nights, cab lights, by night, by mistake. Writers bound by sentimental braids. Brown eyes. Orange sunsets. Sexy Halloween.

Goodbye to the roommate who wore the same four pairs of boat shoes even though the state is landlocked. Goodbye to the girl with the answers, in a floral dress and wedges. This was January, at a house party. She and I spent half an hour talking about Emily Dickinson and feminism before her friends pulled her away. Never got her name.

And the country, angry as ever, beat on while we stayed put. Bless their rampaging wild hearts. I didn’t take photos. All in the letter, imperfect but true. Yes. In this mundanity, we find epiphany.

The Collegian staff in our office in Oliphant Hall Room 110.

15 April 2019

Take a step back

Justin Guglielmetti Editor-in-Chief Emeritus TU is a different school today than the one I first visited in the summer of 2014.

I’ve seen new buildings erected, presidents change, classmates and professors come and go. As I prepare to graduate and enter the ominous “real world,” I can’t tell if I am leaving behind a university in turmoil or one that is making necessary innovations for the sustainable future of academia.

I hope it’s the latter. My own experiences at this school have been far from ideal, filled with repetitive and uninformative classes, inadequate advising and frustrating bureaucratic inaction from certain parts of the administration. If there are changes to be made that can attempt to address some of these issues, I support the effort wholeheartedly.

To Dr. Clancy and the PPRC, I hope that the sweeping reforms will pan out to the benefit of the student body. As for the students directly affected by these cuts, you have my deepest sympathies.

Even still, I urge everybody calling for resignations, or leveling accusations of fascism and corruption, to take a step back and examine things with a clear head. The tra-

jectory of TU and of higher education as a whole is a complicated one, and emblematic of the uncertainty that clouds so much of our future. If we expect to make any progress, we have to be willing to sit down and remain civil, to engage with others with whom we disagree without blindly assuming evil intentions. I trust that these reforms will not be the end of TU, but if we cannot even peacefully engage on something so ultimately insignificant as our private university’s relative commitment to the arts, how are we supposed to tackle the larger, more systemic problems we will be confronted with outside of the ivory tower?

You’ll forgive me for mounting my soapbox one last time, but I’m going to miss having such a privileged platform to share my views. I’ll end things on a more personal note.

Thank you to Dr. Mintz, Dr. Dutton, Dr. Hart, Professor Hinkle and all other faculty and staff who made a profound impact on my academic career. Thank you to my brothers in Phi Mu Alpha, who helped me find my voice. Thank you to the editors and writers of The Collegian, who have helped expand my worldview, let me rant endlessly about the Yankees, Celtics and Patriots and taught me everything I know about leadership. And thank you to my friends, who have helped rescue me from darker places than I ever imagined I would experience in college. I know I have let some of you down, but you will never know the true measure of the impact you have made on my life. And you will be with me forever.

On and ever upward.

“... [Y]ou will never know the true measure of the impact you have made on my life. And you will be with me forever.”

photo by Raven Fawcett

To our writers and readers alike, You’ve made this paper richer for your contributions and feedback. The tips you’ve sent us over emails and texts and the story ideas that improved our layouts and designs were an invaluable part of making this paper what it is today.

The graduating seniors of the editorial staff encourage all of you to join the Collegian family, whether as a writer, photographer or by taking one of our open staff positions (like distribution manager!) next year.

Whatever you do, please continue to seek the truth in everything you do, to fact-check the world around you and to always be curious and tenacious in the pursuit of knowledge. Small steps like these are how we improve our world and our community. Thank you for joining us in our endeavor to bring your stories and the things you love to light and to call attention to the things that need to be changed.

To better tomorrows, Justin Guglielmetti, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus Raven Fawcett, Managing Editor Emeritus

the

State-Run media The mastermind behind True Commitment.

TU founds e-sports team

The University of Tulsa consoles art students with promises of big e-sports wins.

To whom it may concern, I have served you well during my time as the head propagandist. After months of tireless dedication to the truth, I am writing this letter to let the public know of my resignation. The State has done me well, but there are bigger, better, less governmentsanctioned things for me to move on to.

In article after article I have opposed citizen-led papers, but I am now excited to announce my position as the news editor of The State-Run’s biggest competition, The Collegian! Followers, don’t see it as me selling out. See it as a financially-driven decision to making money-angels and Porsche drives full of happiness.

In the past, I have accused The Collegian of spewing fake news. Now that I work for them, I agree wholeheartedly with every single decision they have made and every article published ever. This is not at all related to my career change from the real news to the fake news — I mean, from the fake news to the real news.

I don’t call the The State-Run fake news because my current employer is now my competition and believes the opposite of everything The Collegian says. That would be completely unethical and would never happen in the real world.

So please, my many dedicated followers, accompany me in my transition. I won’t forget you when I make it big.

Sincerely, Madison Connell Former Head Propagandist

Sara Serrano Exclusively plays The Sims In these worrying times — with winds of change intangible and yet inexorably smothering — comfort and reassurance are crucial.

TU administration understands the uncertainty its students are feeling right now in the sudden wake of the True Commitment initiative. They see the distress and disquiet across campus and want to offer that comfort everyone is craving. Emails and forums aside, their newest announcement to soothe the burning hearts of crushed art students? A brand new TU e-sports team.

Currently holding tryouts for the Fall 2019 season, TU e-sports will feature an elite gaming squad that will travel the country to compete in national gaming events against other university teams.

video game to take to gaming conferences across the U.S. Their game of choice? Curiously, Tetris 99, a battle royale version of the classic tile-matching puzzle ‘80s hit.

“After careful analysis and consideration, we’ve settled on Tetris 99 as our main. It’s the perfect choice!” said Coach Palmer. “At the moment, there are no active tournaments for this game, meaning that we have no competition! We’ve already won! Go TU!” Go TU indeed. This brilliant piece of strategizing is going to ensure many championship titles, trophies, medals and, most important, a steady stream of money back into TU. “We’ve already received interest from many companies interested in sponsoring us,” said Coach Palmer. “Intel, Shell, New Balance, Alien Games, Four Loko, etc.”

“I mean, yeah, I’m pretty bummed out about my major being eliminated,” said TU theatre major Florence Mauve. “But at least it was all for a good cause! I can’t wait to see TU finally dominate in something and kick some virtual butt!”

If this first season goes well, and there’s really no way it won’t, plans are already be-

“... [An] e-sports stadium, set to be built over the cleared rubble of Kendall Hall ...”

“With the money we’ve been able to save by sunsetting TU’s less popular majors, we now have the cash to fund a team that is sure to bring joy and pride to the whole school, especially those most affected by the budget cuts,” said TU e-sports Coach Jack Palmer.

TU’s one and only e-sports team, this elite squad (tentatively named Threat Level Midnight) will specialize in one particular

ing drawn up for a new, high-tech e-sports stadium, set to be built over the cleared rubble of Kendall Hall after the building is destroyed in 2020.

Nestled comfortably between computer science and athletics, TU e-sports can rest easy in knowing that the program will remain immune from any future budget cuts the university will surely make.

graphic by Emma Palmer Kendall Hall, home of various TU artistic programs, is scheduled to be destroyed soon.

A guide to life in the new Professional Super College Big changes are coming to TU; here’s how to fit in with your new college.

Hannah Robbins Has a teal super suit On Thursday, Dr. Clancy announced the University of Tulsa’s True Commitment, a plan that led to budget cuts and consolidations all around. There were many changes that were released, but the one that has most students scratching their heads is the new Professional Super College. This new college combines the Oxley College of Health Sciences, the Collins College of Business and the College of Law. With all these new changes, I have created a guide to what everyone needs to know to fit right in at the new Professional Super College.

First off, fashion attire. It’s different in the Super College. Don’t worry — for super business casual, you can still wear your spandex. T-shirts with your professional super symbol are also perfectly fine, but you still need shoes, even if your professional super suit has them “built in”.

For a super business professional, yes, ties are a must, but we know the Professional Super College (PSC) logo capes are required on every third Tuesday (Super Tuesday). So make sure that your tie and cape complement each other (they don’t have to be the exact same shade of mauve, but they should be close).

For super business formal, only half masks are allowed, and the closer they look to the Phantom of the Opera masks (in your super colors, of course), the better. Super suits (tuxedos, of course) are required, and only one-shoulder capes are allowed (less than three-feet long) in your tertiary super color.

graphic by Emma Palmer

All students of the PSC must take on superhero alter egos.

Now, I know all the woke PSC students know about Edna Mode’s opinions on capes (“caught in a jet turbine” and all that), but honestly I don’t see the logic in her argument at all. Since there aren’t any philosophy majors to back up her argument, the PSC went full steam ahead with the monogrammed capes.

the health science students do in their magical building downtown, as part of the PSC, there is a new task for every freshman: create the professional super serums for the rest of the incoming class. These might range widely from some extra alcohol from that party last night to a unique mixture that definitely has something radioactive in it.

“Don’t worry — for super business casual you can still wear your spandex.”

Now that attire is out of the way, it’s time to get to nitty-gritty: professional super powers. While no one is quite sure what

One of the new university studies courses only for PSC students is to figure out how to work these new powers and identify their

secret identity, or as some of the students prefer to refer to it: their super businessona.

These classes are unique in that they have some aspects that aren’t found anywhere else anymore, including working on designing costumes, determining what color palette is most compatible with your professional super powers and designing your professional secret symbol.

With all the new professional super things to learn and deal with in the PSC, I hope this guide is helpful in fitting in. Don’t forget to bribe the right health sciences student for a good serum and never choose chartruice as a super color, and you should fit right in at the PSC!