7 November 2016

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

november 7, 2016 issue 11 ~ volume 102

VOTE!

graphic by Elias Brinkman

The Collegian: 2

News

7 November 2016

Clancy assumes presidency two months early Monday, October 31, Steadman Upham announced TU would transition to Clancy’s presidency earlier than planned.

Around 4 p.m. on Halloween, President Steadman Upham sent his last email to the student body. Its contents are sure to raise plenty of questions, including whether or not we award Upham for out-Grover-Cleveland-ing Grover Cleveland. In case you don’t check your email, this is what it said: Dear Colleagues, As you know, President-Designate Gerard Clancy and I have been working closely on the leadership transition at the university

since August. One result of our intensive collaboration has been an acceleration of the briefing and preparation process that normally accompanies a presidential transition.

As a result, I am pleased to share that Gerry will begin his tenure as the 20th president of The University of Tulsa tomorrow, November 1, 2016. This announcement comes about eight weeks earlier than we initially planned, but Gerry and I agree, and the Board concurs, there is no reason to delay the transition further.

Gerry will be an exemplary President for TU. He has served TU and the Tulsa community with enormous energy and a boundless supply of innovative ideas. As the search for the new Dean of the Oxley College of Health Sciences continues, Dr. Robin Ploeger will assume the title of in-

terim dean for that college.

I have had no greater honor than to serve as President of The University of Tulsa for these many years. Peggy and I have made this university and this community our home, and we will continue to do so. We plan to spend the next year on sabbatical before I return to teaching at TU. Peggy and I thank each of you for your immeasurable contributions to TU, which continue to make our university an asset to the Tulsa community and a top destination for talented and ambitious students the world over.

Best, Stead

courtesy The University of Tulsa Clancy assumed the presidency on Nov. 1. Upham will take a sabbatical and then return to teaching anthropology at TU.

Student Veteran Association nears completion of new center As the organization moves into a new space in Norman Village, SVA President Kate Tillotson explains how the group is moving forward and expresses her hopes for its growth.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Kate Tillotson is the President of the TU Student Veteran Association. She feels that the goal of the group is to “advocate for student veterans on-campus, foster veteran camaraderie and friendship, to create awareness and promote academic success and future employment.” By reaching out to students with events like tailgates at football games, bringing in speakers to explain the VA benefit process and hosting club meetups at the downtown restaurant Lefty’s on Greenwood, they achieve what Tillotison calls “a mixture of providing veteran resources and having fun as a group.” The group is also well-connected with sponsors and veteran resources off-campus, such as the Tulsa Vet Center and community spon-

sors U.S. Cellular and Chevron.

After meetings with administration, and thanks to the work of Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services Earl Johnson, the club is now moving away from their old space in Fisher East. As Tillotson points out, their old space on the 2nd floor wasn’t ADA accessible, which can be especially problematic for veterans who may have been wounded in combat. Now, the TU Student Veteran Association will be in Norman Village 418, a 2-bedroom apartment that’s currently being remodeled into a multipurpose room for the organization.

Tillotson mentions that many other campuses in the state, such as University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and University of Oklahoma in Tulsa all have this type of veteran center. She feels that the creation of this new space will “raise the bar for The University of Tulsa,” “up veteran recruitment,” and give the group more power to bring in outside organizations like the Veteran’s Association and recruit veterans to TU. The renovation is being paid for by a grant from Home Depot that TU’s SVA applied for. One of 50 schools to receive the grant in 2016, it essentially gives the group $9000

courtesy TU Student Veteran Association

The Student Veteran Association will move into a new space by January, which was paid for by a grant from Home Depot, as well as some help from SA.

dollars to spend at Home Depot on whatever they need, including the cost of workers coming in to do the physical renovations to the apartment. Tillotson noted that, despite how helpful the grant is, the group still needs money for things like maintenance, furniture and a printer. However, Tillotson also pointed out that the group has received money from Student Association that has been very helpful to the organization.

The group is working with President Clancy (himself an Air Force veteran) for a grand opening of the new veteran center on January 20. They are hoping to have the mayor of Tulsa, City Councillors and other Tulsa officials in attendance. The group is also having an open house on Veterans Day, next Friday, where anyone is open to come in, talk to club members and see the new space as it nears completion. the southeast side of the 3300 building. The air conditioner unit still had all the lines connected to it which made it appear that it was not under service but knocked over.

Campus Security’s crime report was not published from October 13 to October 27.

Oct. 28 9:00 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Delta Delta Delta Sorority in reference to a fire alarm.

Officers searched the Sorority and found smoke but no fire. The Sorority cook said they had turned on the stove and they forgot to turn on the vent.

2:00 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were made aware of a picture taken of a student while they were sleeping. Officers made contact with the student who stated the picture was taken without their knowledge or consent. The student was advised to file a Tulsa Police Department report and they did.

2:02 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers towed a vehicle off campus from the LaFortune Hall Lot. A vehicle was found parked contrary to university policy and officers verified that the vehicle had been previously tow warned. Towing of the vehicle was authorized by the on-duty supervisor and the vehicle was towed off campus without incident.

5:05 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to John Mabee Hall to investigate a possible marijuana smell.

Upon arrival officers made searched the area but were unable to locate the smell.

9:20 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers observed 3 individuals wearing clown masks walking west on 8th and turn into Lorton Village. Officers made contact with 1 of the individuals after the other 2 walked different directions. Officers determined the individual was a student. No contact card was issued.

Oct. 29 1:30 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers noticed an air conditioner unit turned over on its side on

Oct. 31 11:50 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to West Park Apartments in reference to a suspicious person peeking through the outside windows of the True Blue Neighbors floor. Upon officers arrival the individual had already left the location. The reporting party were able to only given limited information on the suspect. The reporting party also stated that the individual had an incident at the building a couple weeks ago. Officers told the reporting party to contact Campus Security right away if the individual comes back onto the property.

1:32 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a possible fire alarm coming from Tri Delta Sorority House. Officers arrived and met with the residences outside the house. They stated that there was an actual fire inside the kitchen oven. Officers went inside the building and the fire was already out inside the kitchen oven. Tulsa Fire Department arrived onto the scene and made sure everything was safe then left the scene. Officers waited for the smoke to clear the building and informed the residences it was safe to enter the building.

2:13 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to John Mabee Hall to investigate the possible presence of an illegal substance. Upon arrival officers determined that the smell was from cigarettes and not an illegal substance. Officers informed the resident that it was against housing policy to smoke in the buildings, and that it was illegal to tamper with smoke detectors.

10:10 p.m.

Delta Delta Delta Sorority Synopsis of Incident: University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to Delta Delta Delta Sorority house. Upon arrival there was no smoke and the fire panel was reading smoke in living. Officers were able to determined is was burnt popcorn. TFD (Tulsa Fire Department) was canceled.

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

News

7 November 2016

The Collegian: 3

Poetic Justice spotlights poetry of incarcerated women Poetic Justice, a non-profit volunteer-run organization that offers writing classes to women who are currently incarcerated, released their Poetic Justice Volume II Anthology last Thursday at TU. Michaela Flonard News Editor Thursday, November 3rd, Poetic Justice held “Poetry & Pie: Poetic Justice Volume II Anthology Release” at Tyrell Hall. The poetry presented at the event came from the new Poetic Justice Volume II Anthology, a collection of the best poetry written by women incarcerated at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center and Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. Several of the program’s volunteers read selected works from the anthology, preceding most with a story about the writer or the situation surrounded the poem.

Poetic Justice is a volunteer-run program, with its volunteers women from the school system. The group was founded by Claire Collins and Ellen Stackable in 2014, as the pair were inspired by a similar writing program offered to incarcerated men. Since then it has expanded to fourteen volunteers who offer a writing class to incarcerated women.

Each writing class offered by the organization is eight weeks long, with each week having a theme for the poems to be structured around. When they start a new group, Poetic Justice tries to “level the playing field so the [incarcerated women] feel they’re women of worth.” That’s why, a volunteer said, they emphasize that each participant is

already a poet and has potential before even starting to write. At the end of the eight weeks, each participant receives a bound copy of the session’s poems.

In the first week the theme is an ode, a lyrical poem in enthusiastic praise of something. Two of this type read at the event, an ode to perfume and an ode to the underwire bra, detailed the writers’ treasured experiences or objects, but hinted at the world behind bars, which, for instance, only allows sports bras. The second week’s theme was “a place you have loved,” which, in the work read, was the author’s kitchen. A poem describing “the unwritten rules you live by” was required in the third week. For that, the audience heard one woman’s tale of how she would never steal from her mother to feed her drug addiction. Each woman wrote a letter to herself in her fourth week, and in doing so, a volunteer said, the writer realized she had changed drastically from the woman she’d been.

Patricia Smith’s “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t)” served as a model for the fifth week. Before reading the poem from the anthology, a volunteer explained how the title evolved from “What It’s Like to Be a Prostitute (For Those of You Who Aren’t)”, to “What It’s Like to Be a Survivor.” The sixth week focused on identifying one emotion that had profoundly impacted the writer and personifying it, in hopes that that would begin the process to let it go. One poet personified her grief over her lover’s death as an attractive man she invited over once to drink with, but who kept returning, uninvited. In the seventh week, the volunteers asked for a poem about a place the women felt safe in.

After reading the poems, the hosts held a Q&A session where they shared more about

courtesy Poetic Justice

Poetic Justice publishes each session’s poems for participants to have, but also publishes the “best of the best” in an anthology, the second volume of which was released last Thursday.

their plans and those they had worked with.

Many of the women, they said, still report writing daily, with thick journals of poetry and other writings. Some of the past participants they have continued visiting in and out of prison, with one volunteer having written several statements of character for participants who were in court cases.

The women disagreed if they’d ever felt unsafe in the prisons. One, who brought up the topic, said she’d never felt unsafe, while another recounted how, when she first arrived to teach her first class, the guards asked if she was there to turn herself in. The profiling she experienced, she said, reminded her of where she was going to volunteer.

In the future, Poetic Justic hopes to expand its reach, aiming for all facilities in the state women are incarcerated in. Most im-

portantly, the group needs dedicated people who are willing to undergo the training and commitment needed by the program. Over two hundred women are on the waiting list for Poetic Justice in Mabel Bassett, which is first-come, first-serve, no credit class.

Word has spread around prisons, and thus the program has surpassed the expectations of some who suggested would not last one session.

As the night was coming to a close, one audience member introduced herself as one of the women who’d participated in the program, while in Mabel Bassett. She profoundly thanked the program for their work and emphasized the need for more, and similar, programs and reforms in the Oklahoma prison system, which incarcerates the second most women in the US.

that amendment’s failure was that it had not been considered by GOC, and some people wanted the amendment to be given more consideration before being adopted. Senate passed the bill as a whole, though, with just a handful of nays.

The second bill allows organizations to receive advertisement funding for open travel, which is when attendance is not based on membership in an organization. It was proposed by Maddie Pickett of the College of Health Sciences. The bill caps that funding at $30, which is the same cap that organizations have for on-campus events. It passed without objection.

The third bill changes when SA officers have speaking privileges. It requires that SA officials who have a conflict of interest regarding something before Senate refrain from speaking while Senate is debating.

An example of having a conflict of interest would be membership in an organization with business before the Senate. The bill was proposed by Kelly Scrivner who represents Greek Housing. She said that the

bill “ensures that Senators are putting the interests of the student body before their own” and that it “allows the body to have a fair discussion… free from impartiality.” It passed without objection.

There was also a fourth item item from GOC, but it was a resolution rather than a bill. That means that it would have essentially been a very formal suggestion rather than a mandate. The resolution would have Senate sing the alma mater without an instrumental track, which has been the normal practice. The resolution was proposed by Michael Mancini, Kelly Scrivner and Joanna George, who represents commuters. The resolution ultimately failed, but Whitney Cipolla, SA’s Vice President and therefore President of the Senate, decided that Senate would alternate between using the instrumental track and not using it.

For this week, Senate will be moved to Wednesday because of the election on Tuesday.

SA’s Senate passes three Government Operations Committee bills

Students can now receive funding for an SA election and for advertising with open travel.

Also, senators will lose their speaking privileges when there is a potential conflict of interest.

Brennen VanderVeen Student Writer

Last Tuesday, November 1, Senate heard four items from GOC, or Government Operations Committee. GOC is tasked in part with writing new rules for SA. Of the four items, only three passed.

The first bill establishes public financing of SA elections. Specifically, it allows a candidate to be reimbursed for up to 50 percent of his or her campaign expenditures.

Total expenditures (including donations) are already capped at $50 for senators and $200 for executive officers.

The bill was proposed by Michael Mancini, who represents the Graduate School.

LETTER State Question 792 Overview SQ 782 Breakdown The Oklahoma Beer Alliance has been a longtime supporter of beer modernization, an initiative largely driven by Oklahoma consumers that would allow the sale of cold, strong beer in Oklahoma’s grocery and convenience stores. To help in your decision on beer modernization this election day, the Alliance has provided the following State Question 792 breakdown.

Since 1959, Oklahoma’s alcohol laws have remained unchanged. On November 8, Oklahomans will have an opportunity to modernize the state’s beer and wine laws through State Question 792 (SQ 792), and it is important to know what this would mean for Oklahoma’s consumers.

SQ 792 would allow strong beer and wine to be sold cold at grocery, convenience and liquor stores.

Oklahoma’s current system doesn’t allow for the sale of strong beer or wine in grocery or convenience stores. SQ 792 would allow grocery and convenience stores to sell cold, strong beer and wine, and allow liquor stores to refrigerate strong beer and wine. In addition, it would allow liquor stores to sell drink mixers, bar accessories and a select number of groceries.

SQ 792 would increase beer selection for consumers.

Many full-strength beer brands are not currently available in Oklahoma because they require specific temperature settings to ensure the best beer quality for the consumer. With SQ 792, more beer brands would be able to enter the Oklahoma market because it would allow for refrigeration through the point of sale at all retail locations including grocery, convenience and liquor stores. This

He proposed the bill in order to increase “the equity of the SA electoral system.” He believes that the bill “will incentivize more active campaigning, enlighten voters about their choices and empower more students to consider running.”

The bill, taking about an hour to get passed after being introduced, was the most debated of the night. Joey Zitzman of the College of Business was one of the senators who opposed the measure. He says he supports the intent of getting more people to participate in SA, but he thought that the money could be better utilized elsewhere.

He also worries that “the bill was focused a little too inwards and not enough outwards” because some of the beneficiaries would be the current members of SA. During the debate of the bill, there was a proposal to allow candidates to use SA property such as its printer. However, this amendment failed. Some senators thought that such a change would give too much of an advantage to incumbents (who know what resources SA has). Another reason for

to the editor would provide a wider range of beer selection for Oklahomans.

SQ 792 would be good for business.

Oklahoma’s current beer laws restrict businesses and don’t allow them to respond to what consumers want. Beer modernization proposed in SQ 792 would allow businesses to respond to consumer demand and operate freely benefiting the entire Oklahoma beer industry, which currently provides more than 8,000 local jobs.

SQ 792 protects public safety.

SQ 792 and its companion bill SB 383 implement statutory changes to Oklahoma’s alcohol laws to ensure responsible alcohol sales and public safety. Right now, grocery and convenience store clerks can be 16 years old to sell beer; however, under SQ 792 and SB 383, they would have to be 18 years old. In addition, clerks must receive special training and a license from the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission to sell alcohol products. This ensures the responsible sale of alcohol and holds individuals accountable throughout the process while also taking steps to protect the public.

SQ 792 is what Oklahoma consumers have been asking for.

Beer modernization has been a consumer-driven effort to reform the state’s 57 year old alcohol laws. Right now, Oklahoma is one of only five states that mandate 3.2 beer by law. SQ 792 would allow Oklahoma to join nearly all other states that have modern beer laws and allow the sale of cold, strong beer and wine in grocery, convenience and liquor stores.

Lisette Barnes, President of the Oklahoma Beer Alliance

tucollegian@tucollegian.org editor-in-chief

Hannah Kloppenburg managing editor

Kayleigh Thesenvitz news editor

Michaela Flonard sports editor

Matt Rechtien variety editor

Trenton Gibbons commentary editor

James Whisenhunt satire editor

Sam Chott photo & graphics editor

Elias Brinkman

business & advertising manager

Paul Moses web manager

Sam Chott

distribution managers

Nathan Gibbons, Adam Lux and Trenton Gibbons

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 accommodation of disabilities may be addressed to the University’s 504 Coordinator, Dr. Tawny Taylor, 918-631-3814. To ensure availability of an interpreter, five to seven days notice is needed; 48 hours is recommended for all other accommodations. Advertising Policy: Advertising appearing in this publication does not imply approval or endorsement by the University of Tulsa or The Collegian for the products or services advertised.

For advertising information, email the Collegian at advertising@tucollegian.org. The deadline for advertising is 12 pm on the Friday prior to publication. Letter Policy: Letters to the editor must be less than 500 words and can be sent to tucollegian@tucollegian, or dropped off at Oliphant Room 110. Under no circumstances will anonymous letters be published. The name of the person submitting the letter must be published with the letter.

We reserve the right to edit or reject all letters. The deadline for letters is 5 pm on the Friday prior to publication. Editing Policy: The Collegian reserves the right to edit all copy submitted by all writers. This editing may take place in many forms, including grammar corrections, changes in paragraph structure or even the addition or removal of sections of content. Editorial Policy: Columnists are solely responsible for the content of their columns.

Opinions expressed in columns may not represent the opinions of the entire Collegian staff, the administrative policies of the University of Tulsa, the views of the student body or our advertisers.

The Collegian: 4

News

7 November 2016

Flu vaccinations available on campus

The information given below is taken verbatim from a campus-wide distributed email from the Alexander Health Center.

A flu vaccination clinic has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Alexander Health Center. No appointment is necessary, however the clinic is closed for lunch from 12 to 1 p.m.

Any students who are unable to receive the influenza vaccine on Tuesday may walk in for a flu shot during regular office hours but may have a slightly longer wait.

If you are covered by TU’s Aetna Student Health Insurance, there is no charge for the flu shot. Students covered by other insurance providers will be charged $25, payable by cash, check, credit card or TU account.

Please call the health center at 918-631-2241 if you have any questions.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager Car Bomb in Turkey Kills Nine Two police officers and seven civilians were killed in southeastern Turkey when a car bomb detonated near a police station early Friday, November 4. Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 100 people were injured, 93 of whom have since been released from hospital care. Turkish authorities say the bomb, which went off in the heavily-populated Baglar district in the city of Diyarbakir, was the work of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK. Hours before the bombing, members of Parliament from the People’s Democratic Party, a pro-Kurdish political party, were detained. Their homes were also raided as part of a terror investigation. Selahattin Demirtas tweeted “police officials are at my door in my Diyarbakir house to detain me by force.” Ankara, the nation’s capital, has been accused of cracking down on civilians after a failed coup took place last summer.

Iraqi Forces Recapture More Districts in Mosul Six districts of Mosul were claimed by Iraqi Forces last Friday, November 4. The day before, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released a speech touting that there could be no retreat and that fighters must remain loyal to their commanders. Operations against the Islamic State in Mosul have generally been moving ahead of schedule. The Counter Terrorism Service has taken the Malayeen, Samah, Khadra, Karkukli, Quds and Karama districts of the city.

“This is something very big — it means large parts of the left bank have been liberated,” CTS commander Lieutenant-General Talib Shaghati said, referring to the east bank of the Tigris. Mosul is made up of dozens of districts and housed over 2 million people before it was taken by ISIS in 2014. The operation to retake Mosul is the largest military operation to took place in Iraq since the United States invasion of 2003.

Calais Migrants Move to Paris

Hundreds of migrants now live in the streets of Paris after the destruction of the socalled Calais “Jungle”. The encampment issue in Calais was still being wrapped up late last week as migrants finished the registration process and the last of the encampment was removed. Aid groups claim that many of those cleared out of the camp simply ended up in the Paris streets, though the government argues otherwise. An estimated 100 refugees, mostly African or Afghan, arrive in the country everyday to seek asylum in Britain or France.

Facilities available in Calais before its destruction, such as portable toilets, are much fewer in Paris’ streets. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, wrote last week to the national government of the “desperate humanitarian and sanitary situation” the migrants faced in the city. Mayor Hidalgo also announced the construction of a temporary shelter, though aid organizations say the 400 spots the shelter will provide are too few for adequate change.

Brexit to Require a Parliament Vote in Britain Before the process of Britain leaving the European Union can be put into effect, Parliament must give its approval, the High Court ruled last Thursday, November 3rd.

The government has vowed to appeal the court’s decision. Prime Minister Theresa May had planned to begin negotiations and the legal processes of leaving the EU by the end of March. She may now have to share her strategy for Britain’s future with Parliament and take into account many competing priorities. She resisted sharing her strategies in the past as she argued that it could hurt the negotiating process.

May stands by her priority of controlling immigration into Britain, control that could potentially do serious damage to the British economy. She may be forced to compromise after the court’s decision, as many Parliament members weren’t in favor of leaving the EU at all. After the High Court’s ruling was announced last Thursday, November 3, the pound rose from the multi decade lows it had sunk to in past weeks.

Dangerous Smog in Delhi Last Friday, November 4, authorities say over 1,800 schools in New Delhi closed in response to dangerous levels of air pollution. The most dangerous particles, PM 2.5, reached levels of 600 micrograms per cubic meter in the city according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. The smog is a combination of smoke from burning crops in agricultural states, dust, vehicle emissions and fireworks from the Hindu festival of Diwali. Exposure to the smoke can be equal to smoking 40 cigarettes a day and can lead to stroke, heart failure, pneumonia or asthma.

The principal of the Modern School, Meenakshi Sahni, closed the private school and alerted families to keep their children indoors. “You could actually feel that there was something weighing down on them physically...Even at the gathering in the auditorium, you could feel as if somebody is strangling you,” she stated.

Early Election Rejected in Venezuela A request for an early election by an opposition party was rejected by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week. Venezuela is in the middle of an economic crisis, and many calls have been put forth for Maduro to step down. An opposition party claimed that negotiations were aimed at setting an election for next year, two years before Maduro’s term is currently supposed to end. Maduro stated, “There can be no ultimatums. Nobody can issue an ultimatum. Everything in its time...I want to alert you all, especially the opposition’s supporters: They are lying to you again.”

During talks last Sunday, November 6, opposition and government officials agreed to lessen harmful rhetoric and protests. Maduro’s comments come as talks mediated by the Vatican and former international leaders from Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Panama fell apart.

Monday, November 7 at 6:00pm to 7:30pm Helmerich Hall, Room 219 LGBTQ+ Expert Panel Come to learn from a panel of professionals in the TU community, including those from the law school, the Dennis Neil Equality Center and various members int he community about LGBTQ+ issues and life. Enjoy free food, t-shirts, knowledge in celebration of PRIDE month.

Wednesday, November 9 at 5:00pm to 7:00pm Lorton Hall, Room 207 Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Panel Follow-Up Discussion Join us for part two of a conversation about sexual assault on our campus as we begin to discuss a future plan of action for the TU community. We will be continuing conversations from the sexual assault panel held in October, as well as addressing new issues and concerns.

Free Panda Express.

Thursday, November 10 at 7:30pm to 9:00pm Lorton Performance Center, Meinig Recital Hall Concerts with Commentary: A Schubertiad The University of Tulsa School of Music Concerts with Commentary presents Stuart Deaver and Brady McElligott in an all-Schubert program entitled, A Schubertiad.

Featuring vocal music and four-hand piano music from this amazingly prolific composer, who, by the time of his early death at age thirty-one, had already written over six hundred songs.

Friday, November 11 at 7:00pm Kendall Hall, Chapman Theatre WomenWorks: Black Super Hero Magic Mama TU Department of Theatre in partnership with TU’s creative writing and women’s & gender studies programs present the 2016 WomenWorks Award-Winning play Black Super Hero Magic Mama.

The play is written by Inda Craig-Galvan of the University of Southern California and directed by Michael Wright.

Black Super Hero Magic Mama is as contemporary as a play can be. An AfricanAmerican mother’s grief nearly destroys her when her son is killed by a white police officer. She chooses instead to recreate herself as a super hero from the graphic novel her son was working on before his death. Hard truths, painful choices and the ultimate sacrifice for love are explored in this winning play from the 2016 WomenWorks national playwriting competition.

The play will be presented in concert reading style in the Kendall Hall Chapman Theatre on the TU campus. A panel discussion led by Bishop Carlton Pearson on “Why ‘Black Lives Matter’ Matters to All” will follow the Nov. 11 reading.

The event is open to the public.

Playwright in Residence: Nov. 6-13 Saturday, November 12 at 7:00pm Friday, November 11 at 7:30pm to 9:00pm Lorton Performance Center, Gussman Concert Hall Cappella Chamber Singers & TU Chorale: Songs of the World The University of Tulsa School of Music presents Cappella Chamber Singers and TU Chorale in their fall concert.

Dr. Kim Childs will conduct Joseph Rivers’ Lonely People of the Osage and works

by Cousins, Byrd, Grau, Diorio and Verdi. The concert will also feature student conductors Emma Cantrell, Carter Jameson, Ron Curtis and Zane Cawthon, a piece by composer Drew Crane and will feature pianist Abigail Gschwend.

Saturday, November 12 at 9:00am to 12:00pm Mabee Gym, Campus Security Office RAD for Women Self-Defense Class The RAD for Women Self-Defense is an easy to learn way for women to defend against unwanted attention or and attack.

The class consists of two 3-hour sessions. Wear comfortable clothes, class includes physical activity.

Call or email the security department for details. Download the latest R.A.D. Brochure or visit RAD-systems.com for more information about the program.

Sunday, November 12 at 10:00am to 5:00pm Philbrook Museum La Revue de Cuisine: Jazz Ballet La Revue de Cuisine is a jazz ballet in one act by Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

This event will be at the Philbrook Museum and includes the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra and Portico Dance.

Monday, November 14 at 7:00pm to 8:30pm Chapman Hall, Lecture Hall Auditorium Hibakusha Stories: Testimonies of Survivors of the Atomic Bomb Shigeko Sasamori and Yasuaki Yamashita will share their experiences from the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9. They will discuss the aftermath and how these tragic events shaped the course of their lives and history.

TU Assistant Professor of American History Jeremy Kuzmarov and Kathleen Sullivan, consultant to the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs, will join the survivors in a panel discussion on the historic, ethical, human and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons.

Sponsored by the TU History Club and Youth Arts New York.

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

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

Sports

7 November 2016

Cubs finally break bleacher creature century-long curse Justin Guglielmetti is…

The Collegian: 5

the

Remember the (Awesome) Name I’m usually not one to put too much stock into fans complaining about their favorite players not getting enough media attention.

While some sports certainly get more attention from the major networks, the players that get talked about the most are usually the ones who are most deserving of it.

ESPN bigwigs didn’t just decide to anoint Steph Curry and LeBron James as the best players in the NBA, they earned it themselves.

But with that said, there is one NBA star that is unjustly flying way under the radar this season, and it’s about time he got his due. Toronto Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan, for years one of basketball’s last remaining midrange artists, should have become a household name last year when he made his second All-Star team and emerged as the heart and soleul of the only semi-serious competitor to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.

And yet he seemingly remained in the eyes of the public just another one-dimensional role player on a team led by fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry, despite greatly outperforming his backcourt mate in the postseason.

So far this year, DeRozan is leaving no doubts as to who the Raptors’ best player is.

Through five games, the 6’7” Compton native is averaging a league-leading 35.8 PPG on 55-percent shooting, eviscerating opposing defenses with a dizzying halfcourt array of turnarounds, floaters, and Eurosteps.

While this pace is almost certainly unsustainable, squint and DeRozan has looked an awful lot like Michael Jordan, you know, the best player in basketball history. And if that’s not worthy of some attention, I’m not sure what is.

Silver Lining in Cleveland Don’t sing too many sad songs for the Cleveland Indians. After all, they managed to stretch the World Series to seven games against an absolutely stacked Cubs roster despite playing with an injured Danny Salazar and without stars Carlos Carrasco and Michael Brantley.

Play this series again with both teams at full strength, and there is a good chance it goes the other way (not that that is too much consolation, there are no do-overs in life).

Still, Indians fans can take pride in knowing that their manager may have just changed the way baseball is played.

Throughout the playoffs, Terry Francona used Andrew Miller, one of the most dominant relief pitchers ever, not in the ninth to close out games but in the middle innings before a starter had to go through the heart of the opposing batting order for a third time.

With the exception of a flukish David Ross home run off a fatigued Miller in Game 7, the approach worked brilliantly, turning the ballgame into a six-inning affair for the Tribe.

Don’t be surprised if more teams follow suit, stop trying to recreate the career of Mariano Rivera, and just use their best relief pitcher in the highest-leverage situations.

After 108 long years, the Chicago Cubs finally broke the Curse of the Billy Goat, ending the longest title drought in the the entire history of sports.

Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer We all felt the ground rumble and the buildings shake Wednesday night, right?

No, it wasn’t an earthquake, that was the sound of millions of dead North Siders turning over in their graves as the Chicago Cubs, the most historically inept team in the history of American sports, finally ended their 108-year championship drought, hoisting the World Series trophy for the first time since 1908. Actually scratch that, they hoisted it for the first time since there’s been a trophy!

As was befitting of such a momentous moment in baseball history, Game 7 was one of the greatest and most tumultuous contests you will ever see.

The situation favored the Cleveland Indians, given home field advantage by the ridiculous All-Star Game rule and starting their ace Corey Kluber, one of the best pitchers in baseball and a favorite for the AL Cy Young.

Kluber had steamrolled through Chicago’s lineup in two previous Series appearances in Games 1 and 4, both Cleveland wins, using a buzzsaw of a two-seam fastball to make the Cubbies’ batters look like a bunch of Little Leaguers.

Leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler made sure there would be no such flailing about with the season on the line, starting off the game with a bomb to dead center, the first Game 7 leadoff home run in MLB history. From there it was one improbable play after another, to the point where the game began to feel like a fever dream.

Lumbering Kyle Schwarber, built like a barrel and only just back from a devastating ACL injury, stealing second base without a throw!

Jason Kipnis scoring from second on a wild pitch after the ball’s ricochet knocked sturdy catcher David Ross to his back!

Ross taking unhittable relief ace Andrew Miller deep in his final major league game!

Slap-hitting Rajai Davis lining a ball over the left-field wall off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman (pulling a fastball from the fastest pitcher in major league history) to tie the game!

Men’s soccer earns second seed in Conference tournament The men’s soccer team finished the regular season off with a win over Memphis, giving them a berth to the Conference Championship.

Joseph Edmunds Sports Writer The Golden Hurricane men’s soccer finished the regular season on a high note, shutting out the Memphis Tigers 2–0 at home.

The game was an even contest throughout most of the game. Neither team was able to create a scoring opportunity that beat the goalkeepers in the first half, sending the game into the break with a scoreless draw.

As the second half wore on, the game remained scoreless. Down the stretch, though, Tulsa was able to take the lead. Jacob Gooden put the Golden Hurricane in front with a nice flick at the 72-minute mark, and Matt Puig followed that up by earning and

courtesy Pinterest

Believeland did not live up to its name after all.

There can only be one sports miracle per year per city, it would seem. So at least no other Chicago team can win this year.

Can Daniel Craig Kickbox?

So apparently Idris Elba is doing professional kickboxing now. The 44-year-old suave-as-all-hell British thespian just added another impressive item to his resume that includes starring roles on acclaimed TV programs The Wire and Luther, winning his first professional kickboxing bout last week in London.

Don’t believe me? There’s footage of the fight, recorded ringside by Madonna for some reason. I’m not making this up. So what do you say MGM, can we just make this guy James Bond already?

The heavens opening up in a downpour before the 10th inning, probably because God had something on the stove and didn’t want to miss any of the action!

Kris Bryant, struggling with the glove all postseason, charging in on a slow roller and delivering a bullet to first to end the agony of generations of loyal fans!

Any one of them felt like it could have been the series’ defining moment, and they all happened in the same game. The result was the greatest game of my lifetime, four hours and 28 minutes of raw emotion and unimaginable tension that only baseball can deliver.

Is there something bittersweet about the Cubs’ victory and the end of the Curse of the Billy Goat, one of those romantic folk tales that reverberates through history and provides the lifeblood of the game?

From a certain perspective I would agree with that. Curses and colorful storylines out of a bygone era are part of the heart and soul of baseball, and every time we lose one, the national pastime feels just a little more like another sport and a little less like pure Americana.

But far be it from me to take this moment away from delirious Chicago fans just to preserve my own sense of nostalgia. Besides, as unexpected as this title seems from a historical perspective, we can’t say that it came as much of a surprise in 2016.

Armed with a bevy of great arms, an airtight defense and the most dynamic young lineup in the league, the Cubs entered the season as everyone’s World Series favorites.

Their win was not the story of an impossible underdog but the fulfillment of a prophecy of greatness. And you know what?

Chances are this won’t be the last time we see the Cubbies standing tall at season’s end.

Bryant, Schwarber, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Javier Baez are all 27 years old or younger. Joe Maddon is an evil genius of a manager.

Theo Epstein, now the architect behind two historic drought-ending championship runs (he was the general manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2004), may have sold his soul to the devil for the promise of winning baseball.

Chicago has all the makings of a dynasty, and now without the specter of history hanging over them we’ll see just how far they can take it. Run and hide, Cardinals fans, because there might just be a new boss in town.

converting a penalty kick in the 86th minute to secure the 2–0 win.

Head Coach Tom McIntosh talked about the win postgame.

“It was a tough game. I thought Memphis played very well. They bottled us up in the first half and we weren’t able to create a lot of good chances, but our guys hung in there and in the second half it opened up a little bit. Jacob Gooden scored a tremendous goal and then Matt Puig made a run on a counter and got the PK. Our back line was pretty good through much of the night. I am happy for the seniors with the senior night and getting the win.”

Tulsa’s final record for the regular season is 9–4–4 (4–2–1 American Athletic Conference). That record earned them the second seed behind only South Florida heading into the American Athletic Conference Championship tournament in Tampa, FL. They will play against the No. 3 seeded UConn Huskies on Friday, November 11 at 4:30 p.m. in the semifinal match.

Disc golf club finds early success Joseph Edmunds Sports Writer This semester, a disc golf club, The Golden Aces, has been formed on campus. Thus far, the club meetings have been informal, organized through a Facebook group. There are small tournaments around the city of Tulsa on every weeknight, and the club has attended some of those when possible.

The club recently held a small tournament called Parked Discs and Pumpkin Pie which had 12 participants and was held at the Riverside disc golf course. The tourna-

ment was a doubles scramble style tournament, where the best shot of the two teammates was taken from each point, and they each threw from that point for the next throw. For this tournament, new players were paired with beginning players. Club founder Larry Hoerr and new player Joe Moran were the victors of the tournament, winning a pumpkin pie and a small trophy.

Hoerr and fellow member Andrew Lackey also participated in the Oklahoma Open tournament, winning the amateur doubles B division.

A future event in planning for the club is a tournament with a theme based on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Rowing The TU rowing team hosted the Tulsa Fall Invitational this past weekend, their last race of the fall season. University of Kansas and conference rival Southern Methodist University participated in the Invitational.

The Golden Hurricane competed with 20 boats in six of the events: Varsity 1, Varsity 2-, Varsity 2x, Varsity 4x, Varsity 4+ and Varsity 8+. On Friday, Tulsa took first in four of the races, while four more boats finished in the top three. The races Tulsa took first in were: Varsity 4+, Varsity 1x, Varsity 2- and Varsity 4x.

Head Coach Kevin Harris said after the race, “It was a good first day of racing. I am really pleased with the way the Fours rowed and it was nice to see the way the team took on the small boats. I enjoyed what we did and it was good to see the results.”

On the second day the Golden Hurricane only competed in the Varsity 8+ race, taking home second place in the race losing out by just five seconds to the Kansas boat. This was the last event for the team for the fall and their next event will take place in the middle of March.

Volleyball The Golden Hurricane volleyball team earned their third straight win in conference play on the road against East Carolina in a 3–0 sweep.

Erica Bohannon, Jaime Rahilly and Emily Thorson led the way for the Golden Hurricane with 11, nine and five kills respectively. After the first set, which went beyond the 25-point limit, TU outscored the Pirates by 20 points to take the win.

On Sunday the Golden Hurricane took on the Cincinnati Bearcats — who are tied for first in the conference — on the road, winning three sets to one. Bohannon once again led Tulsa in kills with 24.

Rebecca Reeve and Trinity Alualu had 11 and nine kills respectively.

TU took the first set, dropped the second, but bounced back to take sets three and four. The Golden Hurricane sit at 17–9 overall and 6–8 in the American Athletic Conference.

Basketball The men’s team played their first exhibition game of the season against Oklahoma Christian last week, while the women’s team played their second exhibition game against Southern Nazarene.

For the men, the 72–53 win was the first time that the new team got to see action against a real opponent.

The team made mistakes early on, as well as towards the end of the game, but that’s expected in the first game of the season and the first time a team truly plays with each other.

Transfers Junior Etou and Jaleel Wheeler led the Golden Hurricane with 17 and 14 points, while TK Edogi and Sterling Taplin added 11 and 10 in the win.

Head coach Frank Haith (who happened to be celebrating his birthday) said postgame; “First time out, I was encouraged. Our expectation was let’s get our guys out there and get them all playing.

By playing a lot of different lineups, the cohesiveness was going to be a little (shaky) when you’re playing that many guys and running guys in and out. I was encouraged.”

The men’s team will open up their season at home this Friday against Jacksonville State.

The women dominated Southern Nazarene in their final exhibition game before the regular season begins by a score of 89–50. The game was only close in the very beginning, but by the end of the first quarter, the Golden Hurricane had taken a comfortable lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game.

Newcomer Kendrian Elliott led Tulsa with 19 points, followed by Liesl Spoerl with 17. The women will open up their season on the road against UMKC on Friday.

Sports

Golden Hurricane sink Pirates The Collegian: 6

7 November 2016

photos by Dalton Stewart

Photos from left to right: senior quarterback Dane Evans led the Golden Hurricane in the victory over East Carolina University. Evans surpassed Paul Smith’s school record of 808 completions during the win, and currently sits at 823 completions in his four years at Tulsa. Wide receiver Josh Atkinson had two touchdowns and 123 yards in the win over the Pirates. This was the 10th time that Atkinson had over 100 yards receiving and the fifth time that he had 10 or more receptions in a game.

Tulsa won their fifth straight home game against East Carolina, and guaranteed themselves a winning record for the first time since 2012.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor The Golden Hurricane continued their hot streak beating East Carolina at home Saturday night 45–24. This was their third straight win and their fifth consecutive home win this season. The win put their overall record at 7–2, marking the first time since 2012 that the Golden Hurricane will finish the season with a winning record.

On paper it looked to be a very heavy offensive matchup between the Pirates and Golden Hurricane who are number one and two in the conference for total yards of offense. While both teams had over 450 yards, the Golden Hurricane blew past the Pirates’ offense accumulating 616 total yards, the third time they’ve done so since Philip Montgomery took over the program.

After winning the coin toss to start the game the Golden Hurricane, in an unusual move, decided to receive instead of defer and start on defense like they did through most of the first half of the season. It paid off because they continued their streak of early scoring, needing just eight plays and three minutes to take an early 7–0 lead on a 22-yard run by senior running back James Flanders.

After the defense held the Pirates to just 19 yards on their first drive, the Golden Hurricane got the ball back and again quickly marched down the field in just over three minutes for 76 yards. Senior quarterback Dane Evans found senior wide receiver Keevan Lucas in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown to give Tulsa an early 14-point lead for the second straight week.

East Carolina finally found their offense on the next drive, driving down the field in two minutes, mostly thanks to a 51-yard pass from Pirates quarterback Philip Nelson to Zay Jones that just beat the Tulsa secondary.

With the score sitting at 14–7 with four minutes left in the first quarter, the team traded punts and field position as neither offense could get any momentum. The big reason that East Carolina’s drives didn’t last was that Tulsa’s defense stepped up

Monday Men’s Basketball vs.

Northeastern State 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Golf @ Dallas Athletic Club

and made big plays every time they made any kind of forward progress. The defense recorded seven sacks in the game, a season high for the team, lead by Matt Linscott (2) and Jesse Brubaker (2).

With eight minutes in the first half, the offense pushed down the field with a little help from East Carolina penalties, but the drive stalled out just outside the red zone and Tulsa had to settle for a 41-yard field goal attempt. Redford Jones hit it straight and it sailed right through the uprights to put Tulsa up by 10.

The Pirates and Golden Hurricane followed up with three and outs, which was the end of the day for Philip Nelson, who was subbed out for Gardner Minshew after only throwing 100 yards (over half of which was on a single play).

With just under three and a half minutes left in the first half, the Golden Hurricane got their offense moving again on the strength of Flanders who had 54 of the

the remainder of the quarter and the third quarter ended with the same 38–17 score.

The fourth quarter started with a huge defensive stand for the Golden Hurricane after East Carolina marched all the way down to Tulsa’s one-yard line. Four times the Golden Hurricane held the goal line, stopping two runs and a pass before Matt Linscott ran untouched and sacked Minshew for 14 yards, forcing the turnover on downs.

Tulsa punted after the ensuing drive, but again forced East Carolina to turn the ball over on downs after a Minshew sack and fumble forced the Pirates to try and convert a fourth and 16, which didn’t happen when Minshew’s pass went incomplete.

The next drive was all Brewer as the Golden Hurricane decided to run the ball exclusively. Tulsa ran 7 plays, for 69 yards and ate up 4:10 off the clock and still got a touchdown, as the Pirates were helpless to stop the Golden Hurricane’s rushing attack.

The gave the Golden Hurricane 45 points,

“We ain’t the same football team, I promise you, as we were last year.”

80 yards on the drive. Back-to-back penalties by East Carolina deep in their red zone made it easy for Evans to find receiver Josh Atkinson for the three-yard score to give Tulsa the 17-point lead going into half-time.

East Carolina’s offense came out flying after the half, flying down the field in two minutes to open up the second half with a touchdown to bring East Carolina back within ten, 24–14. Not to be outdone however, the Golden Hurricane responded with their own touchdown drive, in under two minutes, a seven-yard run by Flanders, his second of the game and ninth in the last three games.

The Pirates tried to respond with another drive of their own, but had to settle for a field goal to keep it a two-score game midway through the third quarter. Tulsa put the game away on the next drive though. Senior D’Angelo Brewer scrambled for 30 yards setting up a 64-yard pass from Evans to Atkinson for a touchdown, putting the Golden Hurricane up 38–17. This was the longest play from scrimmage for the Golden Hurricane this season.

Neither team could muster anything for

Tuesday

Women’s Golf @ Dallas Athletic Club

Wednesday

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which is the magic number, because they have not lost a game in which they have put scored over 41 points.

With the score sitting 45–17 with just over a minute left to play, the game had already been decided. That didn’t stop the Pirates from putting up another touchdown in garbage time to bring the final score of the game at 45–24.

The tandem of Flanders and Brewer combined for 361 yards, the sixth time that Tulsa has rushed for over 300 yards this season.

As long as Tulsa continues to dominate teams on the ground, they will continue their hot streak.

In his postgame press conference Head Coach Philip Montgomery talked about the defense’s strong game.

“Haven’t got to really look at this sheet yet, but overall, very, very proud of our football team. Defensively I thought we played tremendous really throughout the whole game. They had a couple drives in there that were just good drives, I mean, guys making plays.”

Moving on, he talked about how this team has turned it around on offense since he took

Thursday

Volleyball @ USF 7:00 p.m.

over the program. (Tulsa has had 103 touchdowns in the 22 games that he’s been here, compared to only 55 touchdowns in the 22 games prior.)

“Well, those guys have worked tremendously hard. I believe in what we’re doing offensively. They believe in what we’re doing offensively. Allowing guys to make plays, they’re excited about getting on the practice field, they’re excited about getting in the games. That enthusiasm is what has carried us through. We’ve had great senior leadership since I got here. Those guys have brought in since day one.”

He also talked about the strength of the running game, and his belief that they don’t have an A and B back, but two A backs.

“We really do [have two A backs]. Ever since I’ve been here we’ve been running back by committee. We’re going to give it to the hot hand. Those two [Brewer and Flanders] I think were both hot tonight at different points in time during the game.

The great part about that is those five guys in front of them, plus [sophomore tight end Chris] Minter, are doing a great job of understanding the different looks we’re getting, opening up holes.”

“But those guys are running the football with a tremendous amount of passion and pride. They get the ball in their hands, they’ve got a chance to get big yards. Both of them popped big runs tonight but also picked up those tough yards on short down, when you get in the red zone, all those things, those things you got to do as a running back.”

Finally Montgomery looked forward to next week when Tulsa will play Navy for a first-place showdown for the American Athletic Conference West. Last season Navy beat the Golden Hurricane 44–21.

“I thought really last year, especially early in the football game, we played really well defensively. We just didn’t do anything offensively early. Then we kind of got a few things going here or there. We ain’t the same football team, I promise you, as we were last year. Our guys are going to enjoy this win tonight. We’ll come in and get a good plan together. We’ll go on the practice field, get ready to get that done, fly up there and play a tremendous game.”

Tulsa travels to Annapolis to take on the Naval Academy at 11 a.m. this Saturday.

Nov 7 – 13 Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Men’s Basketball vs.

Jacksonville State 7:00 p.m.

Football @ Navy Cross Country 11:00 a.m. @ NCAA Midwest Regional

Women’s Basketball @ UMKC 7:00 p.m.

Volleyball vs. UCF 1:00 p.m.

No Events

7 November 2016

Commentary

The Collegian: 7

Who should be Oklahoma’s next U.S. Senator?

James Lankford Mike Workman

Voting for James Lankford is a vote for the most experienced candidate and helps ensure checks and balances in an almost inevitable Clinton presidency.

Brennen VanderVeen Student Writer James Lankford has represented Oklahoma in the U.S. Senate since January of 2015.

He was originally elected to fill the vacancy left when Tom Coburn stepped down for health reasons. He is now running for a complete term. Oklahomans should vote for Lankford, either for his conservative policies or just to keep Hillary Clinton in check.

Of course, there is the standard reason that one might vote for a Republican. Generally, a candidate being a Republican is a good indicator of that candidate’s conservatism.

Lankford himself is indeed solidly conservative. He is pro-life, opposes the Affordable Care Act and supports reducing regulation. One could go in further detail into how conservative Lankford’s record is, but doing so would probably not be particularly persuasive. Mainly, the people who would care most about that record are probably already inclined to vote for him anyway.

There is not really much that would convince progressives to vote for him either.

Lankford’s conservatism obviously differs from progressivism on many issues. So, here are a few reasons that more moderate voters might also want to vote for Lankford.

Firstly, he does have some experience in Congress. He served in the House of Representatives 2011 through 2015. He has served in the Senate since 2015. In contrast, his main opponent, Mike Workman, has not held any major government positions.

(Workman also lacks a campaign website page beyond Facebook). Of course, experience is not everything, but it is a plus.

Having more experience in the Senate has two advantages. Firstly, it establishes a record. Lankford thus far has not embarrassed Oklahoma, and there is no reason to think that he’ll start in his next term. Secondly, being in the Senate longer means more access to leadership positions, assuming one is of the same party that holds a majority —

which brings us to the main reason Lankford should be re-elected.

Power in the Senate (or basically any legislative body, for that matter) is exercised through whatever group holds the majority.

So, besides voting for an individual senator to represent Oklahoma, one is also voting, indirectly, for either Mitch McConnell or Chuck Schumer to lead the Senate. So, even if Lankford himself is more conservative than one might otherwise prefer, one would also be voting for a Senate leader who is somewhat more moderate.

Ensuring that Republicans maintain a majority in the Senate is particularly important this year, since it looks like Hillary Clinton will win the presidency. A President Clinton would be charged with nominating people to fill both judicial and executive positions.

While cabinet members serve more or less at the pleasure of the president and would go away after her administration, judges and appointees to a lot of independent agencies remain even after a new president takes office. Since nominees require Senate confirmation before taking office, a Republicanmajority Senate would mean that Clinton would have to pick more moderate appointees and make more compromises.

Also, while the House of Representatives (which will probably remain Republican) is able to keep legislation from being too leftleaning, having both houses of Congress being in Republicans’ control further strengthens Republicans’ bargaining power with the president. If one dislikes the idea of Hillary Clinton having free reign over the federal government, electing James Lankford will help keep her in check.

courtesy Ballotpedia

Lankford’s experience in the job and conservative sensabilities make him the most qualified candidate for the Senate.

O

klahoma’s U.S. Senate race is almost here, and it’s time to remove incumbent Republican Senator James Lankford from office. Lankford’s website describes him as holding high the ideas of “always being accountable, putting others first and keeping Faith in a faithless town.”

In practice, Lankford’s work “in a faithless town” has led to some political bigotry.

Months after the Obama administration added LGBTQ+ people to their list of those protected in possible hate crime attacks, Lankford stated that “churches are trying to discern how the new “hate crimes” legislation affects their teaching of the Bible.”

Lankford, who graduated from a theological seminary in 1994, hides behind state-governed legislation to attack same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ rights. When a judge ruled the ban on gay marriage unconstitutional in 2014, Lankford retorted angrily.

“In 2004, Oklahomans overwhelmingly decided marriage is a unique institution between a man and a woman,” he said. “Since the Constitution leaves marriage laws to the states, the State of Oklahoma has the right to define marriage in a way consistent with the values of our state.”

Democrat Mike Workman is a much better candidate for a modern and tolerant America, and his decisions won’t be so easily swayed by outside bias or third parties.

As opposed to Lankford’s outdated values, Workman represents the more liberal citizen and the direction America has been and should be pursuing. Workman understands the United States was built on immigrants and is a community of tolerance. As it states on his campaign website. Workman pro-

courtesy Project Vote Smart

Workman’s emphasis on tolerance and liberal lean would be a breath of fresh air for Oklahoma’s Senate representation.

Voting for Mike Workman will allow Oklahoma to represent a wider variety of viewpoints and promote tolerance in the Senate.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager claims equal treatment under the law for all citizens no matter their “race, color, creed, sexual orientation or national origin”.

He also understands that sexual preference should not be anyone’s business but their own. This is opposed to James Lankford, who argues that anti-gay rhetoric should be protected under free speech and who once came under criticism for stating that a business should be able to fire a person based on their ‘choice’ whether or not to act on their sexual orientation.

Workman also feels the choice of abortion should be up to the citizen, and would push to provide access to abortion services and counseling. Lankford voted yes on banning federal health care that involved services related to abortion. Issues surrounding the environment and energy are becoming more and more important as time passes.

When wind-energy innovation began to irritate natural oil companies in Oklahoma, Workman moved to end renewable energy tax credits, putting oil men first. Workman’s campaign stresses policy change for the betterment of the environment and funding for alternative energy programs and research.

A former teacher himself, Workman wants federal support for public and prekindergarten schools as well as graduate and research programs. After earning a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education in 1972, he later earned his master’s degree in education supervision before performing post-graduate studies in educational administration at the University of Texas in 1976.

In 1978, he formed Workman and Company, a political consulting company that strives to elect Democrats to public office. Workman doesn’t have as much experience in the Senate as Lankford does, but his tolerant and liberal perspective would be a fresh perspective for an Oklahoma Senator.

Okla. school report cards aren’t worth taking seriously

A focus on collegiate performance and a lack of clarity keep public school report cards from being a worthwhile assessment.

JD Wessinger Student Writer Oklahoma recently released report cards for schools across the state. The ratings are an A-F scale based on student growth and achievement, with bonuses awarded for a number of school-wide achievements like AP courses and even things like graduation rate. The confidence Oklahoma public education officials hold in these report cards is incredibly low, and I am inclined to agree with them after looking at the criteria.

Testing, as it stands, is one of the best predictors of future academic performance, but only collegiate performance. The current report card system prioritizes that performance over the success of students as a whole. As college becomes more and more expensive, schools have also become more and more college-prepatory, which disadvantages students who are unable or choose

not to go to college. These report cards do not evaluate schools on their ability to instill useful life skills, only their ability to install semantic memorization. They only provide information on schools as they relate specifically to testing performance, not student engagement, not extracurricular participation and can only barely supply information about graduation rate.

In fact, as Public Instruction Superintendent Joy Hofmeister states, “You can have a B and still have a 60 percent graduation rate in your school.” As it stands, graduation rates are a bonus, not a necessary and well investigated aspect of school evaluation.

The A-F report card calculation guide is nebulously worded, and additionally, if the percent of students tested is less than 95 percent, then the school grade will be dropped by one letter grade. I have college courses with a less strict attendance policy. Encouraging participation is necessary, but lowering a full letter grade for less than 95 percent testing is more akin to coercive measures.

In the future, the entire basis of this system will no longer be obtainable, as the Endof-Instruction testing it is based on was removed from the legislature this year.

As for the usefulness of this system, I cannot support a single letter grading system that attempts to take all that is in a school and reduce it to one unreliable letter grade. My own former high school, Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, which is a national Blue Ribbon school, received a C this year, whereas Booker T. Washington, another fantastic school in the Tulsa area, received an A+.

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Issues with the school reports keep them from being helpful to the schools or the state.

In the state that is first in cuts to education, and 50th in teacher pay, I do not think spending 1 million dollars (did I mention this terrible evaluation cost a million dollars to compile?) on a faulty grading system is worth our time or focus. I believe that the only good to come from this waste of money is to reorient the state legislature at how absolutely atrocious our education programs are. So while Joy Hofmeister and co. can be upset about the inapplicability of the grading system, they also need to be upset about

the state of Oklahoma’s utter disregard for education as a whole. We as Oklahomans can contact our state representative and tell them that an unreliable and unhelpful grading system is not what our state needs for its failing education programs. The other thing to do is to disregard the grading systems, rely on the feedback of students and be involved.

The Collegian: 8

Commentary

7 November 2016

Media bias is real Media bias concerns and it’s a problem misconstrue news

Despite some unfounded claims, the issue of liberal bias in coverage and endorsement of Presidential candidates is clear.

Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer What does it mean for an election to be rigged? Ask Donald Trump or his legion of alt-right deplorables, and they will spin you a grand conspiracy consisting of voter fraud, the liberal media, the Clinton death list and probably some mention of deleted emails or Benghazi. Most of them sound crazy because they are just that, mindlessly playing back conservative talking points and raving nonsensically about issues they know nothing about. Lost in the noise, however, is a shred of truth that more educated Trump supporters have a legitimate beef with: media bias.

From the day he announced he was running for President, Trump has harped on the media for portraying him as a monster and a loon. With the possible exception of a few loud voices on the right, you would be hard-pressed to deny that the majority of national media in this country has embarked on a crusade to discredit the Donald. Sure, the man has made it pretty easy for them; Trump has said many ignorant, disrespectful or just plain dangerous things over the course of this campaign that I cannot and will not defend. However, through taking certain statements out of context and selectively ignoring real scandals and issues on the other side of the aisle, the establishment media has managed to craft a narrative about the candidates that attempts to drive the public’s opinions about them. Choose whatever word for that you so desire, but don’t say “rigging” is an inappropriate one.

Even when the rigged election is discussed in the proper context, however, the conversation is often too narrowly focused on the candidates themselves, and that is problematic in the sense that it creates the illusion that the problem extends only so far as this election cycle. The media isn’t so much biased against Trump as it is biased against the establishment’s choice for president, and this reveals the systemic and insidious role of the media as a puppeteer in dictating political discourse. If you want a concrete example, look at the total lack of effort by the print media to remain unbiased.

So far, more than 200 have endorsed Hillary Clinton for president while a mere six — only one of them an influential publication, the New York Post — have endorsed Trump. Now this screams liberal media bias to me, but in an effort to remain objective, let’s imagine that the numbers were reversed and the vast majority of papers were endorsing the Republican nominee.

This would still be a problem, because the biggest issue here isn’t that they’re endorsing one candidate over another, it is that any of them are endorsing any candidate at all!

Forget the polarizing party allegiances of 2016, the problem is about more than just who wins this election. It’s about ensuring that the public has the chance to hear what’s going on without having their views distorted and directed towards a particular position. And yet newspapers have a tradition of endorsing candidates going back at least 150 years when the New York Times threw its hat behind Abraham Lincoln. How this incredible conflict of interest has been sold to the American people for as business as usual for so long is beyond me.

O

klahoma toll roads were created as a means to make traveling in and through Oklahoma faster and easier. They were intended to pay themselves off in 20 years and then be toll-free. However, in the case of the first Oklahoma turnpike (Turner Turnpike), it has been almost 70 years and the road is still not toll-free.

The situation is similar for all ten Oklahoma turnpikes. This is because the state of Oklahoma did not pay for these roads, bonds did. Government bonds are basically loans to the government by citizens wherein there is a set interest rate and no taxes, making them very profitable. Bonds were sold on the open market so that the state would not have to use state funds for new highways.

Bond-holders are still profiting, and more

There are some who will probably argue that these endorsements aren’t a big deal, and one could make two cases in support of this opinion: either that an official position of the paper does not prevent editorials being published with contradictory opinions, or that newspaper editors have the right under the first amendment to publicize how they feel about a particular candidate.

Addressing the former point, I would say that even if a paper has a healthy dialogue in its commentary section and a relatively unbiased selection of stories to publish for its news pieces, an official position that it holds will lend automatic illegitimacy to any opinion contrary to that position. What is the point of publishing competing ideas meant to persuade the public’s opinion only to jump in and make the judgment yourself?

As for the issue with free speech, I am by no means suggesting that newspaper editors who endorse a candidate are malicious criminals, but there should be a recognition that when a newspaper endorses somebody, it is presented as a decision made by the paper as an entity, not by the people in charge of running it. This won’t matter as long as the precedent set by the Supreme Court decision on the Citizens United case stands (which allows for corporations themselves to be protected by the First Amendment)

T

his election cycle is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that people with minority opinions and extremist views have claimed that the big media conglomerates are biased against their views. In fact, according to Pew survey data in 2005, over one-half of voters perceive that the media is politically biased in its reporting, and these perceptions of media bias have increased over the last two decades.

One of these claims suggests media bias takes form by taking certain statements out of context and selectively ignoring real scandals and issues on the other side of the aisle. This view holds that the establishment media has crafted a narrative about the candidates that attempts to drive the public’s opinions about them.

The primary issue for many people is media companies endorsing a candidate. The belief is that even if a paper has a healthy dialogue in its commentary section and a relatively unbiased selection of stories to publish for its news pieces, an official position that it holds will lend automatic illegitimacy to any opinion contrary to the endorsement.

This would be a fairly compelling argument, if it were true.

One study called “Media Bias and Influence: Evidence from Newspaper Endorsements,” conducted by two professors from

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Concerns about media bias have been a major point of contention in the current election.

but if Hillary Clinton manages to introduce a Constitutional amendment overturning it, as she has pledged to do should she win the presidency, the way could be cleared for the introduction of legislation curtailing news media political endorsements without being in violation of the right to free speech. That is, if anyone really cared to make it an issue.

The sad thing is that most people don’t seem to pay too much mind to the ever-present conflict of interest in the media. Sure, everyone loves to harp on Fox News for its hilarious use of the tagline “Fair and Balanced,” but at this point it’s almost a lovable meme, and most people don’t care half as much about discussing the just as obvious establishment liberal bias on stations like MSNBC or CNN. And can you really blame them? With so many pressing topics on the table that have more visible and dire consequences — terrorism, climate change, the economy, etc. — worrying about the endorsements of newspapers or the political leanings of news anchors feels like a non-issue. But it is important, and if we can make a change and insist on at least a base level of journalistic integrity in our news, it will be a meaningful step towards the end goal of a better-informed and less divisive electorate.

Until then, continue to be skeptical of your news and inform yourself of the political allegiances of your sources through some simple Google searches. Most of that information is out there and readily available for consumption if people are only willing to look. Ignore the inflammatory and counterproductive rhetoric of the nuts and remember that, yes, the system is rigged. Now let’s do something about it.

bonds will be sold for future construction.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority recently voted for 17 percent toll hikes and 900 million in bonds, further adding to the problem. The ten existing turnpikes should have been free years ago, and would be if the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority would stop selling bonds and start paying them off. Given the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority currently has over $1 billion in debt, this can’t happen immediately. In the best case scenario (if the Turnpike Authority stops selling bonds), the debt won’t be paid off until 2028. When the debt is paid, the turnpikes should become free, the Turnpike Authority should be dissolved and all operations absorbed by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

the Department of Economics at Brown University, concluded that the degree to which a media corporation’s endorsement influences voters “depends upon the credibility of the endorsement. In this way, endorsements for the Democratic candidate from left-leaning newspapers are less in influential than are endorsements from neutral or right-leaning newspapers and likewise for endorsements for the Republican candidate. These results suggest that voters are sophisticated and attempt to filter out any bias in media coverage of politics.”

Social media software analytics company Crimson Hexagon also found evidence to suggest that the large media corporations that have publicly endorsed Clinton also wrote more negative stories about her than any other candidate of in this election cycle from January 2015 to April 2016, when the data was published. They also wrote a smaller percentage of positive stories about her than any other candidate.

According to a report done by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, eight of America’s most influential news outlets wrote coverage “neg-

Claims about rampant media bias are exaggerated and support a naive view about the function of news media in democratic society.

Kayleigh Thesenvitz Managing Editor ative in tone” about Clinton 84 percent of the time, Trump 43 percent of the time, and Sanders 17 percent of the time.

Combined, this evidence suggests that regardless of who a media corporation endorses, journalists will do their best to maintain their journalistic integrity and readers will not necessarily align their vote based on what their favorite news source says.

However, that isn’t to say political bias in the media doesn’t exist.

Third party candidates, for example, have a legitimate claim to media bias. The media simply does not devote as much time to covering third party candidates as it does the candidates of major political parties.

Yet the cause of bias against third party candidates is the direct result of the objectivity and professionalism journalists are encouraged to maintain. Many third party candidates campaign on a small set of issues not being addressed by the major party candidates. In order to maintain objectivity journalists usually try to refrain from reporting on the specific issues a candidate talks about, which blocks most of a third party candidate’s platform from being discussed.

Another result of that objectivity is a desire to focus on the political strategies and poll results of candidates. However, because third party candidates only appeal to a small subset of people who are angry about a specific issue, and not to the larger electorate, they usually don’t poll high. If a candidate is barely a blip on the political radar then they don’t typically qualify as newsworthy contenders for office. As sociologist Michael Schudson put it, “professionalism is as likely to be the disease as the cure.”

In order to maintain detachment in politics — an issue about which everyone has an opinion — journalists focus on on political strategy and technique rather than discussing the issues. Complaints that political journalism tends to view elections as a spectator sport instead of a battle of ideas are absolutely founded, but are the direct result of journalists maintaining personal objectivity and credibility in their work.

To say that the media is intentionally biased against a certain candidate or certain ideological group lacks any ground in facts and is a blatantly naive interpretation of how the news media operates. If and when bias does exist, it is the result of an institutional desire to maintain credibility. To complain about the “liberal bias” of the media, is quite simply a non-issue.

Okla. toll roads need to be revamped By changing how toll roads operate in Oklahoma, both bond owners and citizens can benefit.

Mary Loveless Student Writer Until then, toll roads have to remain open.

After all debt is paid, Oklahoma should adopt a system like the state of Washington, where there is one toll lane with a higher speed limit, a high minimum speed limit, and less traffic. These toll lanes would be on all 6 lane highways in oklahoma and all future 6 lane highways. There would be no toll booths, as has been proposed for all currently existing Oklahoma turnpikes. Drivers would have to own a Pikepass to go through the toll lane, or a ticket for the amount they owe (plus service fees) would be sent to their home.

In this case, tolls could be higher and fees could be astronomical, because using these toll lanes would be completely optional, and there would still be a straight shot between cities right beside it. These toll lanes could continue after bonds are paid off, and the money could be used for maintenance of all Oklahoma roads. With this plan, the state of Oklahoma would fulfill its promise to make turnpikes free, give drivers a better way to avoid traffic, and make money for infrastructure.

Variety

7 November 2016

the Collegian: 9

International Night Market a celebration of culture, cuisine

TU Association of International Students’ annual International Night Market made for a comfortable celebration of cuisine.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor By the time I arrived to the International Night Market, the line to the Great Hall on the second floor of the Academic Student Union nearly stretched past Pizza Hut. The line moved quickly, however, and before too long we were offered a cup of orange juice, our IDs were scanned, and we were given dishes before heading inside. The room was crowded, but not unpleasantly so. The dim lighting and clustered nature of the event actually helped to cultivate the market atmosphere the organizers had set out to achieve.

Besides a free tote bag, students were also given a postcard with which to explore the hall, collecting stickers from each nation’s booths in order to win a gift card to Target. Like I said before, the event was crowded at times, meaning I spent as much of my time navigating through students as I did scoping out the dishes.

The dishes themselves, as one might expect from such an event, were highly varied. I was able to try Korean pancakes, some spring rolls, a Russian sandwich and some Indian candy that was hand-

ed to me by a discontent stranger. I avoided the American table for no other reason than it was food I usually had access to anyway, though I’ll admit I appreciated the dedication to the carnival theme, with popcorn, corn-dogs and cottoncandy being quite popular amongst other visitors. Others I spoke to had tried cheese-bread and guava from Brazil, beef kabobs, chicken, rice, arabian coffee from Saudi Arabia and tiramisu from Italy. Of course there was a wealth of edibles we lacked the time or the appetite to try, but suffice to say the items that tasted genuinely poor were few and far between.

One appealing aspect of the event was the traditional garb worn by many of the students and organizers, many of whom would participate in the “Parade of Nations.” The parade wasn’t particularly well choreographed, but it was charming in its own right to watch the participants of the parade haphazardly improvise their way down the red carpet. Accompanying each of the nations was a complementary song, some a bit more fitting than others.

By the time I left the event I was happy to have seen so much of the campus gathered together, even if it meant the location was a bit more crowded because of it. The food might have been exotic, but the organizers and other students were friendly and familiar, and the Night Market resulted in a comfortable affair.

photos by James Whisenhunt

After the stalls had exhausted most of their food, students from different cultures paraded down the red carpet.

November’s Art Crawl enlivens Brady Arts In 2007, the Brady Arts District started hosting the First Friday Art Crawl. Attracting both locals and outsiders, the Brady Arts District was packed last Friday as people crowded in to see the new art and events.

With perfect weather, I took it upon myself to check out what was going on for the first Friday of November.

Dalton Stewart Student Writer

courtesy University of Tulsa

Trio Tulsa is comprised of three TU professors: Diane Bucchianerri, Maureen O’ Boyle and Roger Price.

Tulsa faculty perform in piano trio

Trio Tulsa gave a brilliant performance full of sheer talent and powerful music last Tuesday night.

Nick Rethford Student Writer

Trio Tulsa captivated audience members with its performance last Tuesday at the Lorton Performance Center. Performing in the Gussman Concert Hall, they set the right atmosphere to perfectly execute a variety of pieces. Not only did they perform beautifully and harmoniously but they also seemed to tell a story with their music, giving life to every note and melody.

A Piano Trio is a group of instruments made up of a piano and two stringed instruments, usu-

ally a violin and a cello. It is often found in classical chamber music, a genre of music that Trio Tulsa performs very well. They are able to go beyond that, though, by adding a modernized layer that makes their music feel timeless. Their melodies flowed flawlessly from one piece to the next, and they played with an eloquent calmness that kept the audience mesmerized throughout the entire performance.

Trio Tulsa received a standing ovation, and everyone left with a smile on their face. “I really enjoyed their performance,” said student Abbie Cassody. “They played beautifully, and I felt I could get lost in their music.”

Trio Tulsa was originally established by TU Professors Ana Norberg, Derry Deane, and Kari Caldwell, member Maureen O’Boyle explained. Formed as the chamber ensemble in residence at TU, its purpose was to provide pro-

fessional chamber music to the TU campus and perform both regionally and national. As the original professors retired from the University, the ensemble’s roles were passed on to its current members: O’Boyle, violin, Diane Bucchianeri, cello and Roger Price, Piano.

Today, Tulsa Trio continues to combine expertise with a love of music that resonates throughout every performance. All members have expertly trained backgrounds that stem from a keen interest in music and performing.

“My favorite part of performing would have to be the musical ideas and direction that occur only when one is performing for an audience,” O’Boyle explained.

“Sometimes I find myself shaping the sound in a way that I had not yet imagined during rehearsals and practicing. Every performance is different!”

Some friends and I pulled in to downtown Tulsa and were able to quickly find parking in a free lot, a big surprise as I’m used to paying for such premium parking during large events. We began our adventure at the Mexicali Border Cafe, a Mexican restaurant located two blocks southwest from the Guthrie Green and smack dab in the middle of all the action. It was a decent atmosphere for a nice dinner with friends, but perhaps not the most intimate location for a date night.

Unfortunately, Mexicali was not hosting any live music during this art crawl, but nevertheless the food was quite impressive. I had the Three Amigos, a triple set of enchiladas topped with queso that were extremely good. A friend had an entree of guacamole and seemed quite happy with the results.

After dinner, we walked around aimlessly trying to find the next thing to do. We passed several street performers standing around promoting all sorts of different music and talents. First was a display of firebending as two performances danced, thrilled, and threw hoops of fire all around. Not even a block later, we passed a violin-

ist playing outside of a local club.

Finally, the bagpipes players appeared, their music echoing down the streets even amongst all the traffic and people. Every performer was surrounded by a throng of people watching and experiencing the different types of art style each one had to offer.

Unfortunately, we showed up pretty late to the district and were quite tired from a day of exams, so we only made one stop after walking around at the Hardesty Arts Center, located just one block south of the Guthrie Green. Just from the outside you could see the sheer amount of people walking around and looking at all the art.

The coolest part was the different people walking around; people dressed fancy and people dressed like a college student dragging themselves to an 8 a.m. Most of all, people were just there enjoying all the different kinds of art being displayed.

The coolest part of the First Friday Art Crawl is just how so many people gather for such a simple thing. The collaboration between all the local business is incredible. Sadly, we planned our outing quite poorly and didn’t have a lot of time to spend out and about looking at everything. However, I could easily see myself spending the entire evening there walking about and just experiencing everything there is to see. If you’re interested in checking out the art crawl, I strongly recommend preparing to spend an entire evening and night at the arts district. To help with the planning, the district posts online a flyer of all the local events going on, which can be found at their website, thebradyartsdistrict.com. I would totally go back again, and plan to in December, hopefully with more time and energy to spend!

Variety

the Collegian: 10

7 November 2016

American Football grows up too much in newest album

The follow-up to the original “American Football” has great punches in all the wrong spots.

Ethan Veenker Student Writer

Let’s take a minute to talk about legacy. Occasionally you have bands that come together for such a purely short amount of time that the one piece of art they produce is all-the-more amazing. American Football is one of those bands. One day, bassist/guitarist/vocalist Mike Kinsella, drummer Steve Lamos and guitarist Steve Holmes came together and half-assed an album.

That album was the gregarious and lonesome piece known only as “American Football.”

“American Football” was a coming-of-age album if there ever was one. It focused not so much on the future, but rather dithered in the past. Mike Kinsella’s aching vocals on unforgettable tracks such as “Never Meant” and “Honestly” grouped with the playful guitar melodies and the melancholically light drums, even a trumpet, were enough to grab you by your heart.

It reminded you of high school, lost loves, past mistakes. It truly is one of the best emo-rock albums ever recorded.

An album like that leaves a legacy. While not an initial hit, the record swam beneath the surface for a few years. It soon became a cult classic, something I imagine was much to the surprise of the three members who had long since broken up and were working on other musical projects. A tour announcement in 2014 followed, and now, in 2016, we have the next chapter. “American Football (LP2).” (“LP2” serves only as a way to differentiate the two albums.)

It’s hard to follow up near-perfection. Few bands have ever been

able to accomplish such a feat, not to mention that the album in question had over 17 years to ruminate within the minds of all troubled teens on the verge of adulthood.

American Football’s debut means more to many, many of their listeners than it might have ever meant to the band itself. Perhaps that’s a presumptuous assertion, but the fervor with which it is consumed shows an album whose legacy may just be larger than the band itself. More people could sing “Never Meant” than could name who Mike Kinsella is.

So, then, how does the second album fare? To put it simply: it grew up. The vocals got clearer, the drums got louder and the production got better. The intertwined guitar melodies, however, begin to take a backseat with the new album — a bad omen. Mike Kinsella, perhaps best-known apart from American Football for his side-project Owen (which genuinely feels like an organic continuation of American Football) uses naϊve, perhaps immature lyrics in the new album. That’s not to say that the original American Football album had impressive lyricism. It was raw and real, straight form a high-schooler’s diary. The rest of the music so perfectly complemented it, however, that the lyrics seemed nostalgic, even too real at times. The new album is much punchier and poppier, leaving the lyrics bare and almost unthoughtful.

Despite this, the album isn’t bad. It’s not bad at all. To be honest, it could stand up really well on its own as a good indie rock record. As an “American Football” follow-up, though? It doesn’t make the grade. Perhaps the most jarring aspect of the piece is the way the drums punch through.

The original album had great and sometimes intricate drumming, but it stayed in the background

courtesy americanfootball

for the most part. It sounded sort of obscured and a little far away at all times. The new album takes the drums to the forefront and does a

thing. “Where Are We Now?” may become your favorite track of the year, while you may find yourself cringing at but still possibly relat-

and wished they’d changed it up a bit, yet with the release we got where they did change it up I’m disappointed, wishing had they

“The new album is much punchier and poppier, leaving the lyrics bare and almost unthoughtful.” lot more with them. It makes you want to dance more than it makes you want to cry. The biggest sin this album commits, however, is the distinct lack of trumpet (except for the final track “Everyone is Dressed Up”).

In the end, what does it all mean? Well, if you’re looking for a good indie rock album with emo elements, this could be your

ing with “I Need a Drink (or Two or Three).”

It’s a solid album. It’s not, however, a good follow-up to their first album. It doesn’t feel the same, and in a way I can’t help but feel disappointed. Yet, at the same time, I have to ask myself: what did I expect? Had this been just a “part two” of the original album I might have found myself bored

stayed with the original sound.

The truth is — I reiterate — that a perfect follow-up would have been impossible. We got a good album, but not a good sequel. In the end, nothing can capture the feeling that the original “American Football” gives you whilst sitting back and watching your teenage years fade into the past.

“In Love and Warcraft” fails to convey either well Heller Theater Company’s production of “In Love and Warcraft” errs in representing gamer culture and shows problematic sexual standards in relationships.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Last weekend, the Tulsa-based Heller Theatre Company opened a production of “In Love and Warcraft,” written by Madhuri Shekar and directed by George Romero.

The play follows a college student named Evie, an avid World of Warcraft player who falls in love with a man named Raul. Unfor-

sions. Evie has a job writing love letters and messages for people needing to reconcile with their exes, and the people that come to her exist only as punchlines and plot devices instead of believable people wanting to salvage their relationships.

Another area of the play that feels unbelievable is the allusion to gamer culture throughout the majority of the scenes. Lines like “your DPS has gone down since you’ve been offline” and “your armor is rusting,” delivered by people staring at laptops on separate segments of the stage feel like forced attempts to appeal to gamers without actually knowing how Warcraft works or how gamers actually speak.

Costumes and props meant to

Nathan or a scene with an OB/ GYN in which the actress playing Evie made what the least convincing orgasm noises I’ve ever heard, didn’t seem to add much to the overall plot, and some scenes that only featured minor characters talking about sex and then leaving felt unnecessary.

One scene that stood out as a hallmark of what the rest of the play could have been was a scene set in the Warcraft world in which different characters are talking and taking on an in-game boss.

Costumes and props for this scene were the best looking in the production, and the actors standing in idle animations while talking and not quite connecting when making purposefully stiff attacks had a level of video game awareness that

“We get an uninspired ending in which a woman changes herself for her boyfriend and the two live happily ever after.” tunately, even this basic premise falls flat because the chemistry between the two main actors just isn’t there. Evie is written to be awkward, which is fine because the actress conveys it well most of the time, but the actor playing Raul feels awkward in an unintentional way that makes the love-atfirst-sight meeting between them unbelievable.

Despite this, the main two characters look practically complex relative to some others in the show. Evie’s roommate Kitty is a one-dimensional sex freak who feels overacted to the point that she becomes unbelievable. The same goes for Evie’s online boyfriend, the 25-year-old Mountain Dew-chugging basement dweller, Ryan. Other characters, like the gay Puerto Rican hairdresser, Nathan, are flamboyant stereotypes that seem as though they’re meant to act as a foil to the reserved Evie but instead come off as uncomfortable and offensive.

Minor characters get few lines and even fewer character dimen-

be nerdy also feel outdated and surface-level, like a Nyan Cat hoodie Evie wears or a Portal turret plush in her room. The worst offender, however, was before the play and during intermission when music videos from 2009-2010 like The Guild’s “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?” and the WoW music video for Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” were projected and played for the audience.

These projections weren’t only used to show mid-show entertainment, but for title cards at the beginning of every scene. The scenes were titled in the script as well, but the titles of the scenes were often punchlines lifted straight from the script. This meant that the audience had already seen the punchlines before the actors say them, which made the play feel like it was actively working against itself.

Many of the scenes themselves felt like they could have been cut alongside their title cards. Some scenes with Evie and one side character, like the aforementioned

other scenes seemed to be lacking.

Regardless of the quality of individual scenes, the biggest issue with the play comes from the main plotline. The first act sets up the relationship between Evie and Raul, but a tension arises near the end when Evie admits that she’s terrified and uninterested in having sex. Of course, Raul wants to have sex, so tensions come to a head at the end of act one, when Raul agrees only to not have sex if Evie agrees to give up WoW. This is problematic on many levels. First, it sets up a second act in which Evie’s major character development is her changing her entire view on sex and relationships to please Raul. The only character change Raul goes through is learning that World of Warcraft is a fun game.

Second, the play seems to largely ignore Evie’s consent.

Raul’s sexual urges and frequent advances are depicted as normal and reasonable, while Evie’s fear and disinterest in sexuality are painted as strange and something

courtesy SamuelFrench.com

Most of the play’s references to geek culture were surface-level at best.

that needs to be fixed. Near the first act, Evie mentions that she has had to stop Raul’s advances multiple times, but he isn’t willing to stop making advances until he gets something in return (Evie stops playing WoW). In the second act, whenever Evie talked to someone about her fears, the responses ranged from ‘You’re not ready yet’ to ‘It’s all in your head,’ all of them saying that Evie was the one that needed to change.

Third, it implies that a relationship can’t be successful and happy without sex. Evie speaks to a Christian woman who hired her to write wedding vows, and the woman seemed to speak more about looking forward to having sex with her fiancee than she was to be married to someone she loves. This setup also ignores the possibility that a person can

be asexual. Evie’s character was set up for what could have been an ending statement that asexual people can create meaningful relationships without sex. Instead, we get an uninspired ending in which a woman changes herself for her boyfriend and the two live happily ever after.

Despite some areas that showed potential, “In Love and Warcraft” had significant problems with both the script and the production. The show is still playing next weekend at Henthorne PAC if you’re interested in seeing it for yourself, but I would recommend it more as an opportunity to learn what not to do than something to be enjoyed unironically.

Variety

7 November 2016

the Collegian: 11

Michael Moore fights for Clinton in ‘Trumpland’

After a showing of the uncharacteristically levelheaded documentary, Circle Cinema hosted an online Q&A with the liberal documentarian.

Claudia Conaway Student Writer

Circle Cinema held a special showing of the stand-up style documentary “Michael Moore in Trumpland” this past Tuesday night. The star of the film, American documentary filmmaker and author Michael Moore, gave a Skype interview for the Circle moviegoers after the showing. The film shows a talk given by Moore in a largely Trump-supporting town covering his thoughts on the choice between electing Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton as president. Spoiler alert: he’s voting for Hillary. Moore jumped from serious moments to comic relief in mere seconds to engage every audience member, not just the ones who already agreed with him.

The documentary starts out with a look at the “Trumpland” that Moore is speaking in for the night.

The town’s real name is Wilmington, Ohio and it is clearly an overwhelmingly conservative town, as evidenced by the countless Trump stickers, signs, and billboards.

Moore had “Trump voters welcome” written on the marquee, and he opened his talk up with appeals to the pro-Trumps. Though it took

half the film for the conservative audience members to warm up and actually laugh or clap at Moore, he created common ground between liberals like himself and conservatives by saying that we all want core things, like jobs and good schools for our children.

At one point, he shared a letter he had written in his hotel room the night before. The beginning of the letter expressed the anger towards the establishment that most of the exuberant Trump supporters vocalize at his rallies. He said that he understood the good feeling they’d get by voting for Trump instead of a “career politician” like Clinton. The beginning of this section of the film can be seen all over Facebook, but it’s not being shared

by Clinton voters. It’s being shared

by Trump supporters who cut out the ending of it, which explains what will happen after voters get that good feeling from voting for Trump. He says the instant Trump gratification will subside and voters will feel regret, much like the regret that British citizens expressed after voting for Brexit.

Moore admitted that he has not always been a Hillary voter.

He voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary, but made his switch to Hillary. He commented on the same subject when a Circle Cinema audience member asked him about Bernie, saying, “We lost and we didn’t really lose fairly. The DNC misbehaved. But it’s over.

We can work to fix the system to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but instead of being upset, let’s

The opening night of the documentary saw a mass of anti-Trump demonstrators.

take a bow. I mean we won 22 states, a democratic socialist won 22 states. That’s historic. The new lead of the Budget Committee will be Mr. Bernie Sanders. There’s a lot of things to be happy about.”

In the film, Moore spoke also, however, of his long-term “secret love” for Hillary Clinton. He spoke of her intelligence and her tenacity to take the hits she’s taken from the public and the government and still keep fighting for what she stands for. He recounted her years as First Lady and the work she had done within office.

Clinton’s younger voice reciting a speech she wrote in college

was played for the audience. After gaining rapport with his audience members in the beginning, Moore now fervently urged them to avoid the chaos that Trump would bring and vote for Hillary Clinton.

On the Skype call with Circle, Moore chided the media for the inequality in the treatment of the candidates, saying “The media didn’t make him elaborate. He saw they would put him on shows and he didn’t even have to show up. He’s a creation of the media.”

When asked why the media would create him, he replied, “Ratings, money. He’s been so good for ratings. Not nearly as many people

courtesy imdb

would’ve watched the debates if it would’ve been between Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio. It fits the capitalist business model.”

When a moviegoer at the Circle Cinema asked Moore about expecting better from Trump voters, he replied, “It’s hard for me to meet them halfway, but we have no other choice. This vote cannot go wrong.” Moore spoke hopefully of Oklahoma voters, however, saying “The old way is on the way out and the new way is coming in. The youth of Oklahoma are educated and the new way is coming in. Things are changing and they’re going to get better.”

Day of the Dead festival celebrates life and death

Tulsa’s Living Arts honored the Day of the Dead with a festival of activities and art.

Amy Bailey Student Writer

Last Tuesday, Nov. 1, Living Arts hosted their annual Day of the Dead arts festival. Day of the Dead, or Día de Los Muertos, is a Mexican tradition focused on praying for and remembering deceased friends and family and supporting them on their spiritual journey. The Living Arts festival honors this tradition with live entertainment, food, crafts and Hispanic culture, all in a fun and welcoming environment. It’s an event that invites everyone to explore Hispanic heritage and honor the deceased.

Upon walking in, I noticed many people in elaborate sugar skull face paint listening to live music and enjoying various Hispanic foods like tacos and empanadas. It was a large crowd spanning all ages and races. Many attendees flocked to the altars of lost loved ones inside the Living Arts building. The altars lined the walls with large pictures of the individual who passed away. They were accompanied with small artifacts to remember the person by: clothing, favorite foods, movies, art, etc. All the altars were beautifully and thoughtfully designed and exemplified the personality of the deceased individual.

They were extremely diverse and showed people from all walks of life in all situations that had passed away. One unique altar was set up

to acknowledge the lives lost to suicide, and asking individuals who needed help to reach out.

Inside the building there was also face painting, hispanic food and a tortilla oracle who would read people’s fortunes based on tortilla cooking patterns, similar to tea reading or palm reading.

Live music accompanied various craft tables and food stands outside the building. TU music major Josh Westbrook performed with his salsa band Tulsa Latin Style. They played to a huge crowd, with many couples of all ages pairing off and dancing in front of the stage. The excitement for the music was almost infectious and the crowd was in great spirits. Westbrook said that it was “incredible to have a chance to celebrate the holiday with such authenticity in a place like Tulsa,”.

Craft tables with jewelry, knick knacks, candles and other things were spread across the back side of the building. Food trucks lined the street outside, and while the lines were very long, it was well worth the wait for the authentic Hispanic cuisine. Many people were taking pictures outside along the beautifully painted murals of the Living Arts building.

Overall, the Living Arts Day of the Dead festival was a great event that was beautifully done. The environment was crowded and slightly hectic, but it helped add to the excitement of the day. It felt more like a party than a sad event, as many who have not attended may assume. It was a celebration of death, life and Hispanic Heritage in the middle of downtown Tulsa.

The festival boasted colorfully vibrant murals and several stalls selling items both morbid and celebratory.

photos by Michaela Flonard

7 November 2016

The State-Run Media

the

State-Run media If you’re reading this, it’s too late to send in your absentee ballot

Why isn’t the FBI investigating us?

propagandist

As avid readers of our paper will know, the State-Run Media has never endorsed a candidate before. At least, after a mysterious fire consumed our archives, you can’t prove that we did. But this election has been unlike any election before. There aren’t two equally qualified candidates who disagree on major policy issues.

One candidate, in terms of policy, qualifications, and experience, is clearly the better choice.

That candidate is Donald Trump. Some other publications, like USA Today and the New York Times, have expressed concerns about his temperament, his lack of any government experience, and his tendency to give derogatory nicknames to people that he doesn’t like. But publications like the Lying Los Angeles Times and Sad Houston Times just don’t understand Donald Trump’s real draw — his stance on the freedom of the press.

Trump claims that he’s “a big believer, tremendous believer, of the freedom of the press.”

With that characteristic bad boy confidence we love, he said that “Nobody believes it stronger than me.”

He said that the freedom of the press directly led to bombings.

“They’re all talking about it so wonderfully because, you know, it’s called ‘freedom of the press,’ where you buy magazines and they tell you how to make these same bombs that I saw.”

propagandist

He tweeted threats to journalists, saying “My lawyers want to sue the failing @nytimes so badly for irresponsible intent. I said no (for now), but they are watching.

Really disgusting.”

Most notably, he has claimed that he’s “going to open up our libel laws so when [journalists] write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.”

With Donald Trump as president, we wouldn’t have to settle for our current, wimpy libel laws.

Journalists would no longer be able to write what they want — ordinary citizens like pro wrestlers and Silicon Valley venture capitalists would be able to sue media companies for tens of millions of dollars, which could never happen with our current laws.

The State-Run Media would be able to operate with much more freedom, since any libelous publications like The Collegian that report on our “blatant lies” or “bribes from presidential campaigns” wouldn’t be able to defend themselves against our legal team.

With all of this in mind, there’s nothing we can do but endorse Donald Trump. Tomorrow, when you’re in the voting booth, remember — one candidate has said that they will actively work to destroy the First Amendment, and the other is Hillary Clinton.

Let’s make America great again.

After the FBI reopened their investigation into Clinton’s private server, State-Run staff looked into why we weren’t being investigated.

Michaela Flonard Information declassifier

In July, the FBI announced it had finished its investigation and would recommend no charges against Clinton for her use of personal email during her tenure as Secretary of State. But newly discovered emails on the computer shared between Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and his wife and Clinton’s top aide, Huma Abedin, have renewed the FBI’s interest in the case.

Many have said that the FBI should expand its role. One representative, Jim Soen (R-NE), went as far as reminiscing about the “good ole days” when the FBI investigated numerous individuals it deemed potential disturbances, like Martin Luther King Jr. “I could name several dozen individuals and organizations that are worthy of the FBI’s time,” said Nicolas Clossect (R-OK), who went on to list these organizations in painstaking detail.

One of the organizations on his list, however, is not necessarily one entity, but instead is “all student-run newspapers at major universities.” When asked why these types of organizations were included, Clossect said, “their work has been a thorn in the side of governments since they started realizing the Freedom of Information Act could actually be used for their benefit.” On average, he said, each newspaper submits multiple FOIA requests per year, while the government expected about zero due to the wide-encompassing guidelines that make almost all government work classified.

Given this fear of student journalism at the top levels of government, some have questioned why Comey hasn’t ordered investigations of student papers. The StateRun Media shares these concerns.

Some insiders believe it’s because the State-Run is too secure.

According to the paper’s Web Editor Robert Satt, the paper’s communication systems, which are “an encrypted Facebook messenger chat, the occasional Snapchat and extremely dull and poorly attended face-to-face meetings” may be more secure than Clinton’s emails. “While there may be

something worth taking a look at,” Satt scoffed, “I’d be impressed if they could find anything on us.”

A brief look demonstrates The State-Run Media’s lack of an online footprint. Their various social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and a personal website, remain largely unliked and unvisited. Furthermore, Wikileaks has yet to obtain any documents from them. Lack of Russian knowledge of the organization might be to blame, Satt said, but since most of their emails are “sharing Google docs, dank memes or spam,” he doubted leaks would be as devastating to their organization as it has been to the Clinton campaign.

With such little information to go on, Clossect has admitted that Comey should probably stay focused on Clinton. “While these kids are willing to leak their dating history and location to the public, they encrypt everything else.”

Blaming the Millennial’s fascination with “devices that didn’t exist back in [his] day,” Clossect noted that perhaps, the government’s obsession with reading other people’s emails and phone calls would have to change to a focus on Snapchat and Instagram.

Cubs fans sad they no longer feel special graphic by Zack Darland

Virtual security and you: How to stay cyber safe and e-sound Security is important, so make sure to download every antivirus that you get a popup for.

With the amount of hacking on the rise, it’s clear that courtesy Wikimedia Commons cybersecurity is incredCubs fans can no longer revel in supporting the worst team. ibly important. The Stateteam being bad.

After the Cubs finally won When asked about the moment Run Media has imported a the World Series, fans who the Cubs clinched the series he cyber-wizard to guide you to enjoyed their losing streak said “At first I was so excited. I internet safety. can no longer root for the was with a bunch of other Cubs least mainstream team.

Zack Darland fans and we were all jumping up and down and shouting.

But then Bought his degree online Adam Lux I had a realization.

Now, the Cubs Now a Braves fan 1. Make sure you keep your History has been made. The Cubs have finally broken a 108 year streak of consistent mediocrity that statisticians were calling “magical” and “extremely improbable.” While many in Chicago are legitimately celebrating, many, many more around the country are outwardly celebrating while quietly and slowly drying on the inside.

The State-Run Media was able to interview one of these fans from Tulsa, who prefered to stay nameless. According to this fan, he has been supporting the Cubbies his whole life despite never even visiting Chicago. “I just like the idea they represented,” he said, “like being bad for that long… it’s kinda supernatural.” He said one of his favorite things about being a Cubs fan was saying “Hey man, I’m a Cubs fan,” whenever someone was complaining about their sports

are no longer special. They’re just like any other team.” His eyes dropped to the floor and he seemed to be holding back tears.

“It’s like the Cubs that I supported for so long are gone. It’s like they betrayed me.”

This phenomenon is not limited to hipsters outside Chicago. Inside sources suggest that a member of the Cubs’ own team attempted to sabotage the game in an effort to “preserve the streak.” Joe Maddon, upon realizing that his team might actually win the World Series, apparently starting making “interesting” coaching decisions.

Many are now questioning whether he had the best interests of the team in mind during Game 7.

Whether you’re a fan or not, one thing is clear: the Cubs are a different team now. A different, less important, team.

computer in a safe place.

When people think cyber security, they very seldom think of the actual physical location of their computer. Although it’s commonly suggested to use cable locks, there is really only one way to make sure that your computer is completely safe, and that is to have it surgically implanted in your body.

When done properly, there will be absolutely no chance of it being stolen without you at least knowing about it.

2. Know how to handle viruses: Viruses are known to frequently invade other programs like Windows itself. There is a quick and easy fix, though. If you smash your hard drive to dust and mix it in with your next beverage, you’ll acquire immunity to any viruses you may have had.

3. Keep your information safe.

Things as mundane as your name, birthday and email address are sometimes all it takes to compromise your identity online. Going from one place to another, hackers can get small amounts of information piece by piece until they have things like your social security number, your bank information and even your middle name. This is where you have to get tough when dealing with these guys. This can be achieved by carrying around roughly $1500 worth of protective gear and fake ID’s which you can conveniently buy from the website TotallyNotMyScam.com. The truly committed can have a full facial reconstructive surgery and a new identity every six months, available at my the website, mentioned earlier.

4. If it’s too good to be true, it is.

Unless you’re on TotallyNotMyScam.com, you can be sure that anything, and I mean anything is too good to be true; it’s more than likely a virus masterminded by some evil russian hackers. It could be the recipe for organic non-GMO water you downloaded earlier, or it could even be those new pictures that your grandma tagged you in on Facebook.

5. Know the law Sometimes knowing the law is the difference between affluence and years of punishing debt. It can be as simple as the little-known law that prohibits debit cards from being stored online. If you’re using a credit card, you have no such protection. You can feel safe posting your debit card number anywhere at all. In fact, you could go to suckers.blog.TotallyNotMyScam.com and talk all about your debit card information there.

6. Avoid giving your info up easily Say you’re going to buy something online. If you know that your computer is compromised, there’s nothing you can do if you have to buy something right this very instant. There is an older technology, nearly completely forgotten, called the personal check. If you have the right bank, you can still walk in, and ask for a check book. In about four to eight weeks, they’ll have one hot off the press for you. While you’re using your cheques, be careful to scribble out all of your personal information.

You never know where those go and who sees them.