12 September 2016

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

september 12, 2016 issue 3 ~ volume 102

Back to the books

Graphic by Elias Brinkman

Sports

The Collegian: 2

12 September 2016

Soccer sweeps Tulsa Invitational but falls to OU

photos by Greg Diskin

Clockwise from top left: senior midfielder Lana Bermel defends the ball from Missouri State in their 3–1 win in the first game of the Tulsa Invitational. Junior midfielder Tana Dake dribbles past Missouri State. Dake had an assist in the win over Missouri State in the 70th minute. Senior defender Clare Maris kicks the ball out of Tulsa’s defensive zone. Maris dribbles past a Missouri State forward in their win.

The women’s soccer team recovered from the early season with wins over Central Arkansas, Missouri State and Houston Baptist but fell to OU and Rice this weekend.

Joseph Edmunds Sports Writer Amid a solid start to their season, the Golden Hurricane women’s soccer team went undefeated in the Tulsa Invitational.

After opening the season with a win against Central Arkansas, Tulsa headed to College Station to face the No. 11 ranked team in the country, Texas A&M. The Ag-

gies took the lead close to the end of an even first half and didn’t look back. They totaled 35 shots on the game — 13 on target — and added an insurance goal with ten minutes remaining to take the game, 2-0.

The Tulsa Invitational was next on the schedule for the Golden Hurricane, and their first opponent was the Bears of Missouri State. The game started poorly for Tulsa, who conceded a goal a mere 22 seconds into the game. However, the deficit didn’t last long, as Anna Williams scored less than a minute later to tie the game.

The rest of the game was a close contest, but Tulsa was able to put a few more scoring plays together to take the game. Rachel Thun scored twice, once in each half, to give

Tulsa a two goal cushion and a 3-1 victory.

In the second game of the invitational, the Golden Hurricane faced the Houston Baptist Huskies. Tulsa was in control of this game for the majority of the game, holding a 29-8 advantage in shots and a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. In the first half, Tana Dake and Rachel Thun scored within a minute of each other to put the Golden Hurricane up 2-0 at halftime.

Just after halftime, Christina Holmes scored to push the lead to 3-0. After the Huskies put their first goal of the game on the board later in the half, Holmes scored again, to give Tulsa a 4-1 victory.

Next up after the Tulsa Invitational was the Tulsa Classic. The University of Okla-

homa Sooners travelled to Tulsa to be the Golden Hurricane’s first opponent. On paper, the Sooners looked to be in control of the majority of the game, as the Golden Hurricane only put two shots on target.

However, the defense played a strong game, and kept Tulsa close. The scoring went back-and-forth, with OU scoring the first goal of the game and only goal of the first half. Rachel Thun leveled the scored, but OU took the lead back less than a minute later. Annabeth Fouts scored for Tulsa with five minutes remaining in the game to force overtime, but OU again responded quickly, winning the game just two minutes into the extra period.

they faced UMKC. The Kangaroos wasted no time to start attacking, and managed to push through on a breakaway in the first minute. Tulsa goalkeeper Jake McGuire came up with a save to keep the game scoreless.

Then, Jacob Gooden put the Golden Hurricane ahead for good with a well placed shot into the lower right corner of the goal.

The Kangaroos didn’t back off, but they couldn’t break through the Tulsa defense.

Matt Puig and Ray Saari added goals for Tulsa, who finished with a 3-0 victory.

Next, Tulsa traveled to Saint Louis to play

against the SLU Billikens. Jacob Gooden again gave the Golden Hurricane the lead, but they couldn’t hold it this time. The Billikens leveled the score in the second half, and the teams took the 1-1 score into overtime. Neither team was able to get a goal in the extra periods, and the game ended in a 1-1 double overtime tie.

The Golden Hurricane then travelled to Birmingham, Alabama to participate in the UAB Soccer for a Cure Classic. The played against the UAB Blazers in their first match of the classic. For most of the game, the teams fought to take the advan-

tage. Halfway through the second half Juan Sanchez took a free kick that bounced off the defending wall. Ray Saari was there for the rebound and gave Tulsa the lead. They closed the game out defensively, and took the 1-0 victory.

In the finale of the Cure Classic the Golden Hurricane battled Stetson to a 2–2 double overttime tie after rallying from an 0–2 defeicit 25 minutes into the game. Casper Venstad and Jacob Gooden were the scorers for Tulsa.

The Golden Hurricane return to action on Friday against Akron at home.

Men’s soccer goes on undefeated streak

After starting off 1–1–2 in the early season, the men’s soccer team has gone 2–0–2 in their last four contests with one week left to go before conference play begins.

Joseph Edmunds Sports Writer

The Golden Hurricane men’s soccer team rebounded from their season opening loss with a short undefeated spurt.

In their first home game of the season,

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Sept. 12 - 18 Friday

Volleyball vs. Oral Roberts 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Golf @ Rawls Golf Course

Women’s Golf @ Rawls Golf Course

No Events No Events

Men’s Tennis @ Napa Invitational Women’s Soccer vs. Oral Roberts 5:30 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Akron 8:00 p.m.

Saturday

Volleyball vs. Northwestern State 11:00 a.m.

Football vs.

North Carolina A&T 1:00 p.m.

Volleyball vs. LA Tech 7:00 p.m.

Sunday

Women’s Soccer vs. Ole Miss 7:00 p.m.

12 September 2016

Justin Guglielmetti is…

the

bleacher creature

Sports

Why was Brady really suspended?

Tom Brady is finally serving a suspension for “Deflategate,” but after a year and a half is that really what he’s even being Rafa’s Sad Demise After a successful Olympics in which suspended for? Student writer he took home the Doubles gold along with Justin Guglielmetti follows up Marc Lopez, fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal on his article from last year when was upset last week in the fourth round of the U.S. Open, losing to 24th seeded Lucas it seemed that Brady’s suspension Pouille in five sets. It was a disappointing had been repealed. exit for the Spaniard, but perhaps more sobering was the fact that this has become all too frequent for the former World Number 1. By falling to Pouille, Nadal ensured that 2016 would be the first year in more than a decade that he failed to make a single Grand Slam quarterfinal. It’s been a sudden and stunning fall from grace for a man that used to be all but unbeatable, the single greatest tennis player of my lifetime. With apologies to Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, I have never seen an athlete so physically dominant in the sport. Nadal covered an ungodly amount of real estate in his prime, sprinting side to side along the baseline for hours on end and only seeming to strengthen as the match wore on. His game wasn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, lacking the transcendent grace and silence of his rival Federer and instead punctuating every swing with a guttural exaltation to the gods of sweat and wedgies, but there was never any denying Rafa’s unparalleled ability. And that’s what makes it so sad to watch him now, a shell of his former self, his body wracked by injury and the strain of putting 110% into every volley of his career. At just 30 years old, less than a year older than Djokovic and six years younger than Federer, Nadal’s run at the top of the tennis world appears to be coming to a swift end. It will hurt his legacy to go out this way, especially given the current high level of play and more gradual decline of his contemporaries, but those of us who watched him at his best will never forget it.

Greatest Pitcher Ever?

After months on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his back, Clayton Kershaw returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ rotation on Friday to pitch against the Miami Marlins. Eased back into the swing of things, Kershaw pitched just three relatively unproductive innings, giving up two earned runs. Of course the outing wasn’t entirely a waste: with five strikeouts on the night, he reached 150 on the season against an impossibly low nine walks, becoming the first pitcher in history to reach such a milestone before their walk total hit double digits.

That may seem like one of those pedantic “baseball stats,” but it serves to further illustrate Kershaw’s greatness, which might just be unprecedented. Before he got hurt he was having one of the greatest seasons by any pitcher ever. With an ERA well below 2.00 and a 0.73 WHIP that makes the best specialty relievers in the league jealous, his season has been so special that it still might net him baseball’s top pitcher prize, even with all the time he’s missed. Either way, it will cap a six-year run that ranks right up there with the best years of any of MLB’s all-time greats, be it Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove or even the hallowed Saint Sandy Koufax. Baseball’s romantic conception of its past prevents most observers from seeing Kershaw (and similarly, Mike Trout) in this light, a true-blue Hall of Famer even if his career ended tomorrow, but knowledgeable fans should recognize that we may be watching the GOAT at work.

The Long and Short of It In a sport as obsessed with size as basketball, it seems fitting that three players most defined by their physical appearance would be entering the Hall of Fame together: Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming and Allen Iverson.

The former two were giants in every sense of the word. Shaq, the heaviest player in NBA history, brought a combination of raw power and quickness to the game that nobody had thought possible, and used his outsized charisma to became the biggest star the league has seen outside of Michael Jordan. Yao, a whopping 7’6” and by far the most skilled of any player in history coming within three inches of his height, had a great career cut short by injury but still managed to become the international face of the NBA, one of its most cherished global ambassadors. Iverson, meanwhile, existed on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, listed at six feet but whispered to be two inches shorter.

Nevertheless, The Answer proved himself the toughest SOB in the Association, developing into a superstar with his peerless handles, high-flying athleticism and borderline reckless rim-running. He was a controversial figure, but for the most part avoided any significant scandals. Besides, it would make sense for Iverson to carry a chip on his shoulder when he had to survive in a world where everyone else was literally head and shoulders above him. Three different players, three different sizes, three different careers, and all brought together by the beauty of basketball. Congratulations, gentlemen.

The Collegian: 3

Appearing on the first episode of Bill Simmons’ new HBO talk show a couple months ago, Ben Affleck turned heads with his (probably) drunken tirade on Deflategate, which he so eloquently called “the ultimate bulls--t f---ing outrage in sports, ever.”

Now, if I were Batman I hope I would have argued my point more eloquently, but I can’t say that I disagree with Affleck on the principle of the thing. Deflategate is and has always been an utterly ridiculous controversy.

One of the most fundamentally misunderstood things about this ongoing saga is that it is no longer about deflating footballs, if it was ever really about that in the first place.

Deflategate is at this stage more an issue of labor over commissioner Roger Goodell’s right to suspend his players with impunity.

Remember that no wrongdoing has ever been proven on Brady’s part; that the NFLsanctioned “Wells Report” into the incident was criticized by dozens of impartial observers for, among other things, ignoring the Ideal Gas Law, which would account for the balls’ decrease in pressure due to the cold air on the night of the game in question; that Brady was under no obligation to hand over his phone to league authorities and cited his fear of having information leaked as his reasoning for destroying the phone (a perfectly justified fear given the NFL’s history of leaks and that they actually leaked to the media that he destroyed the phone!); that federal district court judge Richard Berman originally overturned the suspension, criticizing Goodell for dispensing “his own brand of personal justice.”

The fact that the suspension is happening anyway is just Goodell’s way of showing the Patriots and the rest of the league that he is not to be trifled with, that his jurisdiction over league matters is unlimited.

I can’t really blame Goodell for wanting to establish his authority, and if people were just honest about his intentions to become a virtual dictator over the NFL, perhaps I could better understand their support of Brady’s suspension.

When the league maintains that they are acting in the interest of upholding the integrity of the game, however, and members of the sports media continue to back up such a ridiculous claim, all credibility is lost. After all, given the sort of lenient punishments that have been given out to stars for highprofile cases of domestic abuse, it seems rather contradictory for Goodell to claim that he cares more than anything for a clean public image.

which parity is supposed to be king.

Watching Brady and Belichick appear atop the standings year after year, smashing records and appearing almost too fairytale perfect to be real, naturally engenders some resentment.

You might call me somewhat of a conspiracy theorist because in addition to being the proving ground for Goodell’s increased authority, I maintain that this entire controversy was fabricated to draw attention away from the real scandals the league was facing, namely PED use, domestic abuse run rampant, and most significantly, the growing concerns about concussions and brain damage.

The latter issue in particular could be absolutely devastating to the future of the league and the NFL has so far done everything in its power to tell the public that it’s not a big deal, from repressing research on the subject to convincing the public that it

“The fact that the suspension is happening is just Goodell’s way of showing the league that he is not to be trifled with.”

And as for competitive advantage, if anybody really believes that lowering the PSI of a football by 1 or 2 pounds makes a huge deal to professional players, I would ask them to have their head examined and maybe actually throw a football around once in awhile. Besides, if Goodell really cared about the competitive product his league is putting out there, he would institute harsher penalties and testing for PEDs, instead of having one of the most lax screening systems in American sports.

The truth is that I’m not sure Deflategate has ever been about what happened on the field during the 2014 AFC Championship game. What it’s always been about for the media and casual fans is good old-fashioned jealousy, the bitterness of a legion of football fans who can’t stand to watch such a sustained run of excellence in a sport in

is preventable big hits that are the biggest factor in causing CTE, and not the countless smaller impacts that are inevitable over the course of a career playing football.

It would not be out of character for the NFL to try to draw public attention elsewhere and there is no easier target than the New England Patriots. And so they managed to convince the world that a couple insubstantially deflated footballs are significant to the outcome of a football game, and that one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game is a criminal mastermind.

Are people ever going to wake up and start caring about what actually matters in football? I don’t know. But at the very least, I can’t wait to see Goodell’s face when Brady is hoisting the Lombardi trophy again this February.

en Hurricane from reaching the end zone in the middle of the first quarter. Finally, with three minutes left in the first, Tulsa marched into field goal territory and tied it at 3-apiece which held for the next eight minutes of play when Ohio State again drove into Tulsa’s red zone. But once again the defense made them settle for a field goal, keeping the game within three points.

Unfortunately, Tulsa couldn’t do anything with the ball in the second quarter, being held to only 21 yards of offense, and losing three of their four drive to turnovers — one fumble and two interceptions. Those two interceptions were both returned for touchdowns which gave Ohio State a 20–3 lead going into halftime without scoring any offensive touchdowns. Neither team even had 200 yards of offense at this point.

The start of the second half was delayed for an hour due to a severe thunderstorm, but Ohio State came out of the break with all of the momentum, as they drove 72 yards down and scored on quarterback J.T. Barrett’s 11yard run, giving them the 27–3 lead and their first offensive touchdown of the game.

Once again the Golden Hurricane couldn’t get anything going in the third quarter, their three drives ending in two punts and another interception, Evans’ fourth and final of the game. That interception led to another Ohio State touchdown, this time a 1-yard run by tailback Mike Weber.

The fourth quarter wasn’t much differ-

ent for TU. Their best drive — the last drive of the game — saw them march down the field into Ohio State territory before turning it over again. On the other side, Ohio State had 259 yards in the second half as their offense came to life, and they scored two more times in the final quarter to take the game at 48–3.

This was not a pretty game for the Golden Hurricane. They were held to 188 yards of total offense, their fewest since 2004 against Kansas. The three points were the fewest since 2009 against Oklahoma, which was also the last time they had been held without a touchdown. However the defense did hold Ohio State to 417 yards, which might not seem like anything special, but in their route of Bowling Green last week the Buckeyes had 776 total yards of offense.

“My hat’s off to Coach Meyer and his staff. I thought they played an outstanding game, with a very talented group of players,” Coach Montgomery said in his post-game press conference. “I thought we played really well defensively, especially early. Offensively, we never really got anything clicking. We got some things going, but just never finished when we got down into the red zone. We made too many crucial mistakes at bad times.”

The Golden Hurricane will return home next week to take on North Carolina A&T at 1:00 p.m.

TU stif led by Ohio State The Golden Hurricane traveled to Columbus, Ohio where they battled the Buckeyes and the weather. After keeping the game close, Ohio State pulled away late in the first half.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor

Just a week after their route of San Jose State, the Golden Hurricane were routed by the No. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 48–3 on the national stage. With a crowd of 104,000 plus, this was the largest crowd that the Golden Hurricane have ever played in front of. Turnovers killed the Golden Hurricane, who had six on the day.

Combined with an offense that struggled to move the ball after the first quarter, Tulsa couldn’t keep up with the 2015 National Champions.

With Tulsa receiving the opening kickoff, everything looked to be going wrong when Keevan Lucas couldn’t keep control of the ball resulting in a quick interception — the first of four against Tulsa — by the Buckeyes, giving them the ball in the Tulsa red zone. The defense rose to the occasion and stopped any momentum that Ohio State had, forcing them to settle for a field goal.

Both teams traded drives that resulted in punts or turnovers, including a goal line stand for Ohio State the prevented the Gold-

Volleyball dominates A-State Invitational With a three-game sweep in the A-State Invitational, the Golden Hurricane have the best start to their season since 2008.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor This time the Golden Hurricane had to beat UC Martin, Central Arkansas and Arkansas State. In the entire weekend, Tulsa lost one set and swept two of the games.

The first game against UC Martin was one of those sweeps, and the Golden Hurricane dominated all three sets. The smallest margin of victory for the Golden Hurricane was seven points in the third and final set. In fact, not only did they win every set comfortably by scores of 25–16, 25–17 and 25–18, they also never trailed in the match and outhit UC Martin 0.255 to 0.088.

The second match against Central Arkansas was the closest of the weekend, but the Golden Hurricane still won it in four sets.

After trading the first two sets, Tulsa took control in the third and fourth. Head Coach Ryan Wills said after the match, “we got aggressive in sets three and four, we started hitting our spots a little bit more. From an attacking perspective, we kept it away from their block. We hit our holes, hit down the line, hit the angles. We just were a little more aggressive and a little more decisive in where we were attacking. The sets were in a little better location was part of it also.”

The final of the tournament was another sweep for the Golden Hurricane, but this one came down to the wire, with each and every set being decided by two points. The first set set the tone for the match as the lead changed six different times, and the score was tied 11 total times.

“It [the early attacking] set the tone. We averaged over 16 kills a set in the match.

We were executing at a high level and took advantage of some weaknesses in their defense and it allowed us to have success. Our attackers made good choices and stayed aggressive. We could’ve been a little more ef-

ficient as the match unfolded, but we started off on fire offensively. As the match wore on our defense stepped up,” Wills said.

The second and third sets were similarly back and forth, but Tulsa held on to win both sets and the match.

“We’re playing hard, we’re playing with grit,” Wills said. “Our kids are doing the right things, making the right choices, practicing hard. They love the big moments.

There were three two-point sets, but they enjoy that and they play hard. That’s the number one thing you ask as a coach.”

Brooke Berryhill was named the AllTournament MVP and Trinity Aluala was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Golden Hurricane will play in their last tournament prior to conference play when they host the Tulsa Volleyball Invitational next weekend. Their first game will be against Oral Roberts University on Friday, and they will play Northwestern State and Louisiana Tech on Saturday morning and night respectively.

News

The Collegian: 4

12 September 2016

SA budget provides new services to students

SA has made some structural changes to their budget, but for the most part, spending looks the same.

Brennen VanderVeen Student Writer

At the beginning of every year, the president of SA proposes a budget under which the rest of SA will operate. The final numbers for SA’s income still are not in yet, and probably won’t be for another week or two, but president Haley Anderson has proposed a tentative budget. For the most part, it retains similar spending levels as there were last year. However, within the executive committee and cabinet portions of the budget a lot of the individual line-items had some variation.

As of right now, the expected income is exactly the same as it was last year. That figure includes $202,450 from the Provost, $400,000 total from activities fees for both semesters and $155,250 from rollover from last year. All of that combines to $757,000.

Of that, Anderson has proposed $101,934 for the Executive Committee, which is down only slightly from $105,784 last year.

The decrease comes from relatively small cuts from improvements/planned rollover, compensation and capital expenditures.

However, a few programs within the Executive Committee part of the budget actually received increases in funding. Internal Development, an individual line-item which

until last year was titled “Executive Committee,” had its budget raised from $1,000 to $2,500. The funding can be used for basically any internal programming such as leadership workshops or training sessions.

Anderson changed the title of the line-item in order to “open it up to interpretation and move away from the exclusiveness of only Executive Officers using it.”

There is also an entirely new line-item for the Executive Committee. The Student Experience Council should receive $2,900.

The new program is part of the campaign promise of the unified “Golden Ticket” that included all of the current elected SA executive officers. The program consists of a monthly lunch that Anderson says is designed to “create a platform for everyone to come together and discuss campus issues, suggest improvements for campus events and have open conversations about how we can enhance the culture of TU.” The funding will go to food and raffle prizes for stugraphic by Brennen VanderVeen dents who attend. The first meeting will be September 19 at noon in the Great Hall in The cabinet received about a $3,000 budget increase from last year. now $336,000, compared to last year’s cific to international students. Multicultural ACSU. $5,000 has also been allocated to sexual $333,350. Several different line-items re- Affairs received $13,250 last year, but each assault prevention and awareness, which ceived different levels of funding compared of the two successors will get $15,000 each.

One other new cabinet line-item is “Fiis a new line item for SA. It will go to the to last year, but most of them were relativeAdvocacy Alliance for food for Bystander ly small. However, information services, nance,” which has been given $500. Its Intervention training and for a speaker in the which has since been renamed technological purpose “is to monitor Cabinet department spring semester. Student Orientation also re- services, had its budget drop from $3,800 to spending and to audit organizations when ceived a budget increase of $1,000 over the $1,000. The reason for this is that SA had a they request funding.” Anderson noted that new website designed last year, but now it the funding would probably not be needed previous $2,000. but was put in place just in case something Cabinet’s budget increased slightly. It’s only has to pay for maintenance.

There were also major structural changes came up. involving Student Awareness and MulticulExecutive Committee and Cabinet make tural Affairs. Anderson noted that “[t]here up the largest portions of the executive seemed to be a lot of confusion and awk- portion of the budget. Student services, ward overlap between the two departments, designated purchase orders and operating so we decided to redefine the responsibilities expenses are the remaining three executive of each of them, and create a new depart- portions and receive a combined $44,166. ment in order to balance responsibilities and All three have identical levels of funding as enhance our efficiency.” Student Awareness they did last year. Student Services contains kept its name and was assigned to “oversee a few items which students might not have educational programming and foster mean- been aware of, for instance a lawyer who is ingful dialogue between students on impor- for both SA and for any student who needs tant issues and subjects on campus, in our a half hour consultation. Student Services communities, and our world,” according to also covers the readership program that proAnderson. Its budget decreased $3,750 to vides free newspapers across campus and $20,000. free admission to the Philbrook Museum for In contrast to Student Awareness, Multi- any TU student. cultural Affairs was eliminated and replaced The legislative branch also has money alwith two separate departments: Multicul- located to it, $276,676 to be specific. The turalism and Inclusion and International vast majority of that, $270,000 to be precise, Student Relations. Multiculturalism and In- is for organization allocations. That figure is clusion will focus on minority students and down slightly from the $272,176 from last cultures generally, while International Stu- year. graphic by Brennen VanderVeen dent Relations, as the name suggests, is spe-

Executive budget creates and supports several programs for student involvement and awareness.

SA forms new departments to support diversity SA President Haley Anderson provides insight into the recent changes of the structure and goals of SA. Nick Rethford Student Writer

The Student Association has made many changes in the structure of its Cabinet system in recent months, but the most prominent change is in its Student Awareness and Multicultural Affairs Departments, as SA President Haley Anderson explains.

In the past, the two departments have had been grouped together and given similar

LETTER Abigail Labounty I recently read the September 7th article “Prevention requires discussion: Sexual assault & harassment,” and while I agree that it is important to examine the way in which sexual violence is reported and investigated at TU, the article left me feeling upset and uncomfortable for different reasons.

The article begins with an account of the harassment of a transgender student who has since left TU. The experience of this student was rooted in her transness and the harassers’ transphobia, to the point where the harassers were calling her trans slurs and aggressively asking about her genitalia. The article however, besides relating the incident itself, addresses none of this.

Sexual harassment is, of course, an important issue, especially on TU’s campus, but when the only personal account you relate is one that is rooted in transness, you have an obligation to discuss the intersection of sexual harassment with transphobia, and specifically trans discrimination at TU. The experience of trans women is unique, and when you equivocate transphobia to the sexual harassment of cis women, you gloss over both an important facet of the discrimination they face, and a larger community issue.

Multiple studies estimate that 50% of trans people (including trans men and non-

goals and tasks, leading to a lot of ambiguity between the two. The two departments were then restructured to define the distinction between the two. The Multicultural Affairs Department has now split into two separate departments: International Student Relations and Diversity and Multiculturalism.

“We wanted to make sure that we were serving both international and domestic minority groups,” Haley explains, “and with all of the current events happening in the country and in the world involving these minority groups, we wanted to make sure that they know that the University of Tulsa cares.”

Now, the Student Awareness Department is

to the editor binary trans individuals) have experienced sexual violence. That’s three times more likely than the average American woman.

While misogyny does inform and contribute to transmisogyny, the two are separate, nuanced issues that should be addressed as such.

It is horrible and unacceptable that a trans student was unable to complete her education at TU because of harassment and discrimination by the student body, especially given that TU’s anti-discrimination policy includes discrimination against students based on their gender identity. Unfortunately it seems that this, like so many other things (I’m looking at you Mark Ruffalo), is yet another instance of lip service to the trans community; the University claims to support trans people when it benefits them, but fails to deliver when it counts.

To be quite frank, the article itself, while not overtly discriminatory, is not much better. It co-opts a trans person’s story to support its own agenda, while ignoring the impact that transness had on the situation. It uses transmisogyny to support its condemnation of sexual harassment, while ignoring transphobia and the issues trans people face on this campus. The treatment of this student’s story unacceptably contributes to the invisibility and marginalization trans people are constantly forced to endure.

focused mainly on the mental and physical health of the students, as well as things such as sexual assault awareness and prevention, sustainability initiatives, cancer awareness and personal safety.

The Department of International Student Relations, headed by Rapha Ngassa, is now focused mainly on international student affairs and issues.

It will partner with many international groups as well as student organizations on campus to bring awareness about international current events and help international students feel included on campus.

The Department of Diversity and Multiculturalism, headed by Kyla Sloan, is focused on domestic minority students and groups. “What I think is really great about these departments, though, is that, even though they’re separate, they still work together,” she explains. “They might have different demographics, but they can still collaborate.” Right now, they are in the

processes of planning events to bring up issues of racism not only in the country but in the world as well.

With all of these new changes in the SA system, Haley is confident that getting involved is now easier than ever. Right now, SA is promoting its new Student Experience Counsel. It meets at the end of every month, it’s a place where SA reports what it has planned in the upcoming month but also opens the floor to feedback. Students can voice their opinions about the issues affecting the campus. The first one is on September 26 at noon in the Student Union.

When asked about any final thoughts, Haley only had one. “SA has kind of been on its own level in past years, but I don’t think that’s the best way to go about things,” she states. “SA should reach out into the community and work in conjunction with student groups because everyone is apart of it. TU is an experience, and SA can really help make that an amazing experience.”

Dear TU Students, As Peggy and I begin our final semester as TU president and first lady, we are proud of everything the university community has accomplished during the past 12 years.

We are also grateful for the steadfast support of so many talented students.

The TU student body is a talented and accomplished group. The newest members of this group, the Class of 2020, are just beginning to learn about our traditions and daily activities. Our freshmen hail from all parts of the US and 25 different countries, and they match the level of academic achievement and civic engagement of each of our previous classes. Our outlook is indeed bright, and there is every reason to believe TU’s future will hold even greater promise under the steady leadership of Dr. Gerry Clancy, who will begin serving as president on January 1, 2017.

As students, you have tremendous resources at your fingertips and amazing opportunities to take advantage of on campus. Your years at TU are precious, and your time here will go by quickly. I urge

you to get involved in SA or one of the many different student organizations on campus. There are lectures, plays, musical performances, films, and athletic events to attend, and you can get involved in Greek life, intramural sports, and one of our many faith communities. Open yourself to the world of opportunities that are available each and every day on campus. And remember to take care of each other. The lessons of patience, tolerance, empathy and respect are strong threads in the fabric of our university.

I have always found the people at TU to be special because we challenge each other to do great things. As I transition to the role of university professor and president emeritus, I look forward to remaining an active part of this dynamic community, albeit in a much different role. Thank you for the inspiration you have provided over the years. I look forward to seeing you on campus. All the best,

President Upham’s farewell letter

Steadman Upham President

News

12 September 2016

The Collegian: 5

PR and Communication TU Conservative Union Club receives SA charter forms official organization A new club offers students a chance to network and learn about careers in PR and communications.

Kayleigh Thesenvitz Managing Editor

The PR and Communication Club, chartered August 30, was created “to unite students with similar interests and introduce them to scholarships, internships, and job opportunities.”

The club’s founder and president Karoline Newell has said the goal of the club is to “aid in the development of well-rounded communication professionals that can enter the community representing TU as a leading school in Communication related fields.”

“I wanted to create a PR and Communication Club to shed some positive light on the Arts and Science Department and establish a creative, successful and professional space that supports its students,” Newell explained. “Our society broadcasts S.T.E.M. related careers as the singular outlet to success. This club aims to dispel that norm and demonstrate the innovative skill and value of Arts and Science students.”

Newell firmly believes that Public Relations and Communications are a vast field with growing and varied job opportunities, so creating an organization that can provide a networking and learning environment for students with similar interests was important.

“Our organization aims to demonstrate

that diversity by providing speakers and meetings focused on the plethora of avenues available for students,” Newell said.

“We are reaching out to Communication and Advertising students via social media marketing, flyers, emails and announcements through faculty in the department.

However, students from all colleges and majors are encouraged to join!” Newell emphasized.

“Our organization meets monthly. Each meeting features a different career avenue within the field and a professional from the community as a guest speaker on that topic,” Newell shared. “In addition, at each meeting we will share relevant information on local opportunities: scholarships, internships, jobs, Tulsa events and networking opportunities. We work closely with Tulsa PRSA and will share information on their events with members.”

The club’s themes for the semester are: “The Profit of Non-Profits”, “Knowing What to Say: A Guide to Political Public Relations”, “Coming Back, Again and Again” which will focus on PR in the tourism industry and “Running the News” which will discuss the relationship between PR and the news.

September’s meeting will be The Profit of Nonprofits: Learning How to Be Successful in NonProfit Communication. The guest speaker is Bonnie Rucker, Director of Communication for Tulsa Area United Way. The meeting will be held in Oliphant 141 at 6pm on September 28. Anyone is welcome.

The TU Conservative Union lets students speak about their ideologies without campaigning.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor

Student Association recently chartered the new group TU Conservative Union, or TU Conservatives. Brennen VanderVeen, the group’s president, describes the club as “a discussion group for current events, public policy, and conservative philosophy.”

This doesn’t mean, however that the group is associated with the Republican party or is aiming to support local or national candidates. VanderVeen explains that “refraining from those activities will help us be more inclusive, especially… when there is a lot of disagreement even amongst conservatives.”

This draws a significant distinction between TU Conservatives and the recently chartered student group Young Democrats, aimed at electing Democratic politicians at the local level, as well as groups like College Republicans that have been established on campus in the past. Though the initial idea for the group was to be a chapter of College Republicans, VanderVeen and Vice President Ryan Lane decided that “forming an ideological, discussion-based group [was] the best way to go.”

It also seems that this style of group garners more student interest than a partyaffiliated group. VanderVeen points out that “[students we asked] disliked the idea of

being in an explicitly partisan organization, but they had no problem being in an ideological group.”

Part of this hesitation may be that, as VanderVeen puts it, “often, especially on a college campus, more left-wing assumptions reign.” He hopes that this group can help students “get to fewer left-wing assumptions being taken as a given.”

VanderVeen’s goals for the club also include being able to “represent the best of conservatism by refining our arguments” and attempting “to improve the state of political dialogue.”

You don’t have to be strictly conservative to participate in the group, however.

VanderVeen emphasizes that “conservatives are not a monolith, and I know I enjoy hearing other people’s perspectives on issues.”

Though he does admit that he’d be “thrilled if we’re actually able to convince anyone” to think more conservatively, VanderVeen stresses that “proselytizing is not our main goal.”

TU Conservative Union plans to meet every Wednesday from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, tentatively in Chapman Hall 251. Meetings will partly consist of reading and discussing articles and will give students who may be interested in political careers a chance to get practice by “communicating his or her ideas with a group of people who probably already have a similar perspective.”

VanderVeen also mentions he has plans to bring Subway cookies to meetings, which for some may be reason enough to go.

Local theater group wants to create conversations, not just art

Theater Pops aims to be a good steward of the community.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

Tulsa’s Theater Pops is one of several companies that perform locally. Their last production, Heathers, dealt with a range of issues from high school years and beyond, including eating disorders, homophobia, and bullying. After the musical, information on all the topics discussed during the musical was available for those interested in learning more or needing help.

Theater Pops generally performs shows that aren’t mainstream. “Knowing that we don’t do mainstream shows makes us think about things in a different way,” says Cecilia Wessinger, a board member. In the company’s view, the creation and performance of art invokes responsibility. “We want to

make sure we’re good stewards of the community” while putting on shows, she says.

For Heathers, that drive manifested as information cards set out for the audience to take on the main talking points of the play – bullying, homophobia, and body-shaming.

Information on resources available to help with those problems, as well as questions relating to the social issues of the play, were left for audiences to peruse.

The Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice, which focuses on improving diversity and inclusion through a variety of methods and age groups, helped with this initiative. While the company wants to do theater people will enjoy coming to see, they also want to ensure that if there’s any questions after the play, there’s information to accompany them.

For the next upcoming show, All the Way, a drama about civil rights legislation, the company is taking a different tactic. As per-

formance dates coincide with some of the last days for voter registration, the company plans to have tables where audiences can register to vote.

“We wanted to do something right before the election, to fit with the political climate,” Wessinger says. As she is part of the Voting is Power Coalition, which works to increase voter registration and turnout and stimulate civic participation through education, partnering with an outside group to engage in this was possible.

Funding worries might prevent other groups from following in the same footsteps. With funding for the arts dropping, many local artisans like Theater Pops are being supported by the Arts Alliance Tulsa.

This group helps fund and promote about forty local non-profit arts, history, and cultural organizations, from Theater Pops to the Gilcrease Museum to Circle Cinema.

The company still needs to make money

to students about the “Holy Mother God”.

Officers determined that neither individual were affiliated with the University of Tulsa.

Officers explained the boundaries to the University of Tulsa property and trespass warned them. Contact cards were filled out.

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Aug. 28 11:00 p.m.

Over the last several weeks while on routine off campus patrol Officers have been approached by a several non-TU affiliates off TU campus. They all wished to stay anonymous but wanted inform officers of an increase in crime, and suspicious activity in the area. Officers in informed them that campus security is only able to enforce action on University of Tulsa property but that they would keep an eye on the areas they were patrolling. Officers also explained that they should contact Tulsa Police Department in the case of an emergency.

Aug. 29 5:15 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to Mabee gym in reference a mail box being stolen over the weekend at Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Upon further investigation the suspect was identified but was unable to remember what they did with the mailbox. Suspect offered to reimburse the fraternity for the stolen property. Video surveillance was provided by the fraternity identifying the suspect.

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with each show, however, and Wessinger acknowledges too edgy theater might not make back the production costs. “When you put on theater that doesn’t make people warm and fuzzy, it’s a little more risky,” Wessinger said. “There’s a certain audience that will come to our shows and be more open to coming,” but conversely, “there’s a lot of people who will be uncomfortable and avoid it.”

Other local theater groups may do fairly unknown or even their own shows, but Wessinger believes that Theater Pops’ focus on “outside the box” shows makes the group able to offer these different events in collusion with their shows. As the season continues, they hope to be able to challenge audiences and encourage action and conversation.

5:15 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to Zink Hall in reference to a missing University of Tulsa Golf Cart. The reporting party stated the cart went missing about a week ago and they thought the Physical Plant had it. Physical Plant was asked if they had it and they did not.

Aug. 31 9:10 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to John Mabee Hall regarding the two individuals making students uncomfortable. Upon arrival officers witnessed the individuals trying to witness

Sep. 1 1:25 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to Mabee Gym for found property. Officers arrived and received a pair of cymbals found near Chapman stadium. The band director was contacted and notified the cymbals have been turned into security. The cymbals have been placed in the property room for safekeeping Sep. 3 12:55 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers noticed an individual running eastbound on 11th street on the north sidewalk towards 2 other individuals. A bystander informed the officers that the 2 individuals had stolen a unicycle scooter from the individual running. Officers made contact with the student and the 2 individuals and determined the 2 individuals did steal the unicycle scooter. A hunting rifle, knife, and a loaded syringe were found on the two individuals and Tulsa Police Department arrived and arrested the two individual.

8:30 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers found a major water leak in the basement of Zink Hall.

Several areas of pluming in ceiling of the basement of Zink Hall had water pouring out. Officers and the on duty engineer were able to contain the leak and shut off the water supply to the building. Departments effected were notified as well as the restoration company for clean-up.

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

News

The Collegian: 6

12 September 2016

Research shows benefits of Tulsa’s Head Start programs Tulsa’s Head Start programs provide effective low-cost education to students and parents.

Maureen Haynes Student Writer

Almost two decades after the program’s inception, research shows that Oklahoma is reaping the benefits of its Head Start programs.

The Head Start program was implemented federally by the US Department of Health and Human Services to provide accessible preschool education to low-income families and has since expanded to meet the needs of a growing number of families. The program is funded by the U.S. federal government, but implemented through states and local communities.

In 1998, Tulsa adopted a locally and federally funded Head Start program. This program integrates a variety of approaches in order to provide better early childhood care to low-income families, offering low-cost nutritional awareness, medical assistance, disability services and preschool education.

It is funded and run by the nonprofit Community Action Project (CAP) Tulsa. Educare, an offshoot of CAP Tulsa’s programs, began an Early Head Start program in 2006, serving children from birth to five years old.

Because Oklahoma was the second state to adopt federal monies for such a program, Tulsa’s various Head Start programs have been closely studied by researchers across the nation. Tulsa’s programs also have some of the highest standards, ranging from high

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Tulsa’s Head Start program engages students and parents to improve life outcomes.

teacher pay to high employee starter qualifications. A combination of state and federal funds as well as local nonprofit investment in Oklahoma allows Tulsa programs to establish these higher standards and make it of further interest to researchers.

In August, Georgetown University professor Deborah Phillips published a decade’s worth of research on Tulsa’s largestreaching Head Start program.

Phillips’ findings exhibited that children who had been through the program had clear benefits in their middle school years. Tulsa Public School students who had attended a Head Start program for early-education were more likely to attend school regularly and score higher on state tests. White and Hispanic students were more likely to score

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager North Korea successfully launched ballistic missiles The North Korean regime claims to have successfully launched and detonated a nuclear warhead capable of being attached to ballistic missiles. The explosion was detected at 8:30 pm local time on Wednesday and is estimated to have had the power of ten kilotons. The test was condemned by South Korea, Japan, China and the United States.

President Obama said that, after speaking to the leaders of the other nations, they agreed to take additional steps and impose new sanctions to prove to North Korea they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear power. Obama reaffirmed to South Korean and Japanese leaders the “unshakable US commitment to take necessary steps to defend our allies in the region.” Since 2006, North Korea has been able to steadily up its explosive power from less than one kiloton to six kilotons earlier this year, to ten now. By contrast, the nuclear warhead dropped on Hiroshima in World War II was fifteen kilotons.

Fighters attack oil terminals in Libya Fighters under General Khalifa Haftar have attacked key oil terminals held by the government’s allies. The fighters claimed to have taken the Ras Lanuf and Sidra terminals, but the militia defending it said, even after an attack this morning and multiple casualties, they’re still in control. The head of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Martin Kobler, tweeted, “worried about reported fighting in the oil crescent. will add to division and further restricting oil exports. Oil belongs to ALL libyans.”

General Haftar and his Libyan National Army do not recognize the authority of the capital based UN-backed Government of National Accord, and they instead serve an eastern based government from the city of Tobruk. Libya has been in a state of constant infighting since Colonel Gaddafi was killed in 2011. Since then, the production of oil has dropped from 1.6 million to 200,000 barrels per day.

Seal Team fails to rescue hostages from Afghanistan In Afghanistan, US Special Operation Forces from Seal Team 6 participated in a failed hostage rescue operation. The hostages, an Australian and an American who had been kidnapped last month from an American university in Kabul, were nowhere to be found at the searched location.

The university is the only nonprofit, co-ed, private university in the country and has become a target for Taliban-linked insurgents. Three weeks after the original kidnapping, gunmen stormed the campus with suicide vests and killed twelve. President Obama had originally planned to pull all troops from Afghanistan, but the US now plans to keep over 8000 troops in Afghanistan after 2017. They will conduct counterterrorism missions and assist Afghanistan police and military.

Charity worker imprisoned in Iran

A British-Indian charity worker, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has been imprisoned in Iran on “secret charges”. The woman, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested in April and has been given a five year sentence.

Iranian officials previously accused her of aiding a “hostile network”, and argue her work in providing care for journalists and human rights activists was a plot to undermine the Iranian government. Her husband describes the case as being “shrouded in shadows and internal politics”. He has been campaigning publicly for his wife’s release and multiple news outlets have run their story in support.

His work may have backfired in Iran, as the judge announced that the campaign was only more evidence that she was guilty. Some analysts claim Iran may want western prisoners for bargaining in future prisoner swaps. The Ratcliffes’ two year old daughter has had her passport revoked and is currently living in Iran with her grandparents. Mrs. Ratcliffe stated, ““I have missed over a fifth of her life. What does that do to her?”.

Boston police officers to wear body cameras

A judge denied a Boston police union’s request to halt a body camera program last Friday. One hundred police officers and eight command staff members will now wear the body cameras on patrol. The body camera program was originally going to be volunteer only, but after the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association persuaded officers not to sign up at all, Judge Wilkins ruled that Boston commissioner William B. Evans has the authority to order officers to wear the cameras.

“It would be particularly unfair to enjoin the commissioner’s order when the union’s alleged injury is, in significant part, self-inflicted,” Wilkins wrote. “Had the union mobilized even a small part of its membership, the pilot program would have proceeded as a voluntary program.” The Patrolmen’s association had issued a directive that “NOBODY” should volunteer for the program. Commissioner Evans is pleased to move forward with the program, as he sees Boston Police as having “nothing to hide”.

well on math tests. Overall, Phillips concluded that the program “produced significant positive effects” for middle schoolers.

“These programs are about helping children get ready for school, family engagement and breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle.” says Educare’s Chief Program Officer, Vicki Wolfe. “[Closing] the achievement gap for children that are entering kindergarten” is the ultimate goal. “Research shows that children who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds don’t always come to school ready.”

Utilizing early childhood education programs in Tulsa allows a more comprehensive approach to education. “We look at the whole of the child, not just the child themselves; we see the child as a bigger entity

within a family and a community.”

Thus, Tulsa Head Start programs attempt to engage not only the children themselves in the learning process, but also their parents through job skill matching and educating and enabling them on how to be “advocates for their child’s education.”

Tulsa’s programs have flourished also because they have unusually high performance standards. “We have teachers with at least Bachelor’s degrees in all classrooms.” Furthermore, Wolfe explains that their degrees “must be in early childhood education or an education-related field.”

Research from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that teacher qualification through secondary degrees is the strongest correlate for student achievement in the classroom and beyond. Yet the National Center for Education Statistics found that only about half of educators have a secondary degree in education.

Tulsa’s continuing dedication and high programmatic standards for early childhood education programs allows them to serve more families more effectively.

“People certainly don’t go into education to get rich, it’s about a servant mentality and really wanting to have an impact on someone’s life to make things better for whoever you come into contact with,” Wolfe concludes.

In a time when education always seems to be on the chopping-block for Oklahoma state funding, studies like these prove that programs and Oklahomans that value education really are providing an investment with a return.

Thursday, September 15 at 5:30pm to 7:00pm College of Law, Price & Turpen Courtroom 17th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture with Sahar F. Aziz The University of Tulsa College of Law welcomes Sahar F. Aziz, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law, for the 17th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture: Civil Rights in the Post-9/11 Era of Global Conflict and Populism Reception: 5:30 p.m., The Pit; Lecture: 6 p.m., Price & Turpen Courtroom Register to attend.

Thursday, September 15 at 5:30pm to 7:00pm Student Union, Chouteau C Plagiarism and How to Avoid It Most students and professionals would never knowingly commit plagiarism. Unfortunately, many have accidentally plagiarized. Some plagiarism occurs because of cultural differences and misconceptions about what is expected when one uses the work of others. Whether plagiarism is accidental or not, it can lead to serious consequences including academic probation or even dismissal from school, loss of financial support and sometimes permanent damage to one’s professional reputation.

The purpose of this workshop is to help you understand the consequences of plagiarism and, more importantly, help you learn to identify and avoid plagiarism.

Friday, September 16 at 11:00am to 1:00pm Student Union, First Floor Constitution Day Register to vote, test your knowledge of the United States for the chance to win a prize, learn more about your civil duty to vote and the importance of government.

Also, grab a delicious treat from Nothing Bundt Cakes!

This event is presented by Student Affairs and the League of Women Voters of Tulsa.

Friday, September 16 at 9:00am to 12:30pm College of Law, Price & Turpen Courtroom Pawnee Nation Supreme Court Hearing & Presentations The Pawnee Nation Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Hare v. Knife Chief et al. at The University of Tulsa College of Law. Issue: To what extent does the Pawnee Nation’s sovereign immunity extend to members of the Pawnee Business Council who are sued in their individual capacities for purportedly acting beyond the scope of their official duties when they voted to terminate the employment of the Executive Director of the Pawnee Nation? The Pawnee Nation Constitution provides that the Pawnee Business Council is the supreme governing body of the Nation and has the power to legislate, transact business and speak and act on behalf of the Nation on all matters and that it exercises its powers by a majority vote of its present members and determines the transaction of all tribal business with a quorum present.

Chief Justice John F. Reif (JD ’73) of the Oklahoma Supreme Court will introduce the members of the Pawnee Nation Supreme Court. The hearing will conclude at approximately 10 a.m.

Friday, September 16 at 6:00pm to 8:00pm LaFortune House, Lobby Dining Abroad: Latin America Join us in Lafortune Hall for a chance to learn about a new culture! There will be free food, free shirts for the first 100 students, and gift card giveaways.

Sunday, September 18 at 3:00pm Lorton Performance Center, Gussman Concert Hall Tulsa Community Band in Concert The University of Tulsa School of Music presents the Tulsa Community Band in concert. This concert is presented as a tribute to Paris York, the band’s Associate Conductor Emeritus and an icon of Music Education in Oklahoma, who passed away on June 3, 2015.

In addition to some of Paris’ favorite works for wind band, the Tulsa Community Band has commissioned and will perform the World Premiere of Sweet Beulah Land, a work written in his honor by noted composer Steven A. Vento, formerly of Broken Arrow and a personal friend.

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

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

12 September 2016

Commentary

The Collegian: 7

Brock Turner’s release shows rape isn’t taken seriously

Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s early release reminds us that we have a long way to go before rape is considered a serious offense and punished properly.

Raven Fawcett Student Writer Brock Turner, also known as “The Stanford Rapist,” was released this week after only serving half of his six-month jail sentence. Turner raped an unconscious college student behind a dumpster in January 2015.

As jails count time served while in court and awaiting trial, Turner got three months taken off of his six-month sentence.

The problem is not only that Turner received a slap on the wrist for brutally assaulting a woman — three months in jail and registering as a sex offender. The problem is that he really believed he could rape a woman. The problem is that his father described the rape as “20 minutes of action.”

The problem is that other rapists do not get off half so lightly, should they be convicted.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a rapist could expect to serve about half of their 9 year sentence in the 1990’s.

The Bureau no longer releases information about the sentences sex offenders can be expected to receive. A CNN report found 52 cases of sexual assault by Division I athletes in the past 20 years. Only 13 resulted in jail time, the sentences ranging from 3 months to 20 years. In each case, reports focused on the potential of the athlete. Turner was one of 25% to receive any jail time, but even that was contentious. Media highlighted his Midwestern roots, his achievements in the pool, and the fact that, at 19 years old, charges like these could ruin his future. Reporters lamented the impact their stories might have on a young man who made an honest mistake and might never be able to swim competitively again. Now 20, Turner is free. The morning after the rape, his victim woke up in the hospital, disoriented and scared. Now 24, his victim is left to pick up the pieces of her life and sense of security.

And let’s be clear, while the law may only charge Turner for the crime of rape (and rape of an unconscious woman, and a drunk woman, and other similar legal technicalities), his crimes extended beyond the 23-year-old young woman attacked behind a dumpster. Rapes start with smaller transgressions such as catcalls, without a written record of a person escalating their behavior.

When the rape occurs, there’s rarely enough evidence, and people like Brock Turner get to walk free after three months in prison with their swim times printed in the newspaper. One way to prevent this is to keep some sort of record of behaviors. If someone is pushing your boundaries, if they’re giving you red flags, tell someone you trust.

If someone is harrassing you, call campus security or, if you’re off-campus, the police.

These steps will rarely create an immedi-

ate reaction, but they will hopefully scare offenders and, should offenders escalate their behavior, there will be a paper trail for courts to use as evidence in a trial.

There’s nothing we can do about this rapist, or any other rapist who’s already committed their crimes and hurt the people they’ve hurt. We can’t do anything, and that’s a kind of quiet horror we all have to live with. Prevention often falls on the shoulders of victims.

People, mostly women, already travel in packs. They are already told to park under lights with the driver’s side of their car facing the door, check the backseat and passenger side for intruders and to lock the door immediately after getting into their car. They walk with friends, they tell people they have a boyfriend because nothing protects you more than the safety of performative heterosexuality. They’re told to not lose sight of their drink, to keep mace with them, to carry their keys so the metal sticks out between their knuckles. They’re told to make eye contact with strangers and keep their heads up when walking alone, because rapists are less likely to attack people who will remember their faces. They’re told to watch out, because most rapists are people they know and trust.

Which is all to say, I think we have to support one another, regardless of gender or circumstance. We have to believe people and listen to them when they have a bad feeling about someone, or say that they’ve been raped. Within the judicial system, changes should be made in the way officers and medical officials approach rape victims.

Training is one way to implement this. Professionals should be reminded to not ask what the victim was wearing outside of as-

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Turner has received far too little legal punishment for his actions.

certaining the facts of the case. Rape victims brought to the hospital should be told what has happened when possible, and every step of the tests done to their bodies explained.

Seminars, as well as a system to ensure that no rape victim is left alone with only one person so as to enforce these rules, would be a place to start sexual assault reforms.

To create these changes, people can contact Campus Security to learn more about their policies regarding sexual assault and to ask them for these reforms. You can also contact government officials. The easiest way is to get a hold of district representatives, either by phone call, mail, or email.

Tulsa’s House Representative is Jim Bridenstine, although people can and should contact any elected official they feel most comfortable with.

Political student organizations fight campus apathy

Political campus groups help engage typically uninterested students in the political process.

Nathan Hinkle Student Writer

As political apathy continues to rise in America, especially among younger voters, there need to be tools in place to help combat this issue. These tools need to help promote involvement in the political process and its importance in American society.

A good tool for doing this is political party clubs. These clubs have the ability to allow students to share ideas and thoughts with their fellow students. Through these potential conversations, people are more likely to care about the politics that govern America from the presidency all the way down to local issues.

The argument could be made that political party groups are bad because they push people together into smaller groups that will cause deadlock like in our government.

However, it is more likely that a general politics group would be too large and broad to see any significant use.

A more general American politics group would also struggle to get members, as its extremely broad goal would push people away, while a smaller group that is still quite vast due to the subsets of each party would succeed in gathering members at a better rate. As an example, it is like a large country versus a smaller country. The larger one has more to cover and control compared to the smaller, more coordinated force.

Another benefit of a political party group is their ability to help outsiders of their group be able to vote and also promote new political events. These potential events could be debates on an important issue af-

fecting college students or speeches given by leaders of a cause. These events also have the bonus of being about general politics. Through these events, all party groups can potentially work together on important issues such as low voter turnout and an unknowing populace.

Political party groups are a good way to get people involved in politics when that is definitely needed in the current turbulent times of America. Their smaller size helps them be more efficient and easier to control. They also have the ability to promote a well-rounded populace who may not have the exact same beliefs as one another but are at least well-informed on their side of the political spectrum.

We need to accept that earthquakes are our fault

Wastewater injection is a proven cause of Oklahoma’s earthquakes, so why can’t we admit it?

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager If you were awake the morning of September 3rd, there’s a good chance that you felt the Pawnee earthquake. It was felt from Texas to Chicago, and was followed by multiple aftershocks. The number and magnitude of earthquakes in Oklahoma and surrounding states has greatly increased in recent years. In 2009, there were three earthquakes over a magnitude of 3.0. In 2015, there were 907. Evidence for rising seismic activity points to injection wells.

This is not some surprising revelation. Research has long pointed to injection wells artificially inducing earthquakes in the area.

An injection well can place different types of water, including salt water or wastewater, deep underground into or underneath shallow soil layers or into porous rock formations. They have multiple applications, but the one most linked to earthquake activity is wastewater disposal. In this process, wastewater is injected in between impermeable rock layers to avoid polluting fresh water.

In 2013, a study was released claiming to link wastewater injection and earthquakes

in Oklahoma using hard data. The paper reads, “the progressive rupture of three fault planes in this sequence suggests that stress changes from the initial rupture triggered the successive earthquakes, including one larger than the first.” That’s pretty simple.

In 2015, a series of studies continued to confirm the connection between injection and quakes.

For some reason, it took the latest earthquake to get legislation to give shutdown orders to local wastewater injection wells.

That’s at least two years after a study confirmed they were doing some serious damage below ground. It seems like common sense that you wouldn’t wait for major structural damage in Pawnee, Oklahoma to try to avoid a problem.

People are constantly designing technology that helps speed up, lessen the cost of or create new processes of work. Sometimes this can’t help but involve our planet’s resources. What it shouldn’t involve is damage to our planet’s ecosystems or structure.

Often, damage to our planet’s systems can come back and hurt humanity. We see it in ecosystems with varying temperatures and disease-spreading mosquitoes, and we see it in Pawnee where multiple buildings have been damaged and state of emergency has been declared in order to cover repair costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency has stepped in to monitor shutdowns and has always monitored injection wells to a point. What the process of making a decision like creating injection wells needs in the first place is a more thorough evaluation of damage. Businesses and research specialists should work closer together to rule out environmental concerns before designing something. Otherwise, we learn the hard way that a process isn’t safe, and may have to potentially waste a lot of resource on replacing or changing it.

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, Kirby Hockensmith and Trenton Gibbons

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Commentary

The Collegian: 8

12 September 2016

STATE QUESTIONS

779 - sales tax increase for education Oklahoma education is not OK, and that’s why we should all vote yes on State Question 779.

Kayleigh Thesenvitz Managing Editor 779, also called the Oklahoma One Percent Sales Tax, is a constitutional amendment that will increase the sales tax by one percent and will raise a predicted $615 million per year for education.

A sales tax increase is not the best possible solution for our students, but it is a good start to fixing the problems associated with state funding for public education.

Consider the following facts about Oklahoma’s education system: According to US Census data, in 2013 Oklahoma was the fourth lowest in state spending per student on education. That same data also revealed that as a state we have made the deepest cuts to school spending out of any state since the 2008 recession.

In 2015, Oklahoma ranked 48 out of 50 states in Education Week’s annual ranking. That score was based on scores in three cat-

egories: a Chance-for-Success Index based on early foundations, school year development and adult outcome, in which we scored a C-; a K-12 Achievement Index that measures student gains in core subject areas year to year, in which we scored a D; and the school finance analysis, in which we scored a D+.

2016 is the eighth year Oklahoma teachers have gone without a pay raise, despite inflation. This has occurred alongside teacher layoffs in smaller districts and increasing class sizes in the state.

The result of this increasing burden on teachers was described

by John Waldron, a high school history teacher at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa and current candidate for state senate, in a blog post for OK Policy.

“Today, after six years of cuts, I have 147 students. To give you a

to. You see the dilemma. How can we deliver quality instruction to every student, under increasingly stressed conditions? How can we make bricks without straw?”

Waldron’s account, although startling, only begins to describe the conditions of teachers and students elsewhere in the state. Tulsa Public Schools receives 54 percent of all revenue collected in property tax from the city. However, 55 percent of public school students in Oklahoma attend small town or rural schools where cuts have had a higher impact. Small towns and rural communities simply do not have the funds to give extra support to their schools, nor can they generate enough collective action to raise funds.

The USDA Economic Research Service reports, based on 20102014 American Community Survey data, that the poverty rate in

on both teachers and students.

Students are clocking 8 hour school days in class from 8 to 4:15 Tuesday-Friday. Teachers are charged with keeping students on task for class periods that last more than an hour and a half. 8th graders will be using the same textbooks I used in the 8th grade, with years of inappropriate middle school drawings marked out in black sharpie.

Despite having no raises, teachers have to purchase all the additional supplies and resources they will need in their classrooms. Additionally, the lack of janitorial staff means they have to stay after school to clean their classrooms.

The $615 million would provide constitutionally protected revenue for education funding that would be audited annually to confirm the proper use of funding and would go in full to raises for teachers,

A one percent sales tax increase would put us around 9.5 percent, even with or exceeding Tennessee, the state with the current largest sales tax. It is also concerning that 3.25 percent, or roughly 20 million dollars of the revenue gained will be going to vocation and technology education, which is generally well funded.

It is also concerning given our state’s tendency to “redirect unessential funds” that after constitutionally protecting a certain amount of money for education, they might choose to either not bolster education in other ways, or blatantly take away other systems for education funding.

This last claim may seem a bit reaching, but I don’t have much faith in a legislature that can’t find money for schools, but is actively proposing an amendment to the constitution so they can use state

“8th graders will be using the same textbooks I used in the 8th grade.” sense of what that means, consider this: if I give an essay question to each student (something I believe is a critical part of an upper-level course) and spend five minutes on each essay, it takes over 13 hours to grade them. That’s about how much planning time I have in three weeks of school,” Waldron wrote.

“It has also meant eliminating my elective classes to teach more survey courses. And, of course, 147 students means 147 names to memorize and 147 sets of individual circumstances to respond

rural Oklahoma is 18.9 percent, compared with 15.8 percent in urban areas of the state. Additionally, 15.4 percent of the rural population has not completed high school, while that figure in urban areas is 12.2 percent.

My hometown, Inola, OK, is one of these rural schools. They were also one of the first in the state to move to a 4 day school week as a result of budget shortfalls. This move, although necessary for the survival of the school, has put an incredibly heavy strain

higher education, grants, early childhood programs and vocation and technology education.

However, despite the gains this amendment would provide it is not favored by everyone, and is only a small step in the right direction.

Inola high school english teacher Barbie Barnes said, “Teachers need pay raises, no doubt, but it’s a shame it has to come at the cost of taxes. The ones this will hurt the most are low-income families who are already scraping to buy gas and groceries.”

money and property for religious purposes (see below).

All this is to say, we need to vote yes for 779 because hardworking teachers deserve a well earned raise. We need to vote yes for 779 because it is our responsibility as a state to provide for the education of our children. We need to vote yes on 779, but this is only a bandaid solution to a larger problem. We need to pressure our legislature to make education a priority, and straighten out Oklahoma’s severe budgeting flaws.

Supreme Court in 2015. The court determined that a monument representing the Ten Commandments which stood on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol should be removed based on Section II, Article V of the Oklahoma Constitution. As it should have been — though the monument had not been paid for using taxpayer dollars, it was certainly an example of public property being appropriated and used for the support of a religious system, which Section II, Article V clearly prohibits.

State Question 790 was largely proposed in response to this ruling. Rep. Randy Grau (R- Edmond), who proposed the Joint House Resolution that eventually made its way through the Senate and became State Question 790, did so because he believes that the Supreme Court ruling “went against clear legal precedent supporting the placement of such monuments on government property. Our state’s highest court misinterpreted the Constitution.”

Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of information on legal precedent regarding monuments on government property. That said, I’m mostly appalled by the fact that Rep. Grau decided that he was go-

to be spending our time on. But since it’s done, can’t we just leave it that way? The debate over this statue highlights an inefficiency and tendency to get wrapped up in insignificant, roundabout issues that is common in both the state and federal government.

However, my biggest problem with State Question 790 is that in attempting to return the Ten Commandments monument to the grounds of the Capitol, it violates one of the most important principles of American government: the separation of church and state.

Supporters of the Question also include Rep. John Paul Jordan (RYukon), who lamented the loss of the monument and claimed that “the new interpretation of this provision can potentially make our state hostile to religion and have damaging impacts on our counties, cities and school districts.”

Here’s the thing, Rep. Jordan — religion didn’t have a place in our publicly-funded counties, cities, and school districts to begin with.

I don’t mean to totally bash religion by saying this. The expression of religion is very meaningful and powerful for a lot of people, and practicing a religion is a wonderful personal choice that many

appear in the US Constitution (a misconception based on interpretations of the above quote), it’s a principle that dates back to the founding days of the US. In an article for the History News Network, Western Washington University history professor Johann Neem writes that after the Revolution, Americans went out of their way to prevent alliances between church and state because they saw such ties as damaging and corruptive to both institutions.

“The state risked becoming subject to religious controversies that would threaten its ability to protect individual liberty. Equally important, many Protestants viewed church-state alliances as a way to offer a particular sect...special privileges, rather than to permit various denominations to practice their religion peaceably.”

We’ve already seen this first effect in action — by allowing the Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the Capitol to begin with, the state has wrapped itself up in a religious controversy that shouldn’t be taking up its time to begin with. If State Question 790 passes, the opportunity opens up for threats to individual liberty to emerge, as well as for prefer-

When has Oklahoma ever been hostile towards Christianity?

Additionally, Revolution-era Americans feared that alliances between church and state would make the state an intermediary between the individual and God. The state or the state-established church could “speak in God’s name and could mobilize the force of law to enforce religious creeds.”

Churches risked “becoming tools of the state rather than of salvation, favoring the affairs of this world over the next world.”

If 790 is written into law, what’s to stop public resources from being used to enforce religious creeds in public schools? That’s what religiously-based private schools are for — providing an education that is in accordance with one’s private religious beliefs. What’s to stop religion from becoming a tool of the state? It’s already being used as a tool in a petty government fight over a monument.

Professor Neem and the Revolution-era Americans agree: “The principle behind religious freedom was always to ensure that individuals could follow the dictates of their own conscience.”

Their OWN conscience. Not the collectively imposed state’s or church’s conscience. To conclude: there is a REASON that we keep this stuff separated. I know there are Christians who would use that public funding for charity and other noble missions. However, as with any religion, that also allows ample opportunity for those with less than noble purposes to abuse their power — religious affiliates and state representatives alike. It allows ample opportunity for the corruption of both institutions.

I have the utmost respect for religion. I have respect for Christianity. But anytime it or any other religious sect is allowed to affiliate itself with government resources, it unfairly implicates the democratic process and the use of those public resources.

And to be honest, I’d really hate to see one of our major freedoms go to hell over a statue.

790 - state money for religious purposes

Voting no on State Question 790 salvages the division of church and state.

Hannah Kloppenburg Editor-in-Chief

If you’re an Oklahoma voter (and if you’re reading this, you probably should be) you’ll see State Question 790 on the ballot when you show up to the polls on November 8.

State Question 790 appears on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, which means that Oklahoma’s state legislature voted to put a proposed change to the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma before the public.

This means that you, dear voter, get to decide whether or not Oklahomans’ public resources can be used for religious purposes. That’s right — Oklahoma legislators thought it would be fun if voters got the chance to repeal the separation of church and state this year!

The Question refers specifically to Article II, Section V of the Oklahoma Constitution, which states that “No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.” Basically, this section of the constitution prevents public resources from being used for religious purposes. State Question 790, if passed, would remove Article II, Section V entirely.

The question comes in light of a decision made by the Oklahoma

“The debate over this statue highlights an inefficiency... common in both the state and federal government.” ing to spend his time and energy to create a Joint House Resolution for the express purpose of REMOVING the offending part of the Constitution in order to undermine the Supreme Court’s decision about a statue. Take that, Justices!

That’s the first facet of my thoughts on this issue — why are our legislators wasting their time and our money quarreling over a statue? Admittedly, this is a question that could be applied to the removal of the monument in the first place. Never mind the state of education in Oklahoma, the budget deficit, the rampant health issues, or the extreme rates of poverty. This is clearly what we need

make. However, there are very good reasons for keeping the expression of religion separate from public institutions — especially government institutions. And there are very good reasons why the US Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” in its very first amendment.

Though Article II, Section V doesn’t refer to free exercise of different religions, it does prohibit Oklahoma government from “respecting” religious establishments by restricting their use of public funding and resources.

While the words “separation of church and state,” don’t actually

ence to go to various religions. In Oklahoma, a majority Christian state, this preference would undoubtedly lean towards Christianity.

If State Question 790 passes, any time a Muslim, atheist, Jewish, or otherwise non-Christian person walks up to the State Capitol, they will see the Ten Commandments monument and know that they are not a priority for their state legislature. They will look at that statue and know that their government does not value them.

If Rep. Jordan is truly concerned about Oklahoma being hostile towards religion, then I would love to see him stand up for some of these minority religious groups.

Commentary

12 September 2016

STATE QUESTIONS 780/781 - drug offense reform and support

Voting yes on State Questions 780 and 781 will lessen the severity of drug charges and help our state support recovering addicts.

Raven Fawcett Student Writer State Question 780 is on the ballot for the upcoming November election. If it sounds boring, it’s probably because it’s titled “Oklahoma Smart Justice Reform Act,” which sounds a lot like the class your friends tell you to drop before your professor assigns multiple research papers.

If State Question 780 is approved, property offenses (theft, arson, damage, etc) that are under

$1000 in damages will be misdemeanors, as opposed to the current $500 cap; drug possession is dropped to a misdemeanor. “[T]he distribution, possession with intent to distribute, transportation with intent to distribute, manufacture, or trafficking of drugs remain felonies,” the bill notes. You’ll still need to keep your bake-sale brownies free of pot if you aren’t fond of wearing prison orange, though.

The sister question, State Question 781, will be effective if 780 is approved by voters in November. State Question 781 essentially states that the money that would otherwise be used to take care of prisoners who would have been sentenced to jail without State Question 780 will be used to create the County Community Safety Investment Fund. The money would go towards rehabilitation centers for people with problems with their mental health, drugs, alcohol, or other serious issues.

With an understanding of these State Questions, you too are ready to pump some good into the universe. Once in prison, prisoners

make contacts, learn hard lessons and have difficulty re-adjusting to and finding employment outside of prison.

If there’s a voice in your head that sounds like Admiral Ackbar screaming “it’s a trap,” it’s because prisons in the United States currently are. The cycle of crime to prison to crime again is vicious.

Offenders that receive a misdemeanor might continue to escalate their behavior —which they would do regardless of the severity of their punishment — or conversely, realize that their actions have terrifying consequences.

Lowering the amount of nonviolent offenders sent to prisons in Oklahoma will create a positive impact on our city and society.

Moreover, the money that would be spent on room and board for those people will go to actively helping people in your state.

That’s pretty neat!

So please, make your local political science major proud and vote in the November election.

Support the people in your state.

Support Questions 780 and 781.

“Lowering the amount of non-violent offenders... will create a positive impact on our city and society.”

The Collegian: 9

President Duterte hinders politics

Trying to keep certain topics off the table at international conventions keeps anything from getting accomplished.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager

International politics can, at times, seem like a lot of song and dance between politicians and government officials alike. What some critics may consider war crimes, world leaders may dismiss in order to focus on the ‘bigger picture’. The game of international relations plays out as leaders continuously weigh choice after choice of where to draw the line between human rights abuse and legitimate war efforts.

In the case of Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine President, he couldn’t have been much more up front about it. Before the Association of Southeast Nations summit, which President Obama attended, President Duterte was asked by reporters about his recent war on drugs and the United Nations’ reaction. Addressing President Obama, he angrily stated that he has no master except his people, answers to nobody and that if he is asked about the highly controversial acts committed last summer, “putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum.” ‘Putang ina’ is the Tagalog phrase for ‘son of a bitch’.

The Philippine President’s war

on drugs is one of the most outrageous criminal crackdowns conducted today. Since July, over 2500 people have been killed in the Philippine war on drugs.

Duterte has suggested civilians should kill drug dealers and even drug addicts. “Getting their parents to do it would be too painful” he stated after his inaugural address. Over a thousand bodies, often with a sign reading “I’m a drug pusher, don’t be like me” have been discovered by police in cities. Vigilantes, death squads and police operations often ignore human rights and judicial process for the sake of a drug-free state.

One of the ever-increasing qualities of the world today is dialogue between nations. It helps not only to bolster deals and keep real inter-state wars from occurring, but can help defend citizens from totalitarian regimes. Groups like the United Nations and human rights organizations are constantly calling attention to human rights abuses around the world.

So when a summit is going to be held between nations, it makes very little sense for one leader to argue, ‘don’t bring this up with me.’ If world leaders only discuss what they want discussed with one another, everything will check out, they’ll pat each other on the back and go home. But a connected world should hold itself relatively accountable for other nations’ citizens. President Obama has come out against President Duterte’s war, explaining, “the consequences of when you do it the wrong way are innocent people get hurt and you have a bunch of unintended consequences that don’t solve the problem.” Only with everything open for discussion in the international field can we move toward a more transparent world.

Mother Teresa has faults that shouldn’t be ignored

Mother Teresa’s wrongful canonization to sainthood is the result of the public’s willful ignorance.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta,” the “saint of the gutters,” was in fact only recently canonized by the Catholic Church, eliciting an almost unanimously positive response in the Christian community. Many people happily proclaimed their surprise that it hadn’t happened sooner. Others, like myself, were appalled by the decision for entirely different reasons.

Christ-like sacrifice. In a 1981 press conference she made this opinion quite clear, saying, “I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”

The over 500 missions she opened in approximately 100 countries were of a quality bordering on negligence. Medical professionals who went either to serve or to inspect these facilities found them understaffed and under-equipped. Those too poor to afford proper care would occupy floor-spread cots, awaiting attention. One visiting nurse recounted the story of an adolescent boy dying of a common infected wound, while the former editor of the British Medical Journal The Lancet claims the personnel were too untrained to even properly clean the needles with which they administered treatment. These same personnel were beyond incapable of discerning between treatable and untreatable diseases.

Any one of these things might

company they keep. In the case of Mother Teresa this included, among others, rather controversial political entities. Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti awarded her the ‘Legion d’Honneur’ while she, in turn, praised his regime, which imprisoned and executed his political enemies, sold body-parts and drugs, and allowed him a lavish lifestyle while his citizens starved.

She similarly endorsed the Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha in Albania, and even went so far as to nominate for the Nobel Prize in Literature Licio Gelli, the leader of the Propaganda Due masonic lodge, infamous for cases of both murder and corruption in Italy.

Whether out of total ignorance or fascist mentalities, she applauded Indian PM Indira Gandhi’s suspension of civil liberties in the country, claiming that “People are happier. There are more jobs.

There are no strikes.”

Finally, there are the rather problematic strategies Mother Teresa applied to converting others.

She was first and foremost a missionary, and she recognized whol-

“Mother Teresa seemed to adore poverty, not the poor who were afflicted by it.”

Mother Teresa, to be clear, was no saint, at least not in the sense of the title’s usual rosy connotations.

The international acclaim she received, including a Nobel Peace Prize, for her work as a missionary was the result of ignorance that, in today’s world of easily accessible information, is inexcusable. The announcement of her sainthood has revitalized her critics, but unfortunately they find themselves drowned out by her supposedly well-meaning proponents.

Many have written on Mother Teresa’s ethical failings, all emphasizing the same point. Mother Teresa seemed to adore poverty, not the poor who were afflicted by it. In their suffering she saw

simply be the fault of Mother Teresa’s organization, Missionaries of Charity, for overextending its efforts, if not for the monumental donations it received during this time. The Missionaries of Charity to this day refuse to publish their financial records, even in India, where they face the legal obligation to do so. This, critics believe, is because the Missionaries of Charity donated their funds to the Vatican, not their own poor houses. To publicize that information would discredit the organization of its very namesake, and so they remain obsessively protective of these records.

If you want to learn a lot about someone, look no further than the

ly her obligation to spread Christianity around the world. Many of her missionaries provided no shelter or aid, and even in Calcutta her charities were outdone by other humanitarian efforts, according to several studies. Those who did face an early death in her houses were ‘stealthily’ baptized. Nuns were taught to ask a dying patient if they wished to earn a free “ticket to Heaven.” If the patient answered yes, the nun would put a cloth to their head and silently recite the required words, essentially ‘converting’ Hindus and Muslims at their vulnerable deaths.

Why, after all this, is Mother Teresa held in such high regard?

How can so many people around

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Mother Teresa’s ethical failings have largely been ignored by the general public.

the world celebrate her as a saint when she so clearly violated universally agreed-upon ethical codes? Her organization misled donors, conducted medical malpractice and exploited people’s vulnerabilities to convert them.

Some people obviously see her as a point of inspiration. Admittedly these people bring me little irritation outside their choice of role model, as many have gone on to legitimately serve the poor and benefit communities in ways I cannot begin to challenge. It is another group of supporters, those who tauted Teresa up without a second thought or perhaps a moment of inspiration to follow in her supposed footsteps, that I find

guilty of her fame. It often benefits us to see another doing the work we know should be done, and the truth of Mother Teresa’s activities, while readily available, might have disrupted the peace of mind of many privileged third parties around the world. Historian Vijay Prashad puts it best: “Mother Teresa’s work was part of a global enterprise for the alleviation of bourgeois guilt, rather than a genuine challenge to those forces that produce and maintain poverty.”

The media has betrayed its obligation to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted” by lauding praise upon a woman whose efforts accomplished the opposite.

Variety

the Collegian: 10

Circle Cinema hosts Sundance short films

The Sundance Film Festival shorts transcend their limited time-frame with unique styles and narratives.

Anthony Means Student Writer

Considered the premier showcase of short films and a launchpad for many independent filmmakers, the Sundance film festival has been running for over thirty years. The festival traverses many styles, from wild comedy to reflective poetry, to documentaries and fiction. Each film breaks through its limited timeframe with an expert level of artistry and story that will resonate with the audience long after it ends.

Last Friday, 9 September 2016, Circle Cinema held the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Shorts, a 95-minute theatrical program of eight short films selected from this year’s film festival.

The first film, “Affections”, was an intriguing story of how our emotions can play tricks on us, following a woman who uses adultery as an escape from her loveless marriage. The second short film, “Jungle”, which was my personal favorite, is about betrayal and two gentlemen who are trying to make a good life for themselves in New York. The fourth, “Bacon & God’s Wrath”,

is a documentary about Razie, a Jewish woman who is turning ninety and decides to try bacon for the first time.

The fifth film, “Her Friend Adam”, is a story about jealousy. Robert (a writer) is jealous of his girlfriend Liv’s (a painter) best friend Adam. Liv gets mad at Robert for looking through her phone and they have a fight.

The sixth film, “The Grandfather Drum”, is another one of my favorites due to its Native American heritage and its particularly interesting premise. The film kept me sucked into to the story and eager to learn more about their native heritage. It’s an old native folk tale about an evil spirit that terrorized an Indian village in Canada. One of the elders in the village learned of an ability that he possessed that allowed him to cast out the evil spirit using a drum. The man as he got older passed away the evil spirit came back. At this point, the man’s grandson learned that he too had this ability as the drum called to him.

The eighth film “Thunder Road” is a story about how different people deal with death in different ways following a boy as he memorializes his grandmother’s death by dancing beside her grave.

If you’re an avid film lover or filmmaker I encourage you to check out the Sundance Film Festival on their website.

courtesy The Panda Resistance

The album, which originally came out in 2009, has recently seen a re-release by Tulsa’s Horton Records.

The Panda Resistance’s debut a whirlwind of noise Sprawling and innovative, The Panda Resistance defies a singular genre and creates a jazz-infused post-rock masterpiece.

Ethan Veenker Student Writer Post-rock is one of the best and largest niche genres out there. From its headliners, such as Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, to the lesser known This Will Destroy You and others, it’s a genre that has managed to twist and turn itself into a sprawling thing with no discernible borders. This means that there are many, many bands who don’t add much to the genre. All they have to do is throw on a bunch of pedals, play a few power chords, add a few other guitars and they’ve got a post-rock song. Make sure it’s around eight minutes and that there’s no singing and you’ve got a good post-rock song by their standards. The Panda Resistance band defies that notion.

Good music — and good post-rock, for that matter — is music that takes you on a journey. From two-minute songs to ten-minute ones. From rap to lyric-less songs. The absolute extremes on both ends of every musical spectrum — it doesn’t matter. That music that makes you sit back and stare at a wall for an hour is the music that you should have in your life. Art should draw emotion, and what better way to draw emotion than for the artist to make the consumer feel precisely as they do?

Self-described as “triumphant and magical,” “an epic musical journey,” and “[a] euphoric wall of sound,” The Panda Resistance could not be more accurate when discussing their own self-titled debut. Originally selfreleased in 2009, Tulsa’s own Horton Records seems to have recently re-released the album in a CD digipak format. While postrock is certainly an amazing and exuberant genre, calling The Panda Resistance’s debut a mere post-rock album is doing it a huge disservice.

The opener, “An Honorable Death,”

brings us a slow and longing intro to the album. Melancholy guitar melodies and succinct percussion carry us through the track like a funeral procession.

This album doesn’t stick with one emotion too long, however. The next song begins with a short intro that immediately leads into a cacophony of funk between the drums and bass. The track, “Ebenezer,” has its groove punctuated throughout by a wailing guitar. Much too soon, the song reaches its final movement and the guitar takes on a quality reminiscent of classic emo bands before a playful glockenspiel concludes the track.

Whilst “Ebenezer” is the album’s highest point, the lowest point can be found in “Eagles,” the lengthy ten-minute ballad.

Where “Ebenezer” and the other tracks are fun, inventive pieces of music with interesting guitar melodies, funky bass, and downright amazing drum work — “Eagles” acts as a blanket of sound. Nothing is noted too boldly or out of place. The drums stay neutral and the bass keeps the beat. As the song continues, the guitar slowly increases its intensity, losing its soft qualities and taking on a harder aesthetic before the track ends.

That being said, “Eagles” is not a bad track — not by any means. It has a nice drone or trance quality to it; something you could fall asleep to or focus with. It’s a good background track but it’s not as immediately endearing as the other tracks.

This album has so much to offer, from the Godspeed You! Black Emperor-inspired “Letting Go For Dear Life” to the songs “Gopher the Golden” and “Lemonade All

By Myself” where the only vocals come into fruition, there is nary a dull moment on this record. It was an astoundingly surprising thing to come across and I feel like a better person having done so. After hearing it, I can confirm the self-description — this album is triumphant, magical, an epic musical journey, and a euphoric wall of sound.

The Panda Resistance ends with a short, minute-and-a-half track called “Panda Fight Song.” It’s cute, playful, and takes explicit advantage of the glockenspiel. It’s an absurdly perfect ending to this absolutely inspiring record.

12 September 2016

Blue Whale Comedy brings stand-up comedians to Tulsa Despite a bumpy start and a few disruptive hecklers, Eric Andre and his collaborators proved thoroughly entertaining.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor

Last Saturday night, as part of Tulsa’s three-day Blue Whale Comedy Festival, Cain’s Ballroom hosted five stand-up comedians, most notably Eric Andre, in one show. Being a fan of The Eric Andre Show, which doubles as a platform for Andre to make C-list celebrities uncomfortable and a spastic farce of late night talk shows, I was especially interested in seeing how his nonsequitur sense of humor translated to live stand-up. Admittedly, I was also attracted to the event for the chance to see a TV personality, albeit one known only to a niche audience, simply for the celebrity appeal.

I never really stopped being tentative about the collaborative comedians who would be performing before Andre. Opening the event was DJ Dougpound, whose comedic mixes and remix-based humor, such as a version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller with hiccups inserted into the vocals, was very hit or miss, with the hits vastly outnumbered. Really the only reassuring thing about Dougpound was that he wasn’t listed as one of the comedians, just a musician.

For this reason, I was mistakenly relieved when he gave the stage to Steven King.

Steven King bombed. Or at least, he should have. Had so much of the audience not been in a drunken stupor, his skits, consisting of cartoonish banana peel slips, exaggerated Spanish singing, and Gilbert Gottfreud impressions, might’ve incited in many the same lukewarm reaction it had in me. King’s ‘wacky’ delivery was so over the top I first mistook it for a persona he would soon drop in favor of a more genuine interaction with the audience.

The first comedian who seemed to actually understand he had an audience in the room was Ryan O’Flanagan. Flanagan broke the pattern of the night with the absence of sound effects or blaring music. Rather, the LA-based comedian told uncomfortable stories from his own life, like his experiences talking to foreign mechanics, or his

attempts to interact with his cute deaf neighbor. I vastly preferred his stand-up over his two predecessors because of his ability to gauge his listeners. When somebody in the audience yelled something unintelligible, he announced his paranoia that they’d been heckling him, to the audience’s amusement.

Next up was Byron Bowers, who thankfully continued the trend of each comedian being better than the last. Byron dove headfirst into racial tensions in America, applauding Tulsa for being a city that “doesn’t shoot its cops” and continuing on to proclaim that no one can be racist while they hold a mixed-race baby, even if that child is not quite their own. Among Byron’s less controversial gags was his fear of dying in any way that might embarrass his parents, or his mocking of straight people’s desire to play frisbee, a game without score-keeping or a definitive end.

Finally, Eric Andre took the stage. He looked like the usual unkempt mess that smashes desks and sustains horrible and often self-inflicted injuries on TV, but here he was a bit out-of-character relating real-life experiences in favor of his usual tone-deaf, oblivious and spontaneously violent TV character.

He read a poorly-translated souvenir from Cuba as if it was slam poetry. He divulged directly off his phone a supposed conversation he’d had with an ex’s new overprotective, “cartoonishly sinister” boyfriend. It was jarring to see Andre do stand-up, even if it was untraditional in its own right. Maybe the truest this was all night was when the hecklers behind me (believe me, they weren’t the only ones) reached such a volume so as to cause even Eric to falter in his delivery. After seeing Eric phase, disturb, and revile so many unsuspecting guests, I guess I’d figured he was immune to any moment of sincere discomfort himself.

I wasn’t disappointed by the show, but I wasn’t thrilled either. The decision to open with their weakest acts was probably an unfortunately conscious one, but it worked to the show’s benefit, ending the night with three solid stand-ups as opposed to a mediocre DJ and a cringeworthy impressionist.

I’m still more of a fan of Eric Andre’s show than I ever will be his standup, but I came to appreciate the effect of being part of a live audience, even if it mostly consisted of drunkards.

12 September 2016

Variety

the Collegian: 11

“Tres Vidas” celebrates three female Latin American icons Latin American history is explored in the refreshing and lively musical theater production of “Tres Vidas”.

Claudia Conaway Student Writer This past Saturday, Gilcrease Museum hosted the musical theater production Tres Vidas. Through three acts and numerous accompanying songs, the performance celebrated three revolutionary Latin American women. The cast was small, with three musicians making up The Core Ensemble and one very talented actress, Francisca Munoz, playing all three women. The music was a refreshing exploration of Latin American culture. During the acts, Munoz sang Argentine tango songs and Mexican folk ballads in Spanish.

The ensemble complimented her lines with lively and minimal beats. There was an intimacy and an honesty that developed between the stage and the audience that could not have taken place in a production with a larger cast. This intimacy aided Munoz in making each character she played not only come alive, but become a dear friend to the audience.

The show opened with Munoz dressed up as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and pacing around the stage, which sported a table with a few props to make the space into Kahlo’s home. She spoke boldly and unapologetically of her “Diego” and his wandering loyalties, the illness and countless surgeries

that led her to paint, her lust for sensuality and passion in life, and her detest for “bureaucrats” and European fashion. She was never still for long, always walking about her “home” with an iconic limp. She played around with the stage, making it her own and using even the ensemble members as props.

After a passionate and lively explanation of her paintings, “I never painted dreams.

I painted my own reality”, she began to say goodbye to the audience. Her voice and the live music was far from somber, however, as she shouted “Frida Kahlo will never die!” and wrapped her shawl around her shoulders as she proudly walked off the stage.

Munoz then came back onto the stage as ­­­­Salvadoran activist Rufina Amaya with a very different demeanor. The music became frantic and ominous and she was yelling the names of her lost family, repeatedly and desperately. She then retraced to the audience

courtesy the Gilcrease Museum

All three historical icons were portrayed by one actress, the talented Francisca Munoz.

Amaya. The music was perhaps used better in this act than the other two. The piano and drums followed Munoz’s movements and her racing heart, while the violin captured the fear, pain, and anger that she felt.

The final act was a moment spent with Argentine poet and groundbreaking femi-

“She spoke almost breathlessly and moved around the stage continuously to paint her story” the event that had lost her the family she loved and sparked her activism. She spoke almost breathlessly and moved around the stage continuously to paint her story. She crawled under the piano as she described hiding from the soldiers between trees, and the drums beat in the same unrelenting way the boots of the soldiers would sound to

nist Alfonsina Storni on the night of her death. She spoke with a confident but formulated cadence and the music followed suit. Munoz recited Storni’s poetry, which alluded to her taking her own life that very night, as a letter to the son that Storni left behind and an “offering” to the world that consumed it. Through voicing the poetry aloud, she painted an image of losing herself

in the waves of the ocean and looking at the sky “one last time”, speculating on what she might feel and think at that moment.

I didn’t notice the music in this act as much as the other two because of the intensity and rhythm Munoz’s voice and Storni’s poetry held. Her voice smoothly carried the audience along the lines of writing just as the waves might have carried her character. The act ended with a fateful and calm goodbye from Storni, wrapping up the night for Munoz as well. Wrapping a scarf around her neck and putting on a hat, she seemed to glide off the stage as the music sang a mournful tune.

Once she was off stage, the ensemble performed a festive postlude that ended the production on a note of celebration of the three women Munoz had introduced and brought to life for the audience. When she and the ensemble took their bows, they received a standing ovation, and it was much deserved.

“One More Time With Feeling” entrances viewers Nick Cave’s most recent visual album is an intimate and original look at a musician’s inner musings.

Claudia Conaway Student Writer Nick Cave may be best known as a singersongwriter, but he is no stranger to film. He and his band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, have written original music for 18 feature films and have now released a visual album of their own, directed by Andrew Dominik, the mind behind many of the films Cave has written music for. As the film’s website reports, One More Time With Feeling is “filmed in black-and-white and colour, in both 3D and 2D, the result is stark, fragile and raw.” The film was shown in cinemas, including the Circle Cinema here in Tulsa, for one night only: the night before the release of the band’s coupling album, Skeleton Tree.

The spinning black and white visuals, conversational musings from band members, and hypnotic music made for a haunting experience. Scenes were split evenly between recording sessions, car-ride interviews with Nick Cave, and camera wanderings around he and his wife’s home. Cave spoke as the narrator for both the film and for his own mind, and recited his writing aloud while the 3D camera created captivating tours of the set. The musician spoke of time feeling “elastic” and the film felt that way too, with the camera wandering around to different people and places, but always being pulled back to Cave.

I was quickly sent almost into a trance every time the camera focused on a band member singing or improvising on an instrument, and just as quickly pulled out of it, when the set would change suddenly to a quiet and meandering Cave, musing aloud on subjects like romantic love, imagination, time, and traumatic experiences. The distinct silence in the spaces between Cave’s words left the viewer lingering, while the smoothness and nakedness of the jam sessions enraptured the viewer completely.

It played out very much like an album, rather than a traditional cinematic film, but it also felt much like a poetry reading.

I was reminded of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road when Cave would recite lines over the roaming camerawork. The adoption of a documentary-style plot made for refreshing deliveries of dramatic speaking scenes that sounded more like intimate musings than scripted lines.

Through the ever-exploring camerawork, we get a look into the personalities and relationships of the other band members, but mostly through the eyes and words of Cave.

Everyone in the studio seemed to be traveling through the same trance the viewer was, casually exchanging bits of music and conversation with the usually-somber narrator.

The viewer sees not only inside the new album released Friday, but into Cave’s family and personal tragedies as well. The culmination of songs and raw interviews results in a searing glimpse inside the workings of a musician’s mind and how those workings translate into music sold to the masses. Audibly hypnotic and visually beautiful, the film casts a hopeful forecast on the world of visual albums.

courtesy the University of Tulsa

Electroacoustic concert unique but uninspiring

Dr. Karathanasis’ music demonstrated talents and craftsmanship, but could feel unengaging at times.

Dr. Konstantinos Karathanasis provides listeners a truly uncommon sonic experience, though it goes on for much longer than necessary.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Last Thursday, TU’s School of Music presented a concert of original electroacoustic music by Dr. Konstantinos Karathanasis.

For those unfamiliar with electroacoustic music, Karathanasis described the genre as “finding the music in everyday life” by sampling sounds found in daily life and digitally manipulating them. This was easy to grasp when listening to the tracks, as they sampled everything from water being poured to children playing to the chirping of crickets.

The tracks were all played on four loudspeakers positioned around the audience, making the music feel immersive and dynamic as the sound shifted around the crowd. Every track but one was completely pre-recorded, so there was nothing on-stage to distract from the music. Karathanasis himself sat in the middle of the crowd with the sound equipment, though I couldn’t tell from my seat if he was manipulating anything or just making sure nothing went wrong. Often I would close my eyes and try to imagine what the music made me think of, which worked about half the time.

The last track featured percussionist Ricardo Coelho de Souza, who performed on a bendir drum while Karathanasis manipulated the sounds in real-time. This was a welcomed change of pace, but also felt a bit unnecessary, as the distorted sounds from the drum and some accessories sounded pretty much the same as sounds from the other songs.

As a technical feat, the tracks were very impressive. Each song was immersive and layered, and it was obvious that Karathanasis put a lot of effort into these pieces.

However, I had felt like I’d seen his full bag of tricks about halfway through the show.

The 80 minute concert had seven tracks performed in it, and I was ready to leave sometime during the fourth.

Though the tracks were mixed and lay-

ered very intricately, they all started to blend together. They seemed to use a similar structure, as well. They would all start off with some soft ambient sounds, usually from nature. Eventually, there would be this really loud rumbling or distorted violin for a while, often manipulated to give the track a dream-like quality. Then, the miscellaneous loud thing would go away and we’d be back to the soft sounds again. Despite never having heard of electroacoustic music before, I was tired of it by the fifth track. I often felt like I was listening to some random part of a horror movie soundtrack, one of the uneventful pieces that would be intended for characters to talk over while still trying to maintain a slight creepiness.

Perhaps part of the problem was that there was nothing to latch onto. There was no beat or consistent instrumental parts to focus on, which Karathanasis says is standard of the genre, so I felt no investment in these seemingly random samples coming from every direction. It didn’t help that I also couldn’t decipher what Karathanasis was trying to convey when he talked about the songs, either. In the program handout, he describes one track as having “something allegoric about it, something beyond its sonic nature” and puts together an ingredients list for another track that includes such items as “Dionysus Mars Sisyphus” and “Initiation Sacred Dance Sparks.”

I wasn’t really able to see the connections between what Karathanasis said and what I heard in most of the tracks. Some, like “On a cup of tea” and “Ode to Kitchen,” sample exactly what you would expect from the title, but songs like “De Lingo Chalybeque” left me completely lost on what Karathanasis was trying to accomplish.

I’m not trying to say that what I heard wasn’t music, but that I just didn’t get it.

It was certainly a unique experience, and I was very impressed with how the samples interwove and shifted around the audience.

Apart from that though, I found little enticing about electroacoustic music. If you think you would enjoy something experimental and artistic, give the genre a try. For me, though, this felt more like something I should be experiencing in 5-minute segments at a museum exhibit instead of something I should go to an 80-minute concert for.

12 September 2016

The State-Run Media

the

State-Run media I wish it was 1825 and we would have a duel

Chris Brown finally arrested for crime we’re comfortable condemning The nation has turned its back on Chris Brown now that he’s finally managed to do something bad AND universally disliked.

James Whisenhunt Listens to Rihanna too, so it’s ok Singer Chris Brown was recently arrested under suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Reports say that Brown pulled a gun on a woman at his house, threatening her and telling her to leave. Though Brown himself may not be enjoying the judicial process, it seems the nation has collectively breathed a sigh of relief. After years of debate and awkwardness surrounding his domestic abuse situation with Rihanna, Brown has finally managed to commit a crime everyone agrees isn’t okay.

TMZ was the first to latch onto Brown’s case, saying “if you didn’t HATE Chris Brown before, the time is N O W !!!” The report featured a blurry photo of Chris Brown in a hoodie to confirm his final descent into the ranks of villainy.

It seems that TMZ’s words rang true with a lot of people, as the internet was finally ready to condemn Brown. Hashtags like #BrownIsDown and #LookAtMeNowImGettingBailMoney have been trending since the incident, as well as memes pasting Brown’s face onto famous movie criminals.

Some feel these memes have helped them deal with a topic they’ve felt uncomfortable about for years. TU student Alan Redd felt relieved after hearing the news, saying “I always feel weird about calling people out for problems with their significant other, but when you pull a gun on random girls it’s time to say ‘come on, dude.’”

Others has been waiting for this opportunity to strike, angry at Brown for years.

Women’s and Gender Studies professor Alexandra Firma is very happy that “Brown’s crimes against women have finally gotten him in trouble with the people, and I’ve had a folder of applicable gifs ready on my desktop since 2010.”

Brown’s lawyer, David Bare, recently told reporters in a press release to “hold their dissent” and points out that “the public has set a consistent precedent that my client sees no significant punishment for this type of action, therefore attempting to achieve a different result in this specific situation is a fallacy.”

If there has been one silver lining for Chris Brown in the wake of all the hatred, it’s that his album sales are through the roof. Some fans are glad that this controversy has come forward, prompting “Proud with Brown” chants at hip-hop and R&B concerts across the nation. Brown’s haters, meanwhile, have gone back to the age-old practice of listening to his single “Fine China” ironically.

Brown finally commited a crime that isn’t too awkward to discuss.

Overzealous social media use led the nation to send aid to earthquake victims.

graphic by Sam Chott

Confused nation sends Oklahoma support after earthquake

After last week’s earthquake, a national community sent a wave of unnecessary aid due to a spree of dramatic social media posts.

Sarah Odom Check out her GoFundMe

The recent earthquake started a new wave of the popular Facebook trend of sending plenty of likes, kindhearted posts, and even money to Tulsa. The earthquake, which could even be felt in Nebraska, caused many concerned grandparents, second-cousins, and even total strangers who don’t know anyone in the Tulsa area to send their loving support for the victims they were sure existed.

“Well I just feel terrible about the earthquake,” said Sally Smith, a Facebook user who used an hour of her time to post meaningful support to her wall. “It’s just terrible when this happens, but I did what I always do, send lots of support their way by flooding everyone’s wall with posts about it and making them feel bad if they don’t repost every last thing.”

Sally then called her good friend Helen White. Helen had been making these posts since last Saturday, about five minutes after

the earthquake finished. “Well, I have a brother in the area and after the earthquake people started calling me asking if he was okay,” Helen said, “and knowing natural disasters I figured everything was definitely not okay.” She showed us her first post, which announced that she had set up a fund to help victims. The fund had reached over a thousand dollars.

“With these things you can never start sending support too early,” she explained. “I had to get it out there so people knew, often the news takes hours to report and by then who knows what could happen?”

The wave of supportive posts lead a large group to start sending relief money to Tulsa. Local groups were confused, but let the money keep coming. “We don’t know why they think anyone got hurt,” a local volunteer named Ted said, “But hey, free money.”

Sally Smith started a page dedicated to selling shirts and buttons saying that people supported Tulsa during this time of crisis.

“It’s good to do our job and let other people know so they can be guilted into helping,” she said. Sally’s daughter was nearby, and once her mother went to another room said, “She does this with everything bad. If there’s a cause she’ll be talking about it all week until it’s fixed. Or, y’know at least everyone forgets about it.”

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Brave student stops attending class after three weeks One student decided to stop attending class three weeks into the school year, prompting concern from their professors and friends. The student insists that they’re fine.

Robert Geraghty Just showed up for syllabus day A fearless student makes the decision many have wanted to make, but never felt they could, when she decided to stop attending class after three weeks.

This serves as more evidence in support of rumors hinting at the existence of an underground movement for students, encouraging them to stand up in the face of societal norms like “attendance” and “GPAs”. “I think we are really starting something,” said a source claiming to be affiliated with the movement. “It seems like people are finally hearing our message.”

The educational establishment is showing serious concern about both the short and long term effects of this trend in attendance.

When asked about changes in class environment, Dr. Clark, a professor of Mathematics, commented, “It’s truly worrisome, I mean 50 percent of the class isn’t showing up one

day, and the next day that number grows to nearly 90 percent.” Clark is standing up as a voice against those skipping class, but unfortunately no one is around to hear him.

One of Clark’s students, absentee Rhonda McLaughlin, was not afraid to speak her mind either. During an interview, which happened to be during her scheduled class with Clark, she stated, “Yeah, I mean, class sometimes, like, I don’t know, it’s just boring.” In response to questions about her future ambitions, she confidently retorted, “I don’t need school to be successful, I mean, uh, look at Steve Gates and Matt Zuckerberg, I mean, like, Google made them both billions. Skipping Dr. Clark’s class doesn’t mean anything at all.”

This seems to be quite representative of the predominant logic behind the movement as a whole. It’s all about the vision of something bigger than “class,” a very future oriented, ambitious, and well considered plan for achieving success on one’s own terms.

Perhaps it’s too early at this moment to gauge the consequences of this up-and-coming paradigm shift, but all signs are pointing towards a bright future. A future full of Rhondas, a future full of Matt Zuckerbergs, and a future full of courageous young adults who aren’t afraid to say “No!” to education...

State-Run Chef Sam Beckmann painstakingly developed this recipe.

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Kooking Korner: Three Cheese Pasta Wrap in Garlic Sauce

Welcome back to school! In light of many of you returning to dorms and poorly-kept apartments around campus, this week’s State-Run Recipe is designed to take advantage of ingredients you likely have already lying around! Plus, it’s quick to prep and is a great meal to impress a date with.

Sam Beckmann James Beard Award watcher

1 package shrimp ramen noodles 3 slices american cheese, finely shredded 1 Papa John’s cheese pizza 2 cups garlic sauce, melted (comes with pizza) 4 small packets or 1 tsp black pepper Take one to two cups of water and begin heating in a small pot. While waiting for the water to heat, order the pizza (if it’s already

on hand, just be ready to heat it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave before it’s time to use it).

Next, take the unopened package of ramen and crush the noodles until they’re about pea-sized chunks. Once the water is heated, set the seasoning pack for the noodles aside, and place the noodles into the water.

Boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until done. Pour the garlic sauce into a microwavable dish and put them in the microwave on high for about 15 seconds.

Stir the ramen seasoning and black pepper into the garlic sauce. When the noodles are done cooking, strain out the water and add garlic sauce.

Mix thoroughly, then scoop it onto 3-4 slices of pizza. Roll the pizza up and serve with goldfish and a sprinkle of salt. As for drink pairing, I would suggest Red Bull or if that’s not available, Mountain Dew. Bon Appetit!