10 October 2016

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

october 10, 2016 issue 7 ~ volume 102

Graphic by Elias Brinkman

The Collegian: 2

Sports

10 October 2016

Golden Hurricane race thebleacher creature past Mustangs in OT Justin Guglielmetti is…

Are Curses Fun? If you’re a fan of any one of the 22 major league teams that didn’t make it into the divisional series round of the postseason, chances are you’re rooting for the Cubs to win it all. I know I certainly am.

The Cubbies have all the makings of a textbook bandwagon team: historic franchise, exciting players, eye-catching uniforms, iconic stadium, and oh yeah, that little 108-year World Series drought they’ve got going. There is pretty much one accomplishment in American sports that could top the Cavaliers winning the NBA championship as the sports story of the year, and this would be it.

Now, if you’re a Cubs fan, particularly an older one, and had to witness the Red Sox and White Sox end their historic titleless streaks (86 and 88 years respectively) in jubilant fashion last decade, I understand fully why you would want to win one for yourself.

But for us neutral fans...do we really want to end the Curse of the Billy Goat?

Aren’t these arcane myths one of the most fun things about baseball, part of that indescribable sense of history and nostalgia that make it the National Pastime? We like to sit there and talk about all the times when the Cubs came thiiiiis close to winning it all.

We want to blame Steve Bartman while simultaneously repeating over and over again how it really wasn’t his fault. We want to stare deep into the embers of a bonfire on a cold November night and wonder if maybe, just maybe, there is some magic behind Chicago’s long run of terrible luck. If they win this year, is all of that gone?

photo courtesy uni-watch.com

Editor’s note: Just because Justin Guglielmetti is a supporter of the Chicago Cubs does not mean the rest of us have fallen so far. I personally am a full on supporter of the #nevercubs movement.

photos by Greg Diskin

Photos clockwise from top left: senior running back James Flanders runs into the end zone during the first quarter of TU’s 43–40 win over Southern Methodist on Friday night. Senior quarterback Dane Evans drops back for a pass in the first quarter of the win. Evans had 247 yards and is within 1,500 yards of the alltime passing record in school history. D’Angelo Brewer runs though the SMU defensive line early in the game. Brewer rushed for 187 total yards including a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

After their bye week, the Golden Hurricane opened up their conference schedule with a win over SMU putting their record at 4–1.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor Tulsa hosted old Conference USA rival Southern Methodist University in what last year was deemed the “Boomtown Showdown” (though that moniker seems to have disappeared this season) to open up conference play, and won 43–40 in an OT thriller.

With the win Tulsa makes it three in a row against the Mustangs every year since joining the American Conference.

SMU received the opening kick and proceeded to march down the field with a fast-tempo, no-huddle drive. Just a minute forty-one into the game, after seven plays, the Mustangs led 7–0 on a 2-yard run by Ke’Mon Freemon.

In a somewhat alarming trend, the Golden Hurricane’s offense could not put together any long lasting drives in the beginning of the first quarter. Any time the offense started to get something going, a drop or a short run would end that and TU was forced to punt.

With five minutes left in the first quarter and good field position, Tulsa pushed down the field on the strength of D’Angelo Brewer, but once they got inside the SMU 10, two drops and rush for no gain forced the to settle for a field goal to cut down SMU’s lead to four points.

The Mustangs responded with a touchdown drive of their own. On Tulsa’s 45-yard line Ben Hicks found a completely uncovered Alex Honey who ran it all the way to the endzone for a 45-yard touchdown reception, and a 14–3 lead.

The missed coverage is a little concerning for Tulsa’s secondary. Fortunately they

bounced back and played much stronger going forward.

After the ensuing kickoff, on the very next play James Flanders burst through the line and won the footrace into the endzone for a 61-yard touchdown to bring the Golden Hurricane back within four points of SMU. Through the second quarter both teams traded a pair of field goals for the first 13 minutes bringing the score to 20–16 late in the first half. But with two minutes left, Tulsa started to push their offense again with Evans hitting receivers for 10, 12, 19 and 13 yard passes while Brewer took a long run all the way to the SMU 1 yard line. Senior Raymond Taylor was able to punch it in and Tulsa took their first lead of the game going into the half, up 23–20.

Tulsa went into the half leading with 300 yards of total offense, but SMU was just behind with 280 of their own.

On the opening kickoff of the second half Taylor returned it 67 yards to SMU’s 33 yard line, but Tulsa only lost yards on the drive and had to settle for a long field goal. The Mustangs blocked the attempt and returned it to Tulsa’s 34 yard line. After a personal foul, SMU quarterback Hicks hit Jeremiah Gaines to retake the lead 27–23.

Tulsa regained the lead on the next drive when Dane Evans found Josh Atkinson in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown pass.

The rest of the third quarter dragged on and on. Neither team could do anything on their drives and the officials kept making questionable calls that were slowing the game down. There were seven total penalties called in the third quarter, five of which were called on one drive.

With nine minutes left in the game SMU took the lead again after intercepting Evans and returning it 45 yards. Then a personal foul against Tulsa gave them an extra 15, resulting a 60 yard swing for SMU. The Golden Hurricane retook the lead

once more with a long touchdown run by D’Angelo Brewer, and tried to hold onto the lead with five minutes remaining in the game.

On the final drive of the game SMU within field goal range, and for some reason Tulsa Head Coach Philip Montgomery let the clock run instead of calling a timeout and giving Tulsa a minute to try and win the game before regulation. SMU kicked the field goal as time expired and for the second time in as many games the Golden Hurricane were going to overtime.

SMU took the first overtime possession but were forced to only a field goal. On Tulsa’s possession Brewer ran it three times to the SMU 14, and just like the Fresno State game, Evans ran it in himself for the gamewinning touchdown, giving Tulsa the 43–40 win.

The biggest story of the game for the Golden Hurricane was their running game.

They finished with over 300 net yards of rushing and more than double SMU’s 154 total yards rushing. If the offense can just find a way to get the gears working earlier in the game, the Golden Hurricane would have less of an issue with games getting to OT. Montgomery talked about the battle his team faces every week.

“Our team is just one of those teams that is battling every week, every game.

I thought SMU came in here really determined. I thought our guys just kept fighting and kept believing, bowed up when we needed to bow up, and got touchdowns when we needed touchdowns. There are a lot of things that you look at that we’ve got to get better at, but wins are hard to come by in college football, and we got a big one tonight.“ Tulsa (4–1, 1–0) will travel to Houston (5–1, 2–1) to take on the defending AAC Champions next Saturday.

Grow Up Odell Beckham, Jr. might be one of the most talented wide receivers in the history of the NFL, but if he doesn’t learn how to control that juvenile temper of his, he could be going the way of the Gordon (Josh, that is).

We always knew OBJ was a prima donna, but things started to get out of hand last year with a vicious blindside hit to the head of Carolina Panthers’ cornerback Josh Norman in Week 15.

This season, amidst a slow start on the field in which he has tried to make even the most routine plays into one-handed highlight reels, Beckham has already been fined more than $24,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct against the Vikings and has been the subject of numerous sideline meltdowns and locker room drama.

The Patriots fan in me relishes these struggles, but the Fantasy Football owner and fan of greatness on the field just wants the guy to figure things out.

I’m usually all for flamboyant personalities in sports, but for OBJ my advice is the opposite: keep your head down, run your routes, and just let your ability do the talking. I promise it’s enough.

Ice, Ice, Baby We’re in Oklahoma so you guys probably don’t care, but hockey is almost back! Preseason games are underway and the regular season of the NHL starts on October 12.

Look, to be honest, I can’t really say I care that much either. Even coming from a relatively hockey-crazy part of the country and having a hometown team — the Bruins — that is one of the most historic franchises in NHL history, I never could get into it.

Hockey fans, though passionate and fairly numerous, always seemed to exist in their own separate dimension, like bikers or Bronies.

And yet it’s still generally considered one of the big four American sports leagues and actually finished closer to the NBA (supposedly booming in popularity) in revenue than the NBA did to MLB (supposedly dying).

Just seems weird to me.

Sports

10 October 2016

The sins of the past: MLB picks

Last spring the Collegian’s sports writers predicted how the MLB divisions would play out. Now we reflect on how wrong we were.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor

There are many things that we look forward to every year. Birthdays, holidays, the return of spring training after the Cardinals get eliminated from the postseason…

This article is not one of those things. Once again I’m forced to look back at the predictions that Collegian made in late February about how the MLB divisions would shake out. And once again we have been proven almost completely wrong. I’m going to do a division by division breakdown of just where we went wrong.

Note: all quotes are taken from our Feb. 29 issue “Sports staff tries to predict baseball season once again.”

stretch and missed the second wild-card spot by one game.

Scorecard: Playoff teams: No Division winner: Yes National League West

“The Giants won in 2010, 2012 and 2014, so it’s going to happen again. They have the best infield in all of baseball and it’s completely homegrown. As far as runner-ups go, the Dodgers are your best pick.”

It would go against conventional wisdom to pick against San Francisco in a year divisible by two. But as they have shown in the past (2014), they don’t need to win the division to win it all. It looked for a long time that they were going to run away— they even looked like a stronger team than the Cubs. But as much of baseball is decided, injury and a faltering bullpen almost tanked their season for them. They turned it around to hold on to the final wild-card spot and Madison Bumgarner showed why the Giants are so fearsome in his dominant

“And once again we have been proven almost completely wrong.”

National League East All things considered this we didn’t do too terribly predicting this division. “This year, I have to go with the defending squad. The Mets have a scary rotation — and they’re only getting better….The Nationals squad will probably be better. However, the power of their rotation and Danny Espinosa’s facial hair won’t propel them past the reigning NL champs.”

We predicted the Mets and Nationals to finish first and second, respectively, and for both to end up going to the playoffs. This happened, but the Nationals finally reached their potential and won the division, while the Mets suffered a whole host of injuries and inconsistent play while taking the second wild-card, where they fell victim to the Giants even year magic, 2016 edition.

Scorecard: Playoff teams: Yes Division winner: No National League Central Similar to last season this was probably the closest our predictions came to being accurate.

“The Cubs look to be the cream of the crop in the division this season.” That was truly an understatement. The Cubs were the only team to have over 100 wins this season and are the heavy favorites to break their curse and finally win another World Series title. Where we went wrong with the Central was where everyone else would fall.

“The Cardinals have been at the top more consistently than any of the other teams in the division in recent memory, and have a solid team to do it again this year. However, the raw talent on the Cubs roster looks tough to beat. This year, the Cubs will narrowly beat out the Cardinals for the division championship, but the Cardinals will make the postseason in a wild card spot.”

I, being a lifelong Cardinals fan, must concede that the closest we ever truly were to coming close in taking the division was on opening day when we were tied with the Cubs. The Cubs exploded to a phenomenal start, and after struggling going into the AllStar break, righted the ship and had a 22–6 August record. They had the strongest rundifferential of plus 252 and won the division by 17.5 games. The Cubs did not make this a race.

And the Cardinals stumbled down the

Monday

No Events

performance against the Mets in the Wild Card game.

“Arizona is playing the part that San Diego played last year, where they spend a bunch of money and trade prospects without addressing real holes such as a middle infield. Also, investing in starting pitchers in a hitter’s park is not ideal, just ask Colorado.”

This advice proved accurate, as Arizona surrendered the most runs in all of baseball this season and competed with San Diego, Cincinnati and Atlanta for the bottom of the NL. Scorecard: Playoff teams: Yes Division winner: No World Series Champ: probably American League East “Behind the greatest bullpen ever assembled (Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman), the next generation of pinstriped greats in Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Greg Bird and the contributions of wily old veterans like Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Mark Teixeira, I fully expect this team to win 90+ games and compete for the pennant.”

I’ll chalk this one up to bias-ness since the writer is a Yankees fan. The Yankees tore apart that greatest ever bullpen and sold the pieces off, and A-Rod was forced into an early retirement this season.

Even after determining that they were sellers they made a push, but fell too short and missed the playoffs.

“Right on their heels will be the Toronto Blue Jays, led by reigning MVP Jared Donaldson and a historically great offensive lineup. Expect a Wild Card appearance in 2016.”

Nothing was wrong with this prediction, carry on.

“Boston is a threat to return to the postseason for the first time since their 2013 World Series win. I think they will fall just short of the playoffs this time around but if key contributors like Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval bounce back from disappointing seasons and Mookie Betts develops into a legit MVP candidate, the AL East will be housing three juggernauts.”

David Ortiz decided to disregard this prediction and in his farewell tour had one of his best seasons ever in leading the Red Sox to a division title in the hopes of leaving the game on the top.

Finally, Baltimore proved us wrong and

Tuesday

Softball vs. Seminole State College 5:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Creighton 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday

took the first wild card berth and handed off their designation as an “also-ran” to the Bronx Bombers.

Scorecard: Playoff teams: No Division winner: No American League Central Sigh. This was my division to predict this season and much like my prediction from last season I got absolutely nothing right.

“First things first, the back-to-back AL Champions and reigning World Series Champs, Kansas City Royals are back with almost the same team as last season.

And for the second straight season, most writers have them with under 80 wins this season. Part of their success last season was their strong bullpen and three players having career best seasons. People kept saying that their luck was going to run out, and they won a World Series out of spite. Everyone’s saying the same thing this year, but I have to stick with the champs, they’ve proven me wrong too many times.”

The Royals didn’t really let me down I guess. They just proved me wrong again and probably just missed the playoffs to spite my pick of them.

I only wrote a line about the eventual division winning squad out of Believeland, about shoring up their middle defense. Truly this shows I should not be trusted in any of my predictions when it comes to sports.

Scorecard: Playoff teams: No Division winner: Yes American League West Hype and bias led to this prediction.

“Ever since the Astros arrived in the AL West in 2013, they have been seen as one of the weaker teams going into every season.

This season changes all of that.”

While finishing with a winning record (which looking back at the recent years is a positive sign) the Astros finished third in the west and couldn’t live up to the team from last season, missing the wild card by five games.

“The Astros’ neighbors, the Rangers, will finish in a close second and snag a wildcard spot in the AL. Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish are one of the most exciting 1-2 punches in the MLB and they basically have brought back their lineup from last season, which was good enough to win the division.”

This was close to the truth. We even said that this was essentially the same lineup that was good enough to win the division last season. And since the rest of the division got worse, this team was still good enough to win the West.

Scorecard: Playoff teams: No Division winner: No So what happened? Where did we all go wrong? Why even make predictions if it’s impossible to accurately make them?

Baseball is a sport with a lot of factors that come into play, and trying to understand them all a month before the season is almost impossible.

There’s a couple reasons. to make predictions still. One is that it’s a big part of sports. It gives people a chance to learn about teams, their strengths and weaknesses and gives people an idea of what to expect.

It’s kind of like meteorologists—they don’t always get the weather right, but they keep doing it. A second reason is that predictions are just fun to try and speculate what will happen. That’s not just a sports thing, people do that in all sorts of things, like politics, film and the stock market. They might not be right, but predictions are one of the most essential aspects in sports.

Thursday Men’s Tennis @ Oracle/ ITA Masters (through Sun.)

Volleyball @ SMU 6:00 p.m.

The Collegian: 3

Women’s soccer wins two straight, men fall to Bulls on the road The women’s soccer team picked up two wins against conference foes Cincinnati and East Carolina, while the men’s team fell to USF. Joseph Edmunds Sports Writer Women’s Soccer This week, the Golden Hurricane women’s soccer team played a pair of conference matches, and came away with wins in both.

The first game was against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tulsa asserted their dominance early on in the game, and took control with a quick lead. Less than ten minutes into the game, Valiree Morris took advantage of a goalkeeper mistake to score the first goal of the game.

Closer to halftime, Alyssa Kaiser dribbled the ball down the middle of the field and struck a magnificent shot from the top of the box that got past the goalkeeper.

In the second half, the Golden Hurricane buckled down and focused on defense, solidifying their 2–0 victory.

The East Carolina Pirates travelled to Tulsa for the second game of the week.

Again, Valiree Morris gave Tulsa the first lead of the game, scoring twenty minutes in.

The Pirates fought back and equalized just before halftime, keeping the score level at the break.

In the second half, Morris again came through, putting Tulsa ahead for good with fifteen minutes remaining.

The Golden Hurricane have now won 3 consecutive games, all against conference opponents. They sit at 7-6-1 (3-1 American Athletic Conference) on the season. Next on the schedule is a matchup with the Memphis Tigers on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Men’s Soccer The Golden Hurricane men’s soccer team fell to USF in their second straight conference loss.

A quick glance at the stat sheet would give the impression that the game went well for Tulsa. They led the Bulls in shots and shots on goal, but came away with no goals from them.

In the first half, the Bulls managed to score two goals. The first came ten minutes in from Nazeem Bartman, and was followed up as the half was near it’s end by Melvin Becket.

In the second half, all the Bulls had to do was focus on defense, and they managed to prevent a comeback from Tulsa, closing out the 2-0 scoreline.

Head Coach Tom McIntosh said talked about the loss after the game.

“I thought at times our possession was good, but our final product wasn’t good tonight and it has to get better moving forward. The conditions didn’t really affect the game and the wind wasn’t too bad, but it did rain the entire time. We moved the ball well, created a few good chances, but just weren’t able to finish. Overall the performance was pretty good, but we have to be better.”

Tulsa now has a 5–4–2 (1–2 American Athletic Conference) record on the season. Their next matchup is against the No. 10 ranked Creighton Bluejays, at home on Tuesday, Oct. 11. First kick is at 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 10 – 16 Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Softball Softball vs. Butler CC vs. Northeastern 5:00 p.m.

Oklahoma A&M Softball Men’s Tennis 11:00 a.m. vs. Central @ ITA Regional Women’s Oklahoma (through Sun.) Soccer Men’s Soccer 2:00 p.m. @ Memphis vs. UCF Women’s Tennis 7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

Volleyball @ Oracle @ Memphis Masters Cross Football 1:00 p.m. (through Sun.) Country @ @ Houston Wisconsin 6:00 p.m.

Women’s Tennis Invitational @ ITA Regional (through Sun.)

The Collegian: 4

News

10 October 2016

Scandals rehashed in second Presidential debate The second Presidential debate, televised late Sunday night, added weight to the claim that this is not the average election cycle.

Kayleigh Thesenvitz Managing Editor I sat in The Collegian office Sunday night with most of the paper already put together and this blank space I had to fill with what happened at the second presidential debate.

However, by 9:40 I felt like I had just listened in on a heated argument between my next door neighbors, not a standard town hall debate between respected politicians vying for the highest office in the U.S. Debate moderators Martha Raddatz of ABC News and Anderson Cooper of CNN urged the audience in the hall at Washington University in St. Louis to remain silent.

Their silence lasted a solid five minutes before people continued to cheer and applaud for the insults the candidates traded.

The debate came in the midst of a weekend-long internet blow-up over a leaked video of Trump making lewd comments about women. Shortly before the debate, Trump held a panel with women who had formerly accused President Bill Clinton of sexual assault. Needless to say, tensions were high.

Shockers happened before the debate officially began with a cold handshake shared by the potential first-spouses. Then the two presidential candidates, in a strikingly odd move, didn’t shake hands at all.

Voters in attendance and online asked questions of the candidates that they were particularly concerned about. The first question was about whether the candidates felt they were setting a good example for American youth. During this discussion the video of Trump’s self-proclaimed “locker room banter” was brought into question.

Trump responded by saying, “This was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. I apologize to my family. To the American people. Certainly I’m not proud of it. But this is locker room talk,” and then transitioning into talk about ISIS in order to “get on to much more important things.”

In the following several minute derail from the original question Clinton said “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law of our country.”

To which Trump replied, “Because you’d be in jail,” which received a visceral reaction from the audience. Clinton’s email scandal, which she again apologized for, and allegations of Former President Clinton’s sexual harassment and assault also came up.

At this point the debate reached a point of overlapping statements that moderators were forced to interrupt in order to allow another voter to ask the candidates about their health care policies. After the question was asked Cooper said, “That first one goes to Secretary Clinton because you started out the last one to the audience.”

Clinton quickly responded, “He wants to start. He can start. Go ahead, Donald.” To

“private stance” on an issue. The question was targeted at Clinton, who has said that politicians need both a public and a private persona.

Clinton defended her claim by saying it was in reference to her recent viewing of the Spielberg movie “Lincoln.”

Trump’s response to that defense was “She lied. Now she’s blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln.”

The next voter asked what provisions the candidates had in place to make sure the wealthiest Americans paid their fair share in taxes.

After Trump laid out his plan for taxing institutions, Clinton responded, “I’m sorry I have to keep saying this, but he lives in an alternative reality. It is sort of amusing to hear somebody who hasn’t paid federal income taxes in maybe 20 years talking about what he’s going to do.”

“How can you unite a country if you’ve written off tens of millions of Americans?” which Trump replied, “No, I’m a gentlemen, go ahead.”

The next question, delivered by a Muslim American woman, was how, with islamophobia on the rise, each candidate will protect Muslim American citizens from being stigmatized for their perceived threat to American safety.

Raddatz followed responses to that question by asking Trump if he still stood by a claim he made earlier in the election cycle that he would have a ban on Muslims entering the US. Trump responded that his intent was “extreme vetting” rather than a total ban and began to transition into an attack on Clinton when Raddatz interrupted asking that he answer the question. His response was a heated, “Why don’t you interrupt her?”

Raddatz announced the next question which came from someone online about whether or not the candidates thought it was acceptable to be “two-faced” or have a

This led to a rapid exchange between Trump and Cooper in which Cooper repeatedly asked Trump if he had paid taxes since 1995 while Trump called out Clinton’s donors who used tax loopholes that had been in place since she was a Senator. After asking for the fifth time Trump changed the subject to Iraq, and the vacuum, supposedly caused

by Clinton, that allowed ISIS to form.

Raddatz then directed attention to another online question about whether or not the US has already waited too long to intervene in Syria. Clinton responded and then the question was directed to Trump who started by saying, “First of all, she was there as the Secretary of State with the so called line in the sand.”

Clinton fired back saying, “No, I wasn’t. I was gone. I hate to interrupt you but at some point, we need to do some fact checking.”

Trump then said, “Excuse me. You were in total contact with the White House. And perhaps, sadly Obama probably still listened

to you. I don’t think he would be listening to you very much anymore.” Trump then argued about the situation in Aleppo and how best to handle Mosul, a topic on which Raddatz weighed in.

After Clinton spoke a minute over her allotted time on the subject, and Trump complained about it, another audience member asked how the candidates would be devoted to all of the American people. Trump used the opportunity to point out that Clinton had called many of his supporters “deplorable” and “irredeemable.” Cooper asked Clinton to follow up on Trump’s comment about her words saying, “how can you unite a country if you’ve written off tens of millions of Americans?”

Clinton’s response to that question did not satisfy Trump who later said, “We have a divided nation because people like her — and believe me, she has tremendous hate in her heart. And when she said deplorables, she meant it. And when she said irredeemable — they’re irredeemable, you didn’t mention that. But when she said they’re irredeemable, to me, that might have been even worse.”

The next question asked, targeted at Trump, was about whether tweets at 3 to 5 a.m. showed leadership discipline. This devolved quickly and moderators had to repeatedly attempt to transition the topic to the next question asked, about Supreme Court nominees. Neither candidate offered the name of a person they would nominate for the position, instead opting to describe the qualities they would look for when choosing.

The next question was about energy policy and was met with the simple scripted responses the candidates had prepared. After Clinton’s response to what was supposed to be the final question Raddatz announced that they “sneaked in one question” from an audience member who asked, “Regardless of the current rhetoric would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?”

Clinton complemented Trump on his children, and Trump complemented Clinton on her resilience, ending the rough and heated debate on a falsely amiable note.

Vice Presidential debate lacks substantial policy discussion During the first and only vice presidential debate, the nominees focused more on their presidential candidates than their own policies.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager Both presidential candidates continue to argue that their respective vice presidential nominees had the better night last Tuesday, October 4th. Vice presidential candidates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine both tended to shy away from talking policy and instead focused on the presidential candidates in courtesy Wikimedia Commons their first and only debate.

VP nominee Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator for Virgina, left, spent much of the debate attacking Presidential candidate A CNN poll found only 42 percent of Donald Trump. This forced Trump’s VP nominee, Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana, right, to defend him. voters thought Democratic vice president nominee Tim Kaine had done the better job, Pence’s unfavorability stayed static at 40 said that neither candidate is favorable. while 48 percent were in favor of Pence. percent, and his favorability rose from 50 Despite many criticizing Kaine’s overall Kaine often interrupted Pence to attack percent to 57 percent. performance, Clinton allegedly congratuTrump for either political or personal comIn contrast, A CNN poll saw a five point lated him and stands by the notion that he ments. Two-thirds of voters argued Pence lead by Clinton after the first presidential had the better night. According to one tweet had a better night than they expected. debate 50of voters, up from 46 percent last from one of Clinton’s aides, Clinton called Viewers seemed to be put off by Kaine’s month, said they are extremely enthusiastic Kaine to congratulate him in a conversation handling of the debate, as unfavorability for to vote for Clinton. Meanwhile, Trump’s “described as a love fest”. the Democratic candidate rose from 28 per- backers saw a decline from 58 percent to 56 Kaine has since criticized Pence for his cent before the debate to 40 percent after. percent. Still, 29 percent of registered voters performance. On CNN two days after the had cashews. They started to feel short of breathe and their throat close up. They then walked over to Alexander Health Center where they were checked and later transported by EMSA to OSU Medical Center.

Sep. 26 5:00 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers observed two individuals walking south across the Phillips parking lot towards Phillips Hall. After initiating contact both individuals took off running in separate directions. Officers pursued both suspects, taking one into custody.

Tulsa Police Department officers identified vehicle keys on the suspect in custody as belonging to an abandoned vehicle at 2nd St. and College Ave. from a Tulsa Police pursuit earlier in the morning. Tulsa Police officers interviewed the individual before issuing a trespass warning and instructing the individual to leave campus.

8:41 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate possible ill student at Alexander Health Center. Officers arrived and met with the student who had eaten a candy bar at the coffee shop in McFarlin Library and did not know it

Sep. 27 8:16 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were given an email from a student. The student had received an e-mail regarding a recent parking citation and they replied in a disrespectful and derogatory nature.

9:50 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to Sigma Chi Fraternity in reference to a Welfare Check. Officers spoke with a member of the Fraternity, who stated that the particular student had transferred to Rockhurst University. Officers were able to confirm the student had transferred.

Sep. 29 1:20 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers observed two individuals walking in the vicinity of Bayless Plaza. A pedestrian check was conducted and the individuals were in possession of tin snips and wire cutters. A warrants check was conducted and both were wanted in Tulsa County for misdemeanor warrants. One individual was arrested by the Tulsa Police Department and booked into the David L.

Moss Correctional Facility for numerous warrants. The other individual was released, escorted off campus without incident, and contact cards were completed.

Sep. 30 2:20 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers noticed what appeared to be an unconscious individual inside a vehicle in the Mayo Village parking lot and individuals near a broken window of an apartment. After investigating officers made contact with the residents who appeared to be intoxicated. The residents admitted to breaking the window to get inside the apartment. After entering the apartment, officers located stolen property, drugs and drug paraphernalia. Tulsa Police Department was contacted after the residents became belligerent. All illegal items were confiscated and impounded as contraband in the property room.

1:20 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Mabee Gym in reference to suspicious activity that occurred at the Allen Chapman Student Union (ACSU). A University of Tulsa student was parked in front of the ACSU by the curb when an unknown subject drove up to their window and yelled at the student while making obscene hand gestures. The unknown subject then drove away.

debate, Kaine told “New Day” host Alisyn Camerota “Again and again, he refused to defend Donald Trump...I think the folks watching it definitely understood that Gov. Pence wouldn’t defend his running mate.”

He added that Trump’s reaction to the debate was rumored to be one of jealousy. One source, who claims to he is close to Trump, told CNN “The media is saying Pence won, but didn’t really defend Trump. That isn’t sitting well with the boss.”

Some political analysts pointed out that many of Pence’s opinions and statements made in the debate differed from that of Donald Trump. Pence denied the allegations and said Trump had called him after the debate to congratulate him. “What I can say is that, Donald Trump won the debate. Donald Trump’s vision to make America great again won the debate.”

Trump live tweeted during the debate, cheering on Pence and challenging Kaine’s statements. In one tweet, he alleged that the “constant interruptions last night by Tim Kaine should not have been allowed.” In another, he talked up Pence, tweeting “Mike Pence won big. We should all be proud of Mike!”

Oct. 1 6:30 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to a report of an underage intoxicated and ill person at LaFortune Hall. Upon making contact with the individual Officers determined they were intoxicated and were not a TU student, but a guest of another also intoxicated TU student. Housing staff expressed concern for the safety of the student’s intoxicated and ill guest. The guest denied EMSA services when asked by officers. After evaluating the individual’s condition, officers spoke with Housing Department staff and determined to allow the individual to safely stay inside the student’s residence for the remainder of the night until able to drive themself home.

Aug. 26 5:05 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate two individuals crash a golf cart into a light post.

One of the individuals was ejected from the golf cart. The staff member went outside to check on the individuals but they had already driven away on the cart. The golf cart was later discovered on campus with the engine still running. There is no information on the individuals who wrecked the cart.

The investigation is still on going.

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

10 October 2016

News

The Collegian: 5

Professor takes unique approach to studying Neanderthals

Professor Miriam Belmaker combines zooarcheology and paleoecology to study the extinction of Neanderthals.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

TU’s Miriam Belmaker, professor of Anthropology, studies rodents to better understand Neanderthals in her Zooarchaeology and Paleoecology lab. By studying the diet of rodents that lived around the same time as the Neanderthals, Belmaker hopes to understand what caused the Neanderthal’s extinction.

One of the main questions surrounding Neanderthal extinction, according to Belmaker, is whether “Neanderthals became extinct before [humans arrived], because of some kind of climatic change, or did modern humans contribute, by being violent with the Neanderthals, or taking over their resources?”

She approaches this question from a climatic view because if no climate change occurred, then the two group did most likely interact, a possibility that’s exciting to many.

“It’s much harder to try to prove they had interactions with humans,” Belmaker says.

Some have argued that modern humans may have succeeded, in an evolutionary sense, because of their use of long-distance projectiles. Neanderthals did not use long-distance projectiles, like archery or spears, which

photo by Michaela Flonard

The images produced by the white light confocal microscope allow Belmaker to study the diet of recovered rodents’ teeth.

made combat or food acquisition more likely to be deadly.

Rodents have proven good indicators of climate. By looking at the rodent’s teeth, Belmaker can identify what type of diet they had based on the markings on their teeth. If climate change occurs, and the change is not too sudden, a rodent species will change their diet to try to adapt. A species might move from grass to hay, for example, as the environment gets colder and drier. Each species varies on how susceptible it is to

climate changes, but by looking at several rodent species, Belmaker can determine if any climate change occurred.

To study the teeth, Belmaker uses a white light confocal microscope, which produces a three-dimensional cloud of points. From this, a map of the troughs and valleys of the tooth can be produced, which can be used to identify the diet of the rodent. While others in the field also use rodents to study paleoclimate, her approach is unique.

Belmaker gets the teeth from the various

excavations she participates in. She has several collections from sites in Georgia, the former USSR country, as well as Israel, and plans to go to Kazakhstan this summer.

Her research in Israel hasn’t demonstrated a “very strong climate change that would lead to the extinction of the Neanderthals.”

Either the species died before the climate changed for other reasons, or “humans helped them along a little bit,” Belmaker believes.

Currently, Belmaker is studying rodents teeth from Europe, specifically the country of Georgia. She does believe there will be a difference from her results in Israel. “We think that in different areas of the world Neanderthals may have been subjected to different kinds of problems,” Belmaker says.

In places farther north, like Georgia, climate changes are generally more severe, while in equatorial places like Israel, there’s not as much variation in climate.

Her research does translate to modern proelems as well. “Right now, we’re on the verge of the biggest extinction we have because of climate change. We have to understand how we, our relatives, responded to different climate changes in order to be better prepared and help our environment,” she said. While the climate was getting colder during the Neanderthals’ time, the climate warming, as it is today, is still an example of drastic change in the environment.

For those interested in her work, Belmaker welcomes students in her lab to work with the teeth.

Professor’s book takes new approach to old tale of love Creative writing Professor Keija Parssinen’s upcoming book builds upon the poetic tradition of Saudi Arabia, her place of birth.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor In the world of literary fiction, it is sometimes said that there is no absolutely original work; an author can only bring their unique approach to a pre-existing tale. If this is the case, TU Creative Writing professor Keija Parssinen is certainly using a unique piece of inspiration. Her upcoming work of fiction, “I Sing of You”, builds upon the story of “Majnun Layla”, an Arabic poem cycle about “the madness of obsessive love.”

“I Sing of You” uses a contemporary setting to discuss the ‘special relationship’ that has long existed between Saudi Arabia and America, following two families’ involvement in the American Oil Company from the 1950s oil boom all the way through to a counterfactual attack in the 21st century.

The narrative is comprised of three interwoven threads. The first is that of “The Lover,” Ada Hale, a young American newlywed returning to Dhahran, the Aramco compound where she grew up. The second thread is “The Executive,” Ghassan Al Shamsi, an Aramco executive whose declining health prompts him to request that a popular Arabic radio program recount his story of two star crossed lovers. The third thread then is “The Poet,” the broadcasted story told in the style of “Majnun Layla,” translated as “Layla and the Madman”.

It is a story about many things: “the insistent human desire to connect across cultures and what happens when that desire threatens

cultural norms, the lasting impact of American imperialism in the Gulf and Saudi influence abroad and finally, the internal conflict created when professional and political ambitions supersede personal relationships.”

Professor Parssinen, despite having been born in and living her pre-teen years in Saudi Arabia, first became familiar with the story of “Majnun Layla” after attending a writing retreat that piqued her interest towards books “in conversation with works that have come before.” In the same vein as Michael Cunningham’s “The Hours”, a retelling of “Mrs. Dalloway”, or Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain”, which sets the Odysseus tale against the backdrop of the Civil War, Parssinen looked to Arabic language epochs for inspiration. The “Majnun Layla” story, she explained, falls under the category of ‘Virgin Poetry’, telling the story of two lovers whose love is thwarted and thus never consummated.

The translation she read, by Qassim Haddad, adapts the story into a fleshed-out love story, literally. Professor Parssinen said that this translation not only adapted the story in a more “realistic, contemporary” manner, but that the the liberties taken by Haddad in translating the story in both verse and prose gave her the freedom to use prose poetry in her own retelling. This prose poetry, offers a “lyrical quality to language,” but that the difficulty falls in making that language “tight and evocative.”

Professor Parssinen elaborated on the joys of having an omniscient storyteller, and yet an unreliable one. An example of the storyteller’s speech included, “I learned this from the birds and the rats, but also from this old man who lives in Seven Oaks outside of London.” The “storyteller knows everything, but you’re not quite so sure about what he’s telling you.”

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The story of “Majnun Layla,” which inspired the art above, also inspired Parssinen’s new book.

Of the three narrative threads, Parssinen explained that Ada’s was the one she was struggling the most with. Ada’s story has to “carry the action. A lot of scenes have to be rendered, a lot of information given.” Her story is essentially linear, taking place in the two weeks after the counter-factual attack, necessitating tight dialogue and action. The executive, by comparison, is proving much simpler. His sections are told like a memoir, granting Parssinen the much-coveted freedom of retrospection in his musings.

Professor Parssinen, when asked how the experience of writing her previous novels

affected her approach to “I Sing Of You”, said that her past novels gave her a “good grasp on what good storytelling requires.”

With this knowledge she felt like she could take more risks with form and structure.

When it comes to what “sets great writers apart from good writers,” Parssinen cited the desire to “always push yourself to do something new.” In her own quest to be the best writer possible, the Creative Writing professor and award-winning author hopes that the risks she’s taken in “I Sing Of You” will pay off.

Professor researches depictions of Native Americans in the pictorial press

Communications professor John Coward continues his research into portrayals of Native Americans with his newest book, “Indians Illustrated”.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor

Throughout his career, TU Communications professor John Coward has devoted much of his researching efforts to the topic of Native American representations in media. His newest book, “Indians Illustrated: The Image of Native Americans in the Pictorial Press” follows this trend faithfully.

If the book’s title isn’t explanation enough, its intent is to chart “a social and cultural history of Native American illustrations — romantic, violent, racist, peaceful and otherwise — in the heyday of the American pictorial press.” Dr. Coward answered a few questions regarding his interest in Native American images, his research process, and cultural stereotypes in general.

Professor Coward’s interest in Native American images stemmed from his interest in nineteenth century American journalism, “a time when a lot of innovations changed the nature of journalism — the telegraph, faster steam presses, the invention of photography, the founding of the Associated Press and more.”

This age of innovation’s historical overlap with Manifest Destiny and the Indian wars led Coward to wonder how Indians were represented in the nineteenth century press.

“The Newspaper Indian,” his first book, focused on news stories and editorials. The research for that book was, as Coward puts it, tedious: “hours and hours reading microfilm in the basement of the library at the University of Texas.” “Indians Illustrated” has been much simpler by comparison.

This time around, Professor Coward had access to digital collections and archives, and could do keyword searches to find particular articles and topics in illustrated papers.

When asked if, in his research, he’d found any sincere efforts to portray Native American culture accurately, Professor Coward’s response was “Yes, but it’s complicated.”

Among those sympathetic to Indians were missionaries and religious writers, not journalists themselves. “Indian-white violence often brought out the worst instincts of writers and illustrators.”

One example of this, according to Coward, was the Indian victory over Custer’s cavalry in 1876. This crushing defeat inspired hostile, racist articles and anti-Indian cartoons, “including calls for the extermination of the hostile tribes.” While some papers along the East Coast avoided these extremist views, Western papers maintained the anti-Indian rhetoric, especially because

the Indians still seemed to be a threat to many of their communities.

Some reviews of “Indians Illustrated” praised it for covering an “overlooked chapter in media and cultural history.” Professor Coward was quick to agree, saying that “the study of Indians in the press has been largely overlooked,” but that he was “doing his part to fill the gap.”

He credits this journalistic neglect to numbers, as Native Americans are a miniscule percentage of the United States’ current population, and there are a wealth of other research topics in media for scholars to study. Professor Coward has tried to shift the focus of his work from the usual focus on the Indian wars to other areas, among them “Indian portraits, depictions of women, and Indian domestic and cultural life.”

He said that the lack of work that has been done on these areas gave him the opportunity to do new research.

In discussing the purpose of establishing certain groups as ‘others’, as societies have done all throughout history, Coward said that he argues Indians were “created by the dominant society. Real people — Native Americans — were first imagined and then constructed as people different from and inferior to the dominant social and cultural group, which in the United States was largely Anglo-American.”

This appears in the media through the press’s diminishing of Native Americans to

a narrow set of stereotypes and visual cliches. The wide variety of Native American tribes were reduced to a singular image, that of “an armed plains Indian warrior astride his war pony.”

Concerning the response to his book, Dr. Coward related a quote most often used by poets; Publishing a book of research and expecting an immediate response, he said, is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and expecting an echo.

courtesy University of Tulsa

Professor Coward‘s previous book focused on news stories relating to Native Americans.

News

The Collegian: 6

Shuttle, custodial services and thermostats affected by budget changes After last week’s initial announcement of changes to the University due to budget constraints, TU has announced some other methods to reduce costs.

Michaela Flonard News Editor The University of Tulsa has announced some additional cost-saving measures in response to budget changes. These changes are intended to minimize the effect of the budget cuts on students. Administration has decided to target shuttle services, custodial services and energy conservation as part of this aim.

Shuttle services allow students to have transportation around campus and off campus. Currently, the shuttle runs 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for special events. Under the new plan, the shuttle will run 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for special events. The three routes (red, blue and gold) will be combined into two. One route will run counterclockwise around campus, and the other clockwise.

The Oxley College of Health Sciences will continue to be an off-campus shuttle stop; services to the Gilcrease museum, however, will be eliminated. Service to the North campus will be available at 8:00 a.m.,

12:30 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

Another budget change will reduce the frequency of custodial services to all nonstudent housing. Individual offices will now only receive cleaning once per week. All classrooms, restrooms and common areas in athletic, academic and administrative buildings will continue at their normal schedule.

The historic temperature targets for buildings will also be altered. Starting November 1, all buildings except the residence halls, Lorton Performance Center, Mabee Legal Information Center, McFarlin Library, Gilcrease Museum, the Helmerich Center and the Zarrow Center will be affected. These areas all need certain humidity controls to preserve items like books and instruments.

Affected buildings will see the temperature controls at 70oC for the winter and 74oC in the summer.

These changes were made in concert with consultants, who, according to Mona Chamberlin, Director of Marketing and Communications, “helped us identify ways other universities were handling similar challenges.” From their consultations, the university decided to “create leaner staffs” and enact some of the changes described above.

Chamberlin acknowledged that decreased energy prices have affected enrollment in energy-related programs. Many students in those majors have more to similar degree programs, like mechanical engineering.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Colombian president Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday, October 7th, for his attempts at ending the longest-running war in the Americas.

The peace deal was rejected 5 days prior in a close vote by the Colombian people. Many hope the award will help further negotiations surrounding the deal. “I invite everyone to join our strength, our minds and our hearts in this great national endeavor so that we can win the most important prize of all: peace in Colombia,” Santos said in his first public appearance after winning the nobel.

The talk between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a guerilla movement accused of perpetrating war crimes, and the Colombian government was four years in the making and would have brought to an end a war that’s killed 220,000 and has gone on since 1964. “There is a real danger that the peace process will come to a halt and that civil war will flare up again,” said Norwegian Nobel committee chairwoman Kaci Kullman Five.

British currency drops in response to Brexit The British pound hit its lowest point since 1985 last Friday, October 7th. In early Asian hours, the currency fell to $1.1819 before hovering at $1.24. According to John Gorman, head of non-yen rates trading at Nomura Securities, there are two theories for the cause of the fall. He said, “First, it was a fat finger or a trade entered mistakenly. The second possibility, which sounds more reasonable, is that there is a large barrier option that traded and that caused the selloff in light liquidity.”

Analysts say continuous dropping like in Friday’s drop isn’t usually seen in mistakenly entered trades. The low point came as another aftershock of Britain voting to leave the European Union earlier this year (“Brexit”). In a Friday note, DBS analysts stated ““Markets are bracing for more volatility from Brexit uncertainties. Any lawyer can tell you that divorces tend to be messy, complicated, emotional and loud.”

Russia moves nuclear-capable missiles near border Russian nuclear-capable missiles have been moved to Kalingrad, which sits near the borders of Poland and Lithuania. Both are Nato members, and Poland has voiced concern with the development and is monitoring the situation. According to Russian government officials, the move was part of a military exercise and has been made before.

The annexation of Crimea has heightened concerns of Nato allies that Russia may pursue aggressive action with more nations across its western border. US intelligence says the move could be a reaction of annoyance with Nato allies. Friction between Nato allies and Russia has increased due to disagreements in Syria and Ukraine.

Hurricane causes high death toll in Haiti and US

Hurricane Matthew continued to strike the East Coast last weekend, leaving recordbreaking flooding in North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center stated that the rains “may result in life-threatening flooding and flash flooding elsewhere across the region.”

State Governor Pat McCory warned that Hurricane Matthew could do more flooding damage than Hurricane Floyd, which struck North Carolina in 1999.

The death toll in the United States is up to at least ten, and the hurricane caused power outages and damage from Florida to the Carolinas. The tolls in other areas were much more severe, as varying reports from Haiti indicate anywhere from 330 to 800 dead after the hurricane struck. CNN International Correspondent Shasta Darlington stated, “It’s only now that we’re beginning to really understand the extent of the devastation.”

ISIS territory shrinks The territory controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, has shrunk by 28 percent since its largest point in January of 2015. Though ISIS losses have slowed in recent months, ISIS territory fell from 78,000 sq km to 65,500 sq km in early 2016.

The recent slowdowns appear to coincide with Russia’s reduction of airstrikes against the militant army. 17 percent of Russian air strikes targeted ISIS targets, compared to 26 percent at the start of the year.

A Russian analyst, Alex Korkcharov, said “Russia’s priority is to provide military support to the Assad government and, most likely, transform the Syrian civil war from a multi-party conflict into a binary one between the Syrian government and jihadist groups like the Islamic State; thereby undermining the case for providing international support to the opposition.” An upcoming joint effort to retake Mosul from ISIS, if successful, would be a major move forward in the war.

10 October 2016

TU students participate in Tulsa’s 40 Days for Life event

TU’s Catholic Newman Center brought students to participate in 40 Days for Life in accordance with Catholic pro-life stances.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

September 28 marked the beginning of 40 Days for Life, an international event to end abortion organized by a pro-life advocacy group. Throughout the 40 days, constant prayer occurs at each participating location in the hopes of “showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families,” according to the campaign’s official website.

In addition to prayer, action is recommended such as education drives for colleges and neighborhoods.

In Tulsa, the event is being held at The Garden of Hope, near 31st Street and Sheridan Rd., which is owned by the Diocese of Tulsa. The park is directly across from the city’s abortion clinic.

TU’s own St. Philip Neri Catholic Newman Center participated in the event last Thursday. The organization signed up to cover twelve hours of the event, working from 6:00 pm to 6:00am in two-person shifts, Father Bryan Ketterer said. Although

he is new to the position, he recalled TU having always sent people to the event. The campaign began in 2004, in Bryan-College Station, Texas, and spread on from there.

Ketterer believes it’s important for students to get involved in this sort of activism because “as the younger generation, this is a big question in their lives. Maybe many of their friends have been in the situation where they’ve considered taking the life of their child.”

By participating in the event, the students are “standing up against what our culture says is okay,” as Catholic doctrine opposes abortion and birth control.

40 Days for Life hopes to be a “quiet and peaceful presence,” according to Ketterer.

By praying in the park, participants hope to be a voice for babies who may be subject to abortion.

The event focuses on prayer because of the Christian and Catholic belief that “we don’t want to take action without prayer” and that “prayer is the foundation.” There are people in the legislature, Ketterer noted, working to change laws regarding abortion, but “if our laws don’t change, there’s really nothing we can do.”

Sidewalk counselors, who corner people as they enter and exit the clinic, offer alternatives to abortion and support. Mobile clinics and donation of baby items are also part of the effort to end abortions.

Tuesday, October 11 at 7:00pm to 9:30pm Tyrrell Hall, Auditorium Prescription: Prison (A Panel on Mental Health & Incarceration) In Oklahoma, there are more people with diagnosed mental illnesses who are incarcerated than receive in-patient stays at hospitals.

A panel of experts will discuss: Why so many Oklahomans who need mental health care are being incarcerated rather than receiving care Upcoming legislative measures responding to this crisis Opportunities for mental health care within the criminal justice system Panelists will be announced as they are confirmed: Sponsored by HeadStrong: Student Advocates for Mental Health.

Wednesday, October 12 through Sunday, October 16 Circle Cinema Tulsa American Film Festival TAFFest returns on October 12-16 with our 2nd Annual showcase of feature and short films from across these United States of America. Join us for new independent works, with special focuses on Native American, Latino, Oklahoma-based, and student filmmakers; a curated lineup of regionally-relevant Classics; educational panels featuring professionals from across the industry; and fabulous parties each evening in celebration of the films on display.

Screenings will be held every night of the festival, Wednesday through Sunday, Oct. 12-16. Day screenings will be held on Saturday and Sunday of the festival. Most of the screenings will take place at Circle Cinema, with some screenings also at the Gilcrease Museum, and the Woody Guthrie Center. A free outdoor screening will be held in the Kendall Whittier area, by Ziegler’s shops. Film Studies faculty member Michael Wright will also direct a series of Short Screenplay Readings. An awards ceremony will take place on Sunday evening toward the end of the festival. A full schedule may be found at http://www.tulsaamericanfilmfest.com/schedule-2016.

Admission to all events of the Tulsa American Film Festival are free to TU students with student ID. Thursday, October 13 at 7:30pm to 9:00pm Lorton Performance Center, Meinig Recital Hall Concerts with Commentary: Die Schöne Müllerin The University of Tulsa Concerts with Commentary presents tenor Kim Childs and pianist Brady McElligott in a recital of Schubert’s DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN. Die schöne Müllerin or The Lovely Mill-Maiden is a cycle of 20 songs written early in Schubert’s life based on poems of Wilhelm Müller.

Thursday, October 13 at 8:00pm Kendall Hall, Chapman Theatre HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical TU Theatre presents HAIR, the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

This Tony-nominated and Grammy-winning show invites you to be a part of the “Be-In” and sing along with Aquarius, Easy to be Hard and Let the Sunshine In. HAIR celebrates the revolutionary counterculture movement of the 1960s, as it boldly and joyfully follows a “tribe” of young, politically active ’60s hippies and flower children seeking to embrace a lifestyle of love, peace and freedom as they strive for spiritual enlightenment amidst the newly adopted Civil Rights Act and the looming threat of the Vietnam War. The dynamic energy of youth and the issues of those revolutionary times still have remarkable resonance today.

Warning: This performance contains mature content and strong, coarse language.

Oct. 13-15 & 20 at 8 p.m.

Oct. 16 & 23 at 2 p.m.

Oct. 21 at 8:30 p.m., following Homecoming Bonfire NO performance on Oct. 22 Free public school matinee, Oct. 14 at 10 a.m.

Reception on Oct. 14, following 8 p.m. performance Monday, October 17 at 5:30pm to 7:00pm College of Law, Price & Turpen Courtroom 20th Annual John W. Hager Distinguished Lecture The University of Tulsa College of Law welcomes Orin S. Kerr, Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School, who will deliver the 20th Annual John W. Hager Distinguished Lecture.

The Digital Fourth Amendment Reception: 5:30 PM, The Pit Lecture: 6:00–7:00 PM, Price & Turpen Courtroom The reception and lecture are free and open to the public. TU Law offers one hour of CLE credit for members of the legal community at no cost.

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

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

The Collegian: 7

News

10 October 2016

SA fosters conversation between students, administration on diversity SA’s new Diversity and Multiculturalism department led a conversation about inclusion and domestic diversity in its first ever town hall.

Michaela Flonard News Editor Last Friday, SA’s Diversity and Multiculturalism department held its first ever town hall, called State of the TUnion. This event was held in concert with administration to discuss the state of inclusion and programs for domestic multiculturalism and diversity on campus.

Administrators Earl Johnson, Yolanda Taylor, Alyson Garrison and Jackie Caldwell were part of the panel. Earl Johnson is the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Services and Jackie Caldwell is the Vice President for Diversity and Engagement and the Director of the Presidential Scholars Program. Yolanda Taylor is the associate vice president for Enrollment and Student Affairs and Alyson Garrison is head of Greek life in the Office of Student Affairs.

Johnson started off the discussion. After working at TU for 28 years and spending time here as an undergrad, Johnson noted the University’s success thus far regarding domestic diversity, saying “When I was a student at the University of Tulsa, you could literally count the number of students of color on one hand who were not athletes.” He did acknowledge there was work to be done, however. Some of the successes he pointed to were the Multicultural Resource Center, which is located in Hardesty Hall, which offers students and groups a place to meet and work in. As Vice President for Enrollment and Services, he said his office is making it a priority to recruit “students of color so we can diversify our community beyond our international students.” This year’s freshman class had one of the highest composition of domestic students of color, 22 percent.

Administration at all levels, according to Caldwell, is concerned not only about diversity as a numbers game, but “making sure that the people we bring here feel welcomed, very much a part of the university, and engaged.” Her office was created to coordinate different offices and initiatives that deal with diversity to improve communication and creativity.

Part of this attempt to welcome students led to the creation of a Diversity Advisory Council. The council is staffed by students, faculty, department chairs and others. The council is split into fifteen subcommittees that reviews topics like faculty and student recruitment and diversity branding. Each

courtesy University of Tulsa

The town hall last Friday allowed students representing various minority organizations to voice their concerns and possible solutions.

no one would know about these organizations, Garrison said.

After each panelist introduced him or herself, the audience was encouraged to vote on several pre-written questions for the panelists to answer. The first question dealt with the University’s possible response to large student protests.

Johnson said the university encouraged free discourse, recalling the fireside chat.

“Just because the student aren’t demonstrating [for social justice causes], that doesn’t

campus was so important,” and hoped that this month would lead to more visibility for LGBTQ students.

Garrison, speaking on behalf of Greek life, said that “for international students, it’s hard to talk about Greek life when you’re trying to find your dorm, or target. It’s so Americanized we don’t often think about internationals. From what I can tell, we have the most international students currently in fraternities, across the board. I do think, in

“As an institution, we have to be more accepting of free speech and free inquiry of that nature and be willing to support it and embrace it.” mean they’re not interested in those issues,” he said, noting the fireside chats were wellattended, and said the administration would be supportive of such demonstrations.

Caldwell also expressed that the University would try to find ways to be supportive of students.

A student pointed to a recent example of political demonstration — when Keanu Hill, a football players knelt during the national anthem in early September. The campus’s response to that incident, she felt, was supportive of his free speech but condemned the action at the same time. Johnson agreed that “as an institution, we have to be more accepting of free speech and free inquiry of that nature and be willing to support it and embrace it.”

The next question dealt with recruitment of students of different economic classes, LGBTQ+ students, and disabled students.

Being a member of the National Association for College Admission counseling has allowed the university some insight into what LGBTQ+ students and others might want from TU. “When we identify students in

“It makes a difference to create that sense of community as well as making sure that our campus is reflecting society at large.” committee is looking at factors, surveying the university and writing a report based on their topic, which will be consolidated into a “Diversity Action Plan” for the University.

“We’re doing fine in aggregate numbers, but sometimes, when you drill down into particular areas, we can see where we might need to do a lot more work” Caldwell said. Based on her own experiences in college, Caldwell recognized the need for faculty recruitment to recruit students, saying, “when I stepped off the greyhound bus, I really wanted to see some people who looked like me....it makes a difference to create that sense of community as well as making sure that our campus is reflecting society as large.”

Taylor said that “ensuring this is a campus that every student can feel comfortable, where it’s a good fit, where it’s a safe zone where we have an opportunity to have conversations on campus we wouldn’t have elsewhere because we know it’s a safe place” was important to the University and administration.

Garrison is also the chairperson of the Advocacy Alliance, the interdisciplinary and interdepartmental organization which seeks to “prevent and intervene in interpersonal violence here on campus.” The Alliance accomplishes these goals by educating students about consent, rape culture and other issues.

Garrison’s main focus in her introduction was Greek life. There are 12 social Greek life organizations on campus; six Panhellenic Conference sororities and five fraternities and one National Panhellenic Council organization. The National Panhellenic Council represents historically black fraternities, although they still accept membership from all races and ethnicities. In 2014, the university had four organizations from the NPHC, with five students total in the organizations.

Since then, those students graduated, until spring of 2015, the university had one NPHC with one member. As the numbers have dwindled, an NPHC advisory council, staffed with alumni, has been trying to grow these organizations. Without these alumni,

of both worlds. “If multiculturalism was more established between more organizations, the more commonalities there would be,” on student said. Saswat Das, an IndianAmerican student, commented that while the Indian Association is huge, most of its members are international students. “For domestic Indian students, it’s hard to find people that you can connect with,” he said, and noted that at the University of Arkansas, there’s a larger domestic Indian student community, which is welcoming. Because

the recruitment process who have self-identified,” Johnson said, “we have the opportunity to reach out to them and share with them what the university is doing” to support those students. He admitted this change is “not as robust and fast-paced as we would like it, but we are off to a very good start.”

Someone then asked why SA had to fund Advocacy Alliance and not TU. An SA member said the organization had discussions with Advocacy Alliance and felt this was a good use of student funds, as the organization focuses on student-to-student conversations. Taylor said in previous years the Office of Student Affairs has provided money to Advocacy Alliance, but that they appreciated partnering with SA to help fund the organization.

Joe Lee, future president of the Korean Student Organization, asked what international student organizations and Greek life were doing to work together. Events that Greek life puts on are not well attended by international students, due to them not being aware of the events and feeling uncomfortable attending, among other reasons. Similarly, events by international student organizations are not often attended by students from Greek life. He added that “people like to go in groups, it’s hard for them to be independent” and said this might be why it’s hard for an Asian-Americans, or other students, on campus to attend a wider range of events.

Another Asian-American student said sometimes “there’s this idea that you cannot be both Asian and American. You have to choose,” which applied to society at large. “Sometimes there’s this feeling of sacrifice,” the student continued because there was pressure to pick only one identity. “I have personally felt that there’s an underrepresentation of Asian-Americans on campus,” she concluded, “and the lack of an Asian-American student association is an example of that.”

Caldwell was interested in students’ thoughts on how to fix these issues. Lee said that if organizations found common ground, they could hold events that featured the best

this issue isn’t addressed a lot, the students felt it would be difficult to find and create an Asian-American student association, compounded by the fact many might not fully identify as Asian-American.

TU Student Veteran Association sent along a statement, as none of their officers could attend, to explain the diversity of their organization in terms of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and disability.

While the organization approved of the attempts the University has made to partner with veterans, such as the establishment of a TU Veteran’s House, they felt that “CSAS customer service has been lacking, and veterans aren’t always comfortable going there.”

“Veterans are still underserved and no one in administration is looking into this,” the representative said, but wasn’t able to finish discussing the list of issues because of time constraints.

Being a veteran, with the added pressures of re-assimilating to civilian life and potential disabilities relating to their service, can be difficult. Johnson said he’d be interested in “continuing the discourse” in how to improve relations with veterans. As one of the subcommittees on the Diversity Advisory council is working on disability inclusion, Cadwell said that CSAS would be included in the discussion.

Women’s and Gender Studies mentioned their upcoming plans, which are focused around this year’s theme of gender and food.

One complaint was that “seating in classes are not accommodating to different bodies.”

The Study Abroad office wanted to ensure students know that regardless of their major, disability, financial need or other identity, study abroad experiences were possible and that the office would work with each student.

Speaking about the LGBTQ+ community, one SA member wanted to recognize that “Tulsa is somewhat of a gem in our state, and in our region. A lot of LGBTQ students within this region come to this university because they feel like it’s a safe place, or one of the safest options in the region.” SA is helping to sponsor and promote a Pride month for the month of November with PRIDE. “We’re sure there’s gonna be some backlash on campus, so we’d really love some administration support to make this a great month for LGBTQ students,” the student continued.

Another student, a member of both the LGBTQ+ community and Greek life, noted there “is a lack of visibility in all areas of campus.” Reflecting back on her freshman years, the student emphasized that “meeting people and seeing people being visible on

sororities, we struggle.”

“Why are the men doing it and the women aren’t?” she asked, hoping for someone to explain why.

As an example, one sorority girl did admit that when her sorority reaches out to organizations to invite to their planned events, no international student organization is on that list. “We do philanthropy dinners, and you can sign up by house, or sign up by ‘other’,” was another example which could make non-Greek life students feel unwelcome.

“Part of it, especially at the beginning could be the differences in the recruitment process between men and women,” one sorority member believed. As an American, she was more prepared for the process of sorority recruitment, which she described as more formal and having stricter requirements than the fraternity recruitment. Another issue, Garrison said, was that sororities and fraternities did their recruitment before NPHC organizations did theirs, as NPHC organizations want students to have time in college before deciding to join, but a person cannot join both an NPHC and a social sorority or a fraternity. Discussion between the organizations could lead to a better timeline of recruitment.

Because recruitment is so soon after school begins, some international students may also still be acclimating to living in the US and not able to join a sorority or fraternity right away, although later they might realize interest. Those representing Greek life were interested in creating a permanent council between Greek life, international students and domestic students to begin having these conversations.

The last issue brought up surrounded the Multicultural Resource Center. Students expressed confusion and a lack of knowledge about the Center. The Center is currently understaffed, which has made it difficult for it to be as successful as administration would like it to be. Access after 5 p.m. to the Center was brought up as a possible solution to increase its accessibility to student groups.

Caldwell invited the idea of the creation of a student council to discuss these issues with the administration, which has existed in the past but has waxed and waned as student interest and availability changes.

Currently, they use SA as their “ears on the ground” when planning events and learning of problems and possible solutions. SA and the administration said that they were both working on making organizations and events more visible and supported.

This Monday, October 10, a fireside chat will be held to discuss Columbus Day. Next Friday there will be an end of Hispanic Month celebration. November will be PRIDE month on campus.

courtesy University of Tulsa

Administrators were interested in learning students’ opinions on the problems and potential solutions to improve domestic diversity and inclusion at TU.

News

The Collegian: 8

10 October 2016

WhoSE lie is it anyway? courtesy Politico

Featured below is a compilation of statements made by either of the two presidential candidates during the debate Sunday night, fact checked by The New York Times, with a brief synopsis of their findings.

Mrs. Clinton said that she had helped eight million children obtain health coverage, Sept. 11 responders receive medical care and children get safer medicines.

Though the Times doesn’t report the specific statistic (“eight million children”) cited by Clinton during the debate, it does note that Clinton played a crucial “behind-the-scenes role” in the fight for the Children’s Insurance Program in 1997. She was also a “tenacious advocate for legislation that provided medical monitoring and treatment to emergency workers and cleanup workers at the site of the World Trade Center attacks.” Additionally, Clinton was a standout supporter of the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003, which has fostered the study of drugs in children.

Mr. Trump admitted that he used a $916 million loss declared on his 1995 tax returns to avoid paying federal income taxes.

But he refused to say how many years he paid no income tax and simultaneously claimed to have paid a “tremendous” amount of taxes.

Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns has made it nearly impossible to know exactly what he has or has not paid. He is the only candidate in decades to deny his tax returns to the public. The aforementioned $916 million loss could have potentially allowed Trump to legally evade his income taxes for as long as 18 years.

Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Trump supported the Iraq war before it began.

In an interview with Howard Stern during the lead-up to the war, Trump indicated a vague sense of support for the conflict.

Mr. Trump said that Mrs. Clinton deleted 33,000 emails from her private server even after she got a subpoena from Congress.

Mrs. Clinton’s aides deleted 33,000 emails from her private server before the subpoena.

The Times reports that “in March 2015, the House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, asked that her emails be preserved and subpoenaed those that were related to the attacks.” Three days later, an anonymous computer specialist deleted an unknown number of emails which supposedly were meant to have been destroyed a year earlier. Mrs. Clinton told the F.B.I. she was unaware of this, and the F.B.I. did not find evidence to contradict her claim.

Mrs. Clinton said there was no evidence her email has been hacked by a foreign power.

While Clinton is literally correct that there is no evidence of hacking by a foreign power, F.B.I director James B. Comey maintains that “the best hackers leave no fingerprints.” As past foreign hacking has taken a year or more to uncover, it’s possible that Clinton’s email has in fact been hacked.

Mr. Trump, referring to the effect of Nafta and other free-trade agreements, said, “We lost our jobs.”

Employment in the U.S. has increased over the past seven years in what The Times claims is one of the longest periods of growth in American history. The Times continues to explain that “David Autor, an economist at M.I.T., estimated in a famous paper that increased trade with China did eliminate roughly one million factory jobs in the United States between 2000 and 2007.” There is no current academic evidence that NAFTA caused similar job losses. In 2015, the Congressional Research Service reported that the “net overall effect of Nafta on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest.”

Mrs. Clinton said that “Since the Great Recession the gains have all gone to the top.”

Clinton’s claim here is outdated. In the past year, median household incomes rose drastically for the first time since the Great Recession. The Times reports that “the median income, $56,500, was up 5.2 percent from the previous year — the largest single-year increase since record-keeping began in 1967.” Also, the income gains were reportedly stronger for low-income families.

Mr. Trump said we have hundreds of thousands of people pouring into the United States from places like Syria, and we have no idea who they are.

About 13,000 Syrian refugees have entered the country this year, and President Obama has authorized an increase to as many as 110,000 refugees from the entire world for the upcoming year, which could include an increase of several thousand Syrian refugees.

According to the Times, refugees “go through the most rigorous vetting of any foreigners coming to live in the United States, including searches of counterterrorism databases at the F.B.I. and federal defense and homeland security agencies. The whole process can take two years.”

Mrs. Clinton praised many features of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

According to the Times, Clinton accurately summarized some of the Act’s most important provisions, including the fact that women cannot be charged more than men and that children can stay on their parents’ policies until age 26. However, the Times also noted that she skated over some of the Act’s issues and the factor that many several major insurers have withdrawn from public insurance marketplaces as a result.

Mr. Trump said that Obamacare is leading to insurance rate increases that are “astronomical.”

Trump is right that many Obamacare customers will see increases in the next year. The Times notes that “Rate increases in communities across the country will be much higher for 2017 than they have been the past two years. But the numbers he cited — increases of more than 60 percent — are not typical.” Rates aren’t final and predictions range from decreases to increases of more than 70 percent. For most Americans, who get their insurance through work, Medicare, or Medicaid, average premium increases will likely be relatively flat or modest.

10 October 2016

The Collegian: 9

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The Collegian: 10

10 October 2016

Republicans should abandon Trump

With a lewd video of Donald Trump released to the public, anybody who supported Trump before should abandon him.

Brennen VanderVeen Student Writer

This article was originally going to defend, at least partially, Donald Trump and his alleged nonpayment of taxes. I was going to argue that there is nothing scandalous about paying no more in taxes than one is legally obligated to pay. If the tax code has bad loopholes (which it does), the fault should belong with the people who wrote the tax code, or at least lobbied for those loopholes, rather than people who used them to keep more of their own money. Of course, this does not mean Trump would be immune to all tax related criticism. His refusal to release his tax returns is quite troubling, to put it mildly. His complaints about others not paying taxes would indeed be extremely hypocritical if the allegations against him are true.

However, even with people as disagreeable as Trump, it is important to speak out against unfair allegations, especially when there is so much legitimate material for criticism.

That was going to be the subject of this article, but then a certain video was released on Friday. I couldn’t write an article even partially defending Trump with the video overshadowing it.

For those whose blissful ignorance is to be envied, the tape had audio of Trump discussing a subject that has been a problem in his campaign at least since Megyn Kelly asked him about it during the first presidential debate of this election: women. The tape begins with Trump talking about how he tried to seduce a married woman.

courtesy New York Times

A video from 2005 of Donald Trump’s lewd comments while speaking to Billy Bush has caused controversy and the condemnation of many members of the Republican Party.

Regarding how he acts around beautiful women, he said “I just start kissing them… I don’t even wait.” While that behavior might normally be frowned upon, Trump further explained that “when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything,” including apparently grabbing their vulva (he used a different word). Also, for the record, the video took place soon after Trump had married Melania, his third wife.

The video rightfully caused a

Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Mark Kirk (Illinois), Deb Fischer (Nebraska), Cory Gardner (Colorado), John McCain (Arizona) and Mike Crapo (Idaho). Joe Heck, who is running for the Senate in Nevada, is another. Many House members and governors have also expressed the same sentiment.

It’s about time that so many public officials withdraw their support. Trump has repeatedly made statements unworthy of being a major party nominee for the state

cause of the practical situation.

The election is less than a month away, and this is probably not the worst thing that will come out before election day. Donald Trump’s already slim chances of winning the presidency are now thinner still. It’s one thing to lose one’s moral center in order to defeat Hillary Clinton, but what is the advantage of losing the moral high ground in order to back a loser?

While the number of officials who are finally rejecting Trump is

“The issue for Republicans now is whether or not to support someone so unqualified and morally revolting who won’t win anyway.” major backlash. Paul Ryan uninvited Trump to an event in Wisconsin for Saturday the 8th. Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host who described himself as Switzerland during the primaries, called on Trump to drop out. Numerous elected officials, not counting those who were already NeverTrumpers, have either called on Trump to drop out or announced that they cannot vote for him. As of this writing, they include senators Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire), John Thune (South Dakota), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska),

legislature, let alone President of the United States. However, something is different this time. For one thing, the audio from the video is one of the worst things to come out about Trump this election cycle. It clearly shows what a crass, pathetic human being Donald Trump is.

And I do mean that. A “man” who talks about his efforts to commit adultery, objectifies women, and worst of all, normalizes sexual assault, is undeserving of admiration, no matter how great his business dealings might be.

This time is also different be-

impressive, it is still far too small.

Paul Ryan has not actually announced that he is un-endorsing Trump. Neither has Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. That is a great disappointment from some of the most high profile Republicans in the country. It has always been clear that Trump is unfit to be the President of the United States, and now it is clearer than ever. For our “leaders” not to say so is a neglect of duties and moral cowardice.

Surely at this point some readers are still thinking “but the Clintons!” Trump’s supporters have

even brought up Bill Clinton’s sexual history. Yes, Bill Clinton is a disgusting human being who has been accused of rape or sexual assault by at least two women, who has committed adultery more than once and most famously who had a sexual relationship as president with an intern who was twentyseven years his junior. And yes, Hillary Clinton is corrupt, a liar and hardly kept the standard that “every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported” when it came to her husband’s accusers.

I am not asking people to support the Clintons, though. While I would argue that Clinton would be less awful than Trump, as a resident of Oklahoma whose vote does not matter anyway, I won’t be voting for her. What I am arguing is that Trump himself is completely unqualified and morally unworthy of support. His opponent and her spouse being awful people does not change that.

The issue for Republicans now is whether or not to support someone so unqualified and morally revolting who won’t win anyway.

Republicans who continue to support Trump must understand that if they do so, they are arguing that an adulterer who objectifies women and who normalizes sexual assault deserves to lead the United States.

Philadelphia Orchestra labor agreements are a positive move for musicians

The quick resolution to the Philadelphia Orchestra’s strike is a good example of increasing value to musicians and the arts.

Amber Bunnag-Stoner Student Writer The Philadelphia Orchestra’s first performance of the season didn’t go exactly as planned.

Last Friday, a crowd of a thousand gathered in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall, eagerly awaiting the entrance of the 96 musicians for their opening night, but the stage never filled. Unbeknownst to the audience, which included dozens of donors to the institution, the members of the orchestra had recently decided to go on strike. Half an hour after the concert was supposed to begin, it was announced that there wouldn’t be one.

As the audience left the venue, they were greeted outside by light rain and by musicians carrying

picket signs, seeking a new labor agreement with the Philadelphia Orchestra Association after recent financial trouble caused cuts.

While some audience members applauded for the musicians, the philanthropists among them shouted and booed, upset that their donations went unappreciated.

The last time the Philadelphia Orchestra went on strike was in 1996, lasting for 64 days. This strike, however, ended after less than 48 hours when new deals were made that (somewhat) satisfied everybody. The agreement includes a higher base pay for musicians along with yearly 2 percent raises. The musicians are likely still malcontent with their salary, though, as it’s far less than other top orchestras in the United States.

As the group recovers from the recession, these problems may fade.

As a musician myself, I wholeheartedly support the conservation of the fine arts, but I’m not sure that cancelling a concert was a very intuitive way to accomplish that. Many donors to the orchestra said that they wished the group had chosen another night to strike, and I agree that it was in poor taste. It was effective, though. Attention was drawn and deals were made as a result of the opening night protest. Now that the strike has ended and an agreement has been reached, the orchestra is set

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Philadelphia’s protest was an important move for musicians to get the pay increases they feel they deserve.

to have a great season. Maybe its audience will even grow because of this ordeal.

In the end, the members of the Philadelphia Orchestra worked together and did what they felt they

had to do: earn the pay they deserve as one of the country’s top orchestras. Orchestral musicians deserve just as much respect as professionals in other fields. It’s their job to captivate and inspire us

with sounds that they make from hollow metal and wood, and that’s incredible.

“This orchestra deserves to be saved,” said Philadelphia cellist Gloria de Pasquale. And it does.

10 October 2016

Commentary

The Collegian: 11

#FreePepe: get real, he’s not a hate symbol

The misconstruction of Pepe the Frog as a white supremacist symbol is an example of the inflammatory language that damages American politics.

Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer

Once it became settled that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be our two choices for president, many wondered if we had perhaps reached our darkest possible timeline. Maybe that’s true and maybe it isn’t, but one thing is for sure: it’s definitely the dankest. No, I don’t mean that climate change is making things any more damp or musty. I’m talking about internet memes... well one in particular that is causing a stir lately, Pepe the Frog. You see, Pepe, which like all internet memes is just a goofy tool for trolls, more often stupid than funny, has been officially recognized as a hate symbol.

While you take a minute to process the gravity of that fact, let me also clue you in on its idiocy by offering some brief context as to what Pepe, a cartoon of an anthropomorphic green frog, actually is. Originally created as a character in a webcomic called Boy’s Club in 2005, Pepe was appropriated into an internet meme in 2008 when a comic frame of him preparing to urinate, along with the slogan “Feels good man,” began circulating on the website 4chan. From there, various depictions of Pepe with differing expressions began flooding message boards and the rest was history; eight years later, Pepe ranks alongside Rage Comics, the Ancient Aliens guy, dat boi (o shit waddup) and Harambe (RIP in Peace) among the most recognizable and culturally pervasive memes of our time. And now, inconceivably, he has been characterized as a symbol of hate and white supremacy by the AntiDefamation League alongside such images as the Swastika, a burning cross, and the Iron Cross.

You can blame Internet trolls for this nonsense, who over the past years have chosen Pepe to be the butt of a lot of mean-spirited and in many cases legitimately perverse jokes. Do a quick Google search and you can find images of Pepe wearing a yarmulke and looking gleefully towards the destruction of the Twin Towers, or of the ordinarily green frog colored brown and using racist epithets. Normal, decent, everyday people do not find this to be acceptable behavior and of course condemn those who take part in it. However, the difference between those of us who are able to look at this situation reasonably and the voices on the regressive left who see Pepe as the second coming of Adolf Hitler is that the reasonable side is able to just not take things so personally.

Look, I know I am a privileged white man, so I’m not supposed to be able to speak as to what it feels like to be targeted by a hateful Pepe meme, although I am still able to empathize and realize that it can’t be very pleasant. But come on everybody, even

a cursory understanding of 21st-century “Internet culture” tells us that the vast majority of these hate messages are just the result of rampant trolling, not the reorganization of the Third Reich!

In case you are not familiar with the word “troll” as it applies to the Internet, it is a term used to describe professional provocateurs, people who post and interact online with the sole purpose of getting a rise out of others. This shouldn’t come across as an endorsement of methods which are needlessly crude, and I don’t deny that there are any trolls out there who are explicitly bigoted, but the very nature of trolling precludes the necessity of being inherently hateful. It’s about getting a reaction and society seems to be falling for their charlatanry.

Of course, trolls don’t necessarily have to be anonymous, and the more public kind are the ones that really got the “Pepe-hate” train rolling. I’m speaking of the alt-right, the right-wing but non-traditionally conservative political movement that has exploded over the past year and a half with Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. Alt-right commentators tend to be younger than the stereotypical geriatric establishments of the Republican and Democratic parties and thus seem to be more Internet savvy, allowing them to take advantage of certain trends and yes, troll. Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor for Breitbart News Network and the most recognizable face of the alt-right movement short of Trump himself, openly admits that he is a troll and a provocateur, and Trump’s campaign has seemed to follow suit throughout this entire election cycle.

It’s why The Donald just appears to say or tweet anything and everything that crosses his mind, because his gameplan appears to be based on just keeping the media talking about him, be it positive or negative. Seeing the reaction that Pepe memes were getting on the left, it became a savvy political move (based on the aforementioned strategy) to incorporate Pepe into the Trump brand, and so Donald and members of his campaign have tweeted out variations of the meme.

None of them actually depict the frog in anything remotely resembling a hateful context but naturally the left seized on a fresh opportunity to label Trump as every kind of disgusting person imaginable. As it hap-

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Hillary Clinton’s stance on Pepe the Frog as a racist symbol has turned some memesters against her.

just because it has been hijacked by a bunch of low-life trolls and a few racists posting on shady message boards?

Well, suppose that these people had chosen the presidential portrait of George Washington to be their avatar instead of a cartoon frog, would we then forced to concede that that image is racist? By the same logic that led to Pepe’s being declared hateful, it would seem that we would have to shun the most famous image of our first president, which of course would be absurd. Even the ADL seemed to realize this fault in its logic upon its stigmatization of Pepe; if you read his description on the ADL’s website, it says “because so many Pepe the Frog memes are not bigoted in nature, it is important to examine them only in context.”

So then...why must it be considered a hate symbol at all? Anything could be appropriated for bigotry given the right context. And I don’t want to hear that the volume of racist memes is enough to warrant this treatment.

“Because so many Pepe the Frog memes are not bigoted in nature, it is important to examine them only in context.” pens, the Trump-Pepe alliance worked both ways: the use of Pepe was validation for the left that Trump truly was a racist, and the association with Trump was enough to push the meme over the top from being a stupid joke to being labeled a hate symbol.

There is plenty of blame to go around for this overreaction and I want to make it clear that I’m not opposed on principle to the group most responsible for it. The AntiDefamation League, a more than 100-yearold organization that was founded to combat anti-Semitism but has since taken on a broader role in opposing bigotry in general, serves a noble purpose, one that no reasonable person could possibly deny. Of course hatred and intolerance are blights on society, of course they still exist in some form (and realistically always will), and of course they should always be confronted. So the question then becomes, is Pepe inherently racist

The swastika isn’t a hate symbol because a fascist political party used it as its symbol.

It’s a hate symbol because a fascist political party that started the deadliest war in human history and systematically killed millions of people used it as its symbol. If Twitter trolls and the alt-right ever committed genocide, I must have missed it.

Before wrapping this up, I would be remiss not to mention the other key player in the assault on Pepe, one Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the role that the regressive left played in Pepe’s witch hunt. Clinton’s calling attention to Trump’s use of Pepe on her website, where she naively (or disingenuously) calls Pepe a symbol of white supremacy and says Trump’s use of the meme is “horrifying,” was the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of getting mainstream backlash against Pepe; the ADL made its decision within three weeks of Clinton’s cheap

political attack. Was Clinton’s decision to go after Trump this way purely political theater, or did she actually believe that he was being bigoted? I’m inclined to believe the former, although the very fact that she was able to go after him in such a way is indicative of a systemic problem with the left, that it is so willing to see racism wherever it looks that it doesn’t even bother applying critical thinking anymore.

The left plays on small (though still problematic!) instances of racism on the right, such as many older, uneducated, conservative Republicans believing President Obama was born in Kenya and expands on them, insisting on a narrative that racism doesn’t just exist, it is as rampant today as it ever was.

This narrative is then used to craft a false dichotomy in which they are the crusaders against hatred and the right the harbingers of it. This is of course totally untrue in mainstream politics, even in the unstable climate created by the 2016 election cycle.

Really, we should be past the point of debating whether or not bigotry is an acceptable social position for anybody to hold, because it demonstrably isn’t just by observing how the public reacts towards cries of racism. Claim that somebody is a bigot and even without proof you can turn the media and the tide of public opinion against them. Show that somebody is a true racist, a true sexist, a true homophobe, what have you, and the vast majority of Americans in the 21st century, from both sides of the aisle, will agree that the person is despicable. It’s only this boy-who-cried-wolf strain of racism (based largely on oversensitivity and distorted fact and usually referred to broadly as “systemic” or “institutional” racism) that still exists in as great abundance as the left says it does, which is convenient because of its ethereal nature; there aren’t a whole lot of solutions that can be presented for something that doesn’t have a solid definition. If you want to see the real reason why a harmless meme was turned into a symbol of white supremacy, look no further than this. It has already claimed Pepe and turned Trump into Hitler, who knows what’s next?

ICANN’s transition won’t damage internet freedom

Controversy over the transition of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is misguided, as ICANN has minimal impact on consumer internet use or internet freedom.

Dalton Stewart Student Writer

The recent transition of the “root zone” of the internet from a branch within the US

Commerce Department to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has sparked a bunch of interest in the news this past week. Some, such as Ted Cruz, strongly oppose it, going as far as saying “If Congress fails to act, the Obama administration intends to give away the Internet to an international body akin to the United Nations.”

National Policy Director Stephen Miller said that “Congress needs to act, or Internet freedom will be lost for good, since there will be no way to make it great again once it is lost.” Personally, I scoff at these statements, as they come from people who obviously have no clue how this process works.

Let’s start with some explanations, though. ICANN is a California nonprofit that looks over all the website domains, who before were simply under contract from the Commerce Department. TLD stand for top level domains. These are things such as .com, .net, .org, etc. The “root zone” is

a list that holds all of the TLDs, which is currently right around 1,000 names long.

DNS stands for domain name servers, and these are the servers that turn domains such as www.google.com into an IP address that computers can understand.

By eliminating a root zone, you could simply think that you could no longer access a website. If you censored the .com TLD, nobody would be able to access www. google.com through their browser, thus it’s censored. However, this is blatantly incorrect. Don’t believe me? Go to your browser and type in 216.58.218.100; lo and behold, you arrive at Google.

A DNS Server is not necessary for the Internet to work. DNS simply exist as an ease for us humans who can’t memorize long strings of numbers and the IP addresses for our favorite websites.

Another big issue that you need to understand is that ICANN has always operated independently from the U.S. Govern-

ment. Yes, they are under contract, and yes they technically could have their contract revoked. Yet, there is no other company or organization that has the capability to do what ICANN does. If you go ask tech companies and the Internet architects who built the current system, they will say that the US oversight is much too small for the so-called “doomsday scenarios” that Cruz outlines to come true. As a counter, some even say that the transition away from the US government and into a private entity under no one’s control could actually be a good thing.

Nevertheless, even with the transition, the US government still has a vast amount of control, more than any other country on the planet. Many US companies control some of the lower levels of DNS, thus allowing the US government to still shutter websites that are committing crimes. So no, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. The transition is natural and should occur, and in the long run, might even help.

The Collegian: 12

Commentary

10 October 2016

We need to redefine “winning” a debate

Winning a political debate, at any level of government, should be based on the good the candidate can do for the public instead of sound bites and controversy.

Raven Fawcett Student Writer Major news outlets want to know: who won the first presidential debate of 2016?

Could it be Trump, who interrupted Clinton 51 times? Could it be Clinton, who stared into the camera (while Trump continued to deny his public statements on global warming) more often than Jim on “The Office?”

Or maybe it was Lester Holt, who moderated the debate in front of an estimated 84 million viewers.

Fellow citizens, I’d argue that the real winners are the news networks who aired the debate. The voters that got to study the candidates’ personalities, if not their policies. My friends, who got to hear my run-

Martel, former media advisor to Ronald Reagan, said that there are two kinds of media strategies: substance and relational strategies. The first focuses on policy and the job the candidate is trying to win. The latter relies on people’s reactions.

Relational strategies involve attacks on an opponent, asserting that one candidate has done something better than their opponent and ignoring points or claims a candidate cannot successfully respond to. Substance strategies, in contrast, don’t rivet voters.

People won’t talk about Clinton’s and Trump’s stances on taxes until candidates start making up their own facts and hurling insults. Sensationalism makes politics interesting. Relational debate strategies spice up tax policies.

The rhetoric surrounding the presidential debates puts the candidates’ shouting on display as if the ruckus is something other than sound bites and the smallest of peeks into who each candidate really is and what they would bring to our country. When people watch the geriatric version of the heavyweight boxing championships, it’s unsurprising that we want to talk about debates as a sport, with rankings and stats and teams.

For anyone to truly win a debate, policy or leadership styles would have to be addressed and concerns thoughtfully analyzed, because a “win” in politics is a responsive government that can serve at the pleasure of the American public. A “win” at any level of public office is a time when public needs are met, and people try their best to make policy

“The entire political establishment wins with a knowledgeable electorate and candidates that work to uphold their constituents’ expectations.” ning commentary throughout the debate.

Not Clinton or Trump, not their accusations and interruptions, not their struggle to win more votes.

The concept of winning is a vague one, though. To win, candidates need a strategy and a way to determine the winner. Myles

that reflects what’s best for the people.

So a “win,” by necessity, requires listening to other people. It requires acknowledging the differences between opponents, compromise and a sincere will to change a strategy if that strategy fails to help people.

The strategy that best achieves these ends

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Arguments about which candidate “won” the presidential debate are based on sound bites instead of their policies or arguments.

is the substance strategy. When candidates try to be good public servants, they practice debating with substance. Voters can create an informed opinion. The entire political establishment wins with a knowledgeable electorate and candidates that work to uphold their constituents’ expectations.

Does it matter which candidate is said to have won? Not if the media continues evaluating debaters as though they were boxers in a ring. Few people watch a presidential debate with no knowledge of who the candidates are. We know that Trump is loud and demeaning, and that Clinton has been involved in a few scandals during her long tenure in public office. We want to know why they think they are fit to lead this country. We need to know what substance they will bring to office — how they can make our lives better and how they plan to improve the United States’ reputation at home and abroad. The media continues to focus on “winning,” however, in terms of who shouted the loudest or who viewers liked

more at the moment.

When you search “Who won the 2016 presidential debate,” every major news website, and a great many less relevant news sites, show articles declaring one candidate or another the winner based on shock value.

News networks smattered their television and print coverage with assertions of Clinton or Trump’s victory. Instead, the media should focus on what there is to learn about the candidates. Voters should reflect on what they believe Trump and Clinton will do once in office. And we should all reject the binary concept of “winning” or “losing” a debate. In the end, politics are about improving life for the citizens officials serve.

Debates should focus on what we can learn, and define the success of the candidates through the quality of the discussion. There are no winners in the current style of analysis for presidential debates.

Vice Presidential debate isn’t convincing anyone

The Vice Presidential debate was completely ineffective in convincing voters to care about the debate or the Vice Presidency.

JD Wessinger Student Writer

Welcome back to the rat race. In this week’s shenanigans, we have the Vice Presidential debate: the first and only VP debate to occur this election season. Did you watch it? Because I didn’t. In addition to being a debate between the two most unpleasantly milquetoast Vice Presidential candidates, the position of Vice President has become an ineffectual title in the public eye. Once a stepping stone to the presidency throughout the 20th century, VPs since Bush Sr. have collectively failed to hold even a single elected office after their term as VP. Indeed the point of the debate seemed less about establishing the vice president as an important political force of a presidency, which the president of the Senate should be, and rather about being an extension of the campaigns of the presidential candidates. It is to that end that an utterly useless debate was conducted, which ABC reports did not change the minds of undecided voters.

Political debate has become less meaningful as entertainment media has sprung

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

courtesy Wikipedia

The vice presidential debate between Mike Pence, left, and Tim Kaine, right, was as uninteresting to the public as the position itself has become.

up; the countless memes and sound bytes that encompass this electoral race have devalued an already compressed political discussion. Indeed, the lack of mass-circulated mocking content about the VP de-

mockery and ad hominem at the candidates, the Vice Presidential debate only dealt in the defense of the Presidential candidates. It speaks to the utter ineffectuality of the Vice Presidential candidates to influence policy

“The political leanings of the Vice Presidential candidates would be useful were we to have less diametrically opposed Presidential candidates.” bate is something I find to be indicative of how little even people that simply lambast the political environment cared. Whilst the Presidential debates have been strife with

that the most visible highlights to come out of the debate was that Senator Kaine interrupts a lot, and Senator Pence has difficulty defending Trump’s comments.

The political leanings of the Vice Presidential candidates would be useful were we to have less diametrically opposed Presidential candidates. In a many party system, the people that a candidate would surround themselves with would be more indicative of the more nuanced aspects of their future impact. However, at this juncture, even people who might agree with an opposed Vice-Presidential candidate cannot reconcile the Presidential misgivings they may have. The views of these VPs are subsumed into the political ennui of the system as it stands, because we as the audience hold the presidential ticket as a monolith under the Presidential candidate’s name.

There are few alternatives to this political navel-gazing for the time being, but hosting another debate would simply be wasting people’s time. Useful change will come from changing both the public perception of the Vice President, and the VP’s acting utility. The Vice President should not simply preside over Senate meetings, they should be an overseer, a bailiff, and take a more active role in the writing of legislation. This may not include a particular legal expansion of the Vice President’s actual power, but rather an exercise of their intended influence. The only way we can see VPs as being meaningful participants on the Presidential ticket, is if we can be sure that they will have an impact. As it stands, Senator Kaine dare not contradict his overlord Clinton, and no matter what Pence does, he “can’t stump the Trump.” So we must also change how our political system operates so that Presidential candidates are not so polarized; in this election we judge the president, not the administration, and that needs to change.

Vice Presidential candidates will stop being figureheads when Presidential candidates stop being caricatures.

The Barricade looks at current national and international protests.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Protestors outside the second presidential debate at St. Louis’ Washington University are protesting the scandals of both major party candidates.

courtesy STLToday

10 October 2016

Variety

the Collegian: 13

“Birth of A Nation” compelling, needlessly embellished courtesy IMDB

The film follows Nathaniel Turner’s progression from pacifist preacher to the leader of a violent rebellion.

“The Birth of a Nation” dramatizes the powerful tale of Nathaniel Turner, leader of the most deadly slave revolt in US history, and leaves audiences with challenging questions.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

For over a hundred years, “The Birth of a Nation” has been a reminder of a film that chronicled the Civil War and following era but glorified the KKK in the process. But the release of Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” in 2016 challenges that legacy with its focus on Nathaniel Turner. Parker, the director, producer, writer and star of the movie, reclaims the phrase, and in doing so, challenges the common view of history.

The film chronicles Turner’s life, marking the factors that pushed him from a preaching, peaceful slave to the leader of a slave rebellion that some argue helped cause the Civil War. As a literate slave on a relatively peaceful plantation, Turner has influence because of his literacy and preaching abilities.

These skills expose him to other plantations, as his owner makes him a traveling preacher to earn money, where he sees a wider range of the horrors of slavery. The film does not shy from showing the brutalities others endured; one scene focuses closely as a slave has his teeth broken out and is then forcefed.

Turner’s beliefs shift as the film progresses, and this shift forces him to question his view of religion. To his credit, Parker por-

trays this subtly; his face a guide to his internal conflict. He changes from someone who preaches obedience and love to someone who believes in the necessity of violence to obtain freedom. His shift also raises one of the central questions of the movie: how long can one preach peace and love towards one’s oppressors?

As is to be expected, Turner becomes the utmost focus of this movie. From its start this focus is evident, when he is introduced to a group of elders who proclaim he will be a prophet. This focus detracts somewhat from fully fleshing out the rest of the cast.

Turner’s master is probably the most wellrounded side character, as his journey from

which were reported by Turner before his death to his white attorney in real life. The ending is similarly done, packing an emotional punch with beautifully shot scenes and well-chosen music.

A review of the movie would be incomplete without a discussion of rape. In college, Parker, and his co-writer Jean McGianni Celestin, were accused of sexual assault by a female classmate. Parker was charged, tried and acquitted, while Celestin, was convicted and was imprisoned, although the conviction was later overturned.

In the film, the rape of Turner’s wife by a group of white men is one of the main reasons for his rebellion. More interestingly,

“The movie brings up questions about the morality of such vigilante justice and how long an oppressed people should, or can, have empathy for their oppressors.” a “kind” slavemaster to a cruel, powerful figure is set as parallel to Turner’s journey.

Others, like his wife, are mostly props to move the story forward; pivotal moments that contribute to Turner’s growth are the only illustrations of the supporting character’s personalities.

Religion features heavily in this film, and, in moments, the religious imagery becomes heavy-handed. Many important discussions happen in front of the church or other Christian symbols. When Turner is left on the whipping post, he stands as a Christ-like figure. All of this is further emphasized by his occasional visions of angels and demons,

this rape did not occur in history. While the raping of slave women did occur by white men, to make this rape a pivotal moment in the movie does call up questions regarding Parker and Celestin.

The scene also continues the movie’s problematic portrayal of passive black women, who are shown as meekly accepting their enslavement, although historical fact suggests the women involved in Turner’s life, as well as black slave women in general, did rebel. The other major female slave in the movie, Esther, played by Gabrielle Union, does not speak during the film.

By portraying black women as passive and

needing rescue, the film perpetuates stereotypes about gender and race.

The brutality of the rape, and several other events, culminate in the rebellion.

This event, however, features little in the film. Most of the movie is dedicated to how Turner got to that point, leaving the actionpacked rebellion feeling a little rushed.

Doing so prevents the movie from becoming just another action movie focused on vigilantism and the feeling of justice being served. Instead, the movie brings up questions about the morality of such vigilante justice and how long an oppressed people should, or can, have empathy for their oppressors.

“The Birth of a Nation” creates a mythos around Nathaniel Turner. Parker’s devotion to the story, and love of the man, is clear as he crafts a story around a controversial figure whose history is not entirely clear.

Some of the events of the movie, such as the rape of Turner’s wife or details of his rebellion and capture, were altered in what seems like an attempt to make Turner an even more heroic and vigilante figure.

In an interview, Parker told CBS that “there’s never been a film that was 100 percent historically accurate.” His belief in this statement is especially evident at the conclusion of the film, as many of the details of the rebellion, including its betrayal by a member and who Turner killed, were fabricated. This does not necessarily detract from the movie, as generally few are aware of his story, but knowing the actual history does weaken some of the god-like aspects Parker gives Turner in the movie. After learning the actual history of the rebellion, some viewers might feel slighted by the changes.

On-campus car show

Adam Lux Student Writer

Dozens and dozens of cars lined up by the bell last Sunday for the Campus Auto show. To be honest I was surprised a the amount and diversity of cars at the show.

Cars ranged from Model A’s and Model T’s to Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Of course there were a number of mustangs, camaros, corvettes and the likes as well. Owners bought cars from all around the nation and even overseas. Highlights from the show included a 2 seat Austin Healey, a 1965 Ford Mustang that appeared in the movie The

Outsiders, a GT500 Super Snake signed by Carroll Shelby and a beautiful Ford Model T. The show had its share of supercars too.

A white Lamborghini Murcielago was able to light its exhaust on fire (unfortunately I was not able to get this on camera). There were two more Lambos and a couple Ferraris, an Alfa Romeo, and an actual openwheeled racecar. My personal favourite car was a black and red Mclaren 650S. Besides cars there was music, raffle prizes, and food provided by BCM. I had a wonderful time walking around, taking pictures, and talking to other car enthusiasts about which one was the fastest or most aesthetically pleasing.

tucollegian@tucollegian.org editor-in-chief

Hannah Kloppenburg managing editor

Kayleigh Thesenvitz news editor

Michaela Flonard sports editor

Matt Rechtien variety editor

Trenton Gibbons commentary editor

James Whisenhunt satire editor

Sam Chott photo & graphics editor

Elias Brinkman

business & advertising manager

Paul Moses web manager

Sam Chott

distribution managers

Nathan Gibbons, Adam Lux and Trenton Gibbons

photos by Adam Lux

The show, situated next to Oliphant Hall, offered a surprisingly diverse display for motor enthusiasts.

The Collegian is the student newspaper of the University of Tulsa. It is distributed Mondays during the fall and spring semesters, except during holidays and final exam weeks. The University of Tulsa does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristics including but not limited to the classes protected under federal and state law. Inquiries regarding implementation of this policy may be addressed to the Office of Human Resources, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104-9700, 918-631-2616.

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

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

Variety

the Collegian: 14

Renowned mystery writer Dennis Lehane visits TU

Author Dennis Lehane visited TU to discuss his experiences in writing and film, both in a lecture and an informal conversation with students.

Mason Whitehorn Powell Student Writer

Dennis Lehane didn’t grow up with a literary background. Born in a Boston suburb to working class Irish immigrant parents — when Lehane was young, he just liked to read. His passion for books and film is what led him to start writing his own stories. Considering this, Lehane’s career as an author and screenwriter is all the more impressive: he has penned 13 novels (number 14 is forthcoming), leading to four film adaptations of his books (a fifth is planned for 2017), has written for several TV shows, including HBO’s “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire”, and currently has numerous other projects in the works.

His prolific output attests to the fact that hard work can make a career in the arts. He claims that the world he comes from still doesn’t understand him, but such a background resulted in many characters, plot ideas, his work ethic, and intrinsically, storytelling. During Lehane’s lecture he focused on how his past has affected his career, and how he was raised around storytellers.

Several hours before the lecture I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lehane in Collins Hall. He agreed to have an informal conversation with TU students interested in writing. The discussion was fast paced, and right away I could tell Lehane was no bullshitter.

He was intimidating in a good way; talking about the distinction between the ego of the self and the ego of the work, advice directed towards those considering work in Hollywood, and offering some of the best writ-

ing advice I’ve ever heard; speaking on how to overcome “the fear” and on his cardinal rules for writers, 1) don’t get your PhD), and 2) writing on a schedule is imperative. But what really matters to Lehane is his family.

As a single father of two daughters he made it clear that they come before everything else. At both the private and public venues, Lehane exhibited a down-to-earth character and spoke candidly about himself.

His life seems dedicated to his craft, truly inseparable from who he is as a person, which is a rare thing in famous authors — not to mention those working in Hollywood.

Lehane isn’t one of those people who are storytellers simply because they’re writers.

He’s a storyteller because he tells damn good stories and always has. In the Boston suburb of Dorchester, his father used to take him to the pub where he would listen to the men talk. He said that at family gatherings the same stories would be told over-andover, on rotation about every seven weeks, often with old details changed or new details added. The stories were about Ireland (the old land), and Lehane later realized were told to rekindle sentiments and feelings of a place his family had to leave behind.

Lehane’s writing shares this characteristic; now living in Hollywood, Lehane still writes East Coast crime and mystery novels, as recent as last year’s “World Gone By”.

If you haven’t, go to a library or Amazon and get “Mystic River” (2001). If you’re lazy, watch the film. Chances are you’ve seen “Shutter Island” or “The Drop”, even if you hadn’t heard about Lehane until now.

Something you can’t do is go back in time to Lehane’s lecture and hear him tell personal stories about his parents and daughters, or about growing up in Boston and eventually working with guys like Clint Eastwood and Ben Affleck. If these kind of events sound interesting to you, be sure to take advantage of them while you have the opportunity.

10 October 2016

Nimrod Conference: Calling all writers!

Nimrod International Journal is set to host an enlightening workshop at TU for both writers and readers.

Claudia Conaway Student Writer

Nimrod International Journal is hosting its annual writers and readers workshop on Saturday, October 15th. Any TU student can sign up for $10. All writers of all genres are welcome, whether they be beginners or more advanced. More than 30 award-winning authors will be present, along with the two judges for the annual Nimrod Awards contest - National Book Award finalist and author of “The Turner House” Angela Flournoy and author of “Voyage of the Sable Venus”, which won the 2015 National Book Award for Poetry, Robin Coste Lewis.

The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Allen Chapman Student Union. There will be two panel discussions to start the event off, and then participants can choose from a selection of workshops on poetry, fiction, memoir, mystery, romance, young adult fantasy, and more. Participants can expect writing exercises as well as open dialogue. Guest writers leading this conference will include fiction writer Toni Jensen, author of “From the Hilltop: Stories”; poet Chloe Honum, author of “The Tulip-Flame”; memoir writer Beth Kephart,

author of “A Slant of Sun”; mystery writer Will Thomas, author of “Anatomy of Evil”; young adult writer Brenna Yovanoff, author of “The Replacement”; and romance writer Sherry Thomas, author of “The Hidden Blade”. During lunch, there will be readings from Angela Flournoy and Robin Coste Lewis. Selected guests will perform readings of their work at 3:00 p.m. and a book signing will immediately follow that, at 4:00 p.m..

Nimrod is also hosting its very first Write Night on Friday, October 14th at 7 p.m. in the Lorton Performance Center. There will be an Awards Celebration for the Nimrod Literary Awards winners, an “Author Chat” co-hosted by Booksmart Tulsa with Flournoy and Lewis, and an additional book signing by guest authors. This Write Night is free and open to the public. For those willing to spend $50, there will be a ticketed author reception including hors d’oeuvres and wine at 6:00 p.m.

There will be a chance to register that Saturday morning, but students are encouraged to register as soon as possible, before classes fill up. Registrations and programs are available at the Nimrod Office in Zink Hall 337, the English Department Office, and on the Nimrod website. To get the $10 deal, students need to mark that they are a TU student on the registration form and include the $10 fee.

For further information, contact Nimrod on their official website or at 918-631-3080.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

John Calvin Abney’s new sound, while technically impressive, struggles with past influences.

Tulsa artist puts a fresh TU musicians help revive twist on old country early 1900’s silent film

The film itself was lost for almost a century before being recovered in 2010 and restored.

Circle Cinema recently revived an 80-year-old silent film with a new score and live accompaniment from TU students.

Amy Bailey Student Writer

This past Saturday, The University of Tulsa and Tulsa American Film Festival presented “Ramona” for Circle Cinema’s monthly Second Saturday Silents event.

“Ramona” is based on the book by Helen Hunt Jackson and chronicles the life of the titular young Native American woman facing love, loss, and racial prejudice.

“Ramona” was directed by Edwin Carewe, a member of the Chickasaw nation, and the second Native American film maker to feature a film in Hollywood. The film stars the immensely beautiful Dolores del Río as Ramona, named as one of the most important figures in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.

When the film was originally released in 1928 it was promoted by the international hit song, “Ramona”. The song proved to have staying power, but the film was lost for 80 years. One print remained, and was tracked down in the Czech Republic in 2010. The Library of Congress restored the film and composers David Spear and Joseph Julian Gonzalez began collaborating on a new score for the classic film. Both Spear and Gonzalez live in Los Angeles, and are notable composers. David Spear is credited with orchestrating films such as “Ghostbusters”, “Animal House”, and “Airplane!”

Joseph Julian Gonzalez is credited for composing scores for “Curdled” and “Price of Glory.”

The performance at Circle Cinema was only the second time that Spear and Gon-

courtesy IMDB

zalez presented their new score to accompany the film. The musical ensemble that accompanied the screening included singer Monique Valadez, and University of Tulsa student musicians Megan Kepley, Daryle Hudson, Billy Mayer, Alex Hunn, Margaret Mealy, and Ryan Ganaban.

David Spear and Joseph Julian Gonzalez applauded the TU ensemble, announcing that they had only been given the sheet music one day prior, to the audience’s great surprise. The work that the TU students put in was clear and the performance was followed by multiple standing ovations for the beautiful musicianship. The new score harkened back to the Spanish classical music roots, and employed various stringed instruments for a classic sound.The score captured the emotions of the dramatic characters and reflected the cultural heritage that was deeply rooted in the film.

“Ramona” tackles societal prejudices against Native Americans masterfully, setting the story of a love triangle against the backdrop of the tense social climate for Native American people in early California.

“Ramona” shows the prejudices a young Native American woman might face in early California, and presented many societal disadvantages for Ramona to overcome. It’s a story of strength and culture. The film brings together classic Spanish culture with Native American culture through the various characters within the film and even within the love triangle.

The experience was incredible, and the live music added a new dimension to the beautiful and harrowing story of Ramona.

Spear and Joseph worked to create an emotional score to accompany the tragic story of Ramona’s life and the TU musicians, for at least one day, helped them realize this. The event was a moving time capsule embodying music and film that delighted the audience.

Tulsa based artist John Calvin Abney’s newest album makes an effort to mix past and present influences, with mixed results.

Ethan Veenker Student Writer

It’s unfair to steal the artistic merit of a musician by comparing them to another musician. You could spend months, even years working on a piece of music, and - upon releasing it to the world — only get to hear that it “sounds like [other band].” I imagine that’s degrading.

Now, that being said, it would be difficult to write this review without comparing John Calvin Abney’s newest album — “Far Cries and Close Calls” — to the works of Wilco.

The first track, “Beauty Seldom Seen,” caught me me off guard with what I initially thought was Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) singing.

It’s not, though. It’s Tulsa-based singersongwriter John Calvin Abney. Abney, while similar to Tweedy in vocal pitch, has one of those indisputable country voices.

With every stressed note you hear his voice crack in that heartthrob, controlled manner.

Where Tweedy keeps his tracks a bit more calm and composed, Abney isn’t afraid to strain his music to stress the emotion, with mixed results.

There’s “Goodbye Temporarily,” the deceivingly happy second track. The major key and the meandering country organ that swings in and out of focus juxtaposes harshly against the melancholic nature of Abney’s lyrics. “I’ll Be Here, Mairead” is one of Abney’s tracks that serves as a sort of throwback to honky-tonk and old countryblues. It’s hard to imagine a song like this coming out of 2016; that’s how dated the sound feels. There’s even a token violin that sweeps up and down in an attempt to really grab you by your heartstrings.

I could go on a bit more and discuss how the organ and harmonica combination in

“Jailbreak” may just make you keel over with laughter, but I’ll hold back a bit to discuss the album as a whole. Abney has an untethered talent. The album is very technically impressive. The notes are all there and Abney vocalizes them quite well. That being said, “Far Cries and Close Calls” is at its undisputed strongest when its quieter, slower, and thoughtful with songs like “Beauty Seldom Seen,” “Goodbye Temporarily,” and “In Such a Strange Town.”

“Far Cries and Close Calls” is tighter in the moments it spends looking ahead, when Abney slows down a bit, loosens his voice and really lets all the instruments come together to induce a plaintive emotion. Tracks like these can feature a harmonica or a melodica and not sound too campy, because these types of borderline-ambient tracks utilize the nature of these instruments the strongest.

For every height, however, there is a depth. “Far Cries and Close Calls” does suffer from biding time in the past. “I’ll Be Here, Mairead” and “Jailbreak” both harken back to the days of the old honky-tonk where grizzled, hungover men hop on stage with a guitar and sing about how drunk they are.

It’s, as I stated previously, a dated sound.

An important one in the development of music as we know it, but a sound that can’t be as widely appreciated in the modern day.

All the heel-clicking and the unchanging chord progressions simply don’t carry the emotional complexity that Abney is able to hit with the other, better tracks.

Yet, even with these grievances, I found my experience with John Calvin Abney’s album to be a positive one. Where he stuck his toes into the water of the past, he also jumped into the ocean of the future, and the asymmetrical feeling the album creates when you stick these different types of songs back-to-back keeps you listening. Abney mixes the future with the past in this album, giving us a similarly mixed result and a slightly progressive record.

Variety

10 October 2016

the Collegian: 15

October’s First Friday emphasizes music and dance

In addition to the usual street performers and more traditional art, Tulsa Ballet, choral performances and TU student flash mobs brought new life to this month’s First Friday Art Crawl.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Since 2007, downtown’s Brady Arts District has hosted the First Friday Art Crawl, in which local museums and businesses are opened up once a month for special events and galleries, allowing anyone to walk in for free to experience art and music. The event always entices plenty of Tulsans into heading downtown for the night, and this month was no different. The evening air was cool and refreshing, perfect conditions for me to walk downtown and see what caught my eye.

I began the night with dinner at Hey Mambo, an excellent Italian restaurant one block south of Guthrie Green. The restaurant feels open and modern, with walls painted in soft colors and a full wall of windows facing Boston Ave. and the restaurant’s outdoor pa-

D. A. Pennebaker, looks at Dylan’s 1965 United Kingdom tour. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about Bob Dylan, but the pictures do an effective job of depicting Dylan as pensive and dedicated to his craft.

Leaving the Zarrow Center and heading toward Philbrook Downtown, I quickly noticed singing and tambourines on Brady St. that wasn’t there when I entered Zarrow.

Working my way to the front of the circle that had developed, I saw a group of TU Theater students performing a track from the musical “Hair,” opening next week. The students had great energy while performing, engaging the crowd and giving the song a very full sound with almost no instrumentation. After the street performance was over, the performers quickly handed out fliers for the show and left, presumably going to another venue.

Philbrook Downtown featured their usual instillations, some new but many I had seen the last time I went to First Friday a few months ago. One that I found particularly interesting was a collection from Mike Glier titled “Alphabet of Lili.” This series of acrylic and charcoal pieces was made in the early 90s, aiming to deconstruct traditional masculinity and mankind’s impact on the earth. Though I found the themes difficult to discern in some parts of the collection,

Many restaurants in the Brady Arts Distict, like Hey Mambo, host galleries or live artists during the Art Crawl.

tio seating. The wall opposite the windows featured a series of portraits by Laura Abbott.

The portraits all seemed to feature the same female face in different styles and surroundings, making each piece unique while making them all feel like part of a larger collection, a representation of the different experiences and emotions the subject has felt throughout her life. Hey Mambo was also featuring a musical performance from the local jazz trio 7 Blue, but they were just beginning their soundcheck as I was leaving.

I moved on to the Zarrow Center to see Jenny Robinson’s “Struc.ture,” a series of large monoprints looking at “themes of atmosphere and corrosion.” The prints looked like intricate structures of buildings mostly devoid of color, giving the pieces a feeling of destruction and age. Some prints were upwards of 40”X40”, making the viewer look up to the top of the piece and feel like they’re looking at a large structure past its prime.

Zarrow Center also featured a series of photographs of Bob Dylan titled “Don’t Look Back.” The series, photographed by

I considered the pieces very aesthetically interesting and appreciated some consistent elements like a disembodied pair of legs representing mankind in different contexts.

After leaving Philbrook, I went next door to 108 Contemporary, where there was an opening reception for the “Vision Makers 2016.” The collection was comprised of new work from artists in Oklahoma and surrounding states like Kansas and Texas.

There really wasn’t anything in this collection that grabbed my attention, and I found myself simply walking through and not finding much of a reason to stay. I’ve enjoyed past exhibits at 108 Contemporary, but the current exhibit just seemed dull to me.

The last gallery I went to was the Woody Guthrie Center. I know about as little about Woody Guthrie as I do about Bob Dylan, so the Guthrie memorabilia wasn’t that enticing to me. What I did find interesting at the Center, however, was a performance by the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus. The Chorus was performing a series of shape note hymns, a style that developed in the early 1800s designed to be easy to learn with simple harmonies. The conductor explained

In Hey Mambo, portraits by Laura Abbott displayed the same female face, with changes in appearance.

that, contrary to other western music that uses different parts moving opposite each other, shape note focuses on harmonies that move in the same direction. This was easy to notice in the hymns the chorus sang, as the consistent intervals made the relatively small chorus feel much more powerful than I thought they would be.

After watching the Oratorio Chorus, I decided to go to some of the smaller shops down Brady St. I came across a live glassblowing demonstration at Tulsa Glassblowing school, and lining the street were some street performers and small art stands, with everything from paintings to percussion to fire throwing. I didn’t spend too much time wandering Brady St. because the Tulsa Ballet was about to begin performing on Guthrie Green.

The ballet performance was comprised of two pieces. The first piece, Jennifer Archibald’s “Omens,” was performed by Tulsa Ballet II, a pre-professional company for up-and-coming performers. The piece was about 20 minutes long, with different combinations of performers coming on- and off-stage to dance to a soundtrack of mostly string instruments. I don’t know much about ballet, but I was consistently impressed by the fluidity of movement and interactions between the dancers. However, it did seem at quite a few points that multiple dancers doing the same moves weren’t very well synchronized.

The second performance, done by the Tulsa Ballet Main Company, was “Love Notes”

by Nicolo Fonte. The piece was written specifically for the Tulsa Ballet, and it was clear that the company was very comfortable with the piece as they performed it. Instead of string accompaniment, “Love Notes” was set to a series of songs by Nina Simone, a jazz/soul pianist and singer popular in the 1960s. Her sequence of songs seemed to tell a story of jealousy, passion and love. The ballet was clearly segmented into smaller pieces based on each of Simone’s different songs, and the theme and lyrical content of each track was evident in the dancing. Softer songs would feature more fluid movement and a blue light, whereas more upbeat songs would have more a yellow light and more pops and locks in the movement. Movement between dancers was better synchronized than in the earlier performance, and the Main Company was pulling off much flashier routines than Ballet II. I’ve been to other First Friday Art Crawls before, but this month’s was the best in terms of providing a variety of experience.

Between the traditional prints and paintings, the musical performances, and the ballet to close the night, I left the night feeling like I had a great sample of everything Tulsa’s art scene had to offer. I was downtown for three hours, and only got to about a fourth of the venues the Brady Arts District had to offer. I’m definitely looking forward to going back to see more of the smaller venues, and I definitely recommend the event to anyone interested in checking out Tulsa’s local art scene.

photos by James Whisenhunt

The Tulsa Ballet Main Company’s performance of “Love Notes” displayed a sense of familiarity with the piece.

Talking with Tennyson: up-and-coming poets of music

photo by Maureen Haynes

The siblings said that, as Canadians, touring in the heart of America is a unique experience.

After opening for M83 at a local concert, Canadian performers Tennyson talked about their musical beginnings and creative process.

Maureen Haynes Student Writer On Wednesday of last week, the up-andcoming Canadian duo Tennyson opened for electronic band M83. The brother and sister duo played a unique set; their music was an odd intersection where jazzy-electronic beats meet playing pots and pans as a kid in your kitchen, yet it all somehow came together in a novel sound.

Given that most concert-goers were in the venue to see M83, the audience was unimpressed with the two when they first walked out. But Tennyson won them over with their contagiously bouncy sounds, and by the end of their set many listeners in the crowd were bobbing along to the synth beats and expressing wishes for an encore.

Despite the winning music, their set was not without glitches; they bordered on awkward while interacting with the crowd, and partway through the set they had to stop and start a song over due to a technological mishap. But the synesthesia of their music was convincing enough to level with any distractions.

I had to opportunity to sit down with Tennyson, comprised of drummer Tess Pretty and vocalist/keyboardist Luke Pretty, after

the show, and they’re both as unique as the music they create.

We chatted about what influences they draw from when writing music. “Memories are good inspiration,” explained Luke, who writes the band’s lyrics. “Although inaccurate, and I read somewhere that you change your memories every time you recall them.

And also it’s dangerous to be nostalgic. So I guess wherever I’m making music is what inspires me. I usually try not to just sit in a boring room, I’ll go to a cafe or something.

More recently I’ve been going to work in Los Angeles, and I wrote inspired by that unintentionally.”

The duo is also unusually youthful; both are barely adults. “It doesn’t really change anything. People are more impressed if you’re younger though” said drummer Tess.

“It’s dangerous because your age keeps changing,” Luke added.

When asked about their roots and how they forayed into the music industry so early, they came back to their family.

“Both of our parents always knew that they wanted to put us into music. Our dad’s a drummer, we were both put in to piano lessons, and then drum lessons. We just kept playing, and then we started playing together.” Tess explained.

“While we were playing covers, it was never like a personal project or something that we looked ahead or tried to predict where it would go. It was just what we did when we were kids.” Luke added. “I wouldn’t say music changed our lives because there was never really a change.”

It was clear that they build off of each other, not only on stage but also in conversation; stealing glances at one another mid-

set, building to the same musical crescendos, and clarifying each other’s points.

“I started singing because it was easier because you don’t have to write melodies that aren’t voice with the intention of finding people to sing the tracks I wrote.” Luke said.

“Yeah, but you hate writing lyrics.” Tess added, with Luke conceding, “It turns into a bit of a nightmare because of the perfection complex.”

The origins of the band’s name are a bit of a mystery to fans, but the two clarified where they got their name. “Luke’s middle name is Tennyson — our parents named him after the poet.” Tess said. “And it rhymes with Edison, our favorite lightbulb inventor!” Luke added, jokingly.

Touring across Middle-America is a new experience for both. “It gets to be different when you’re in this part of America because we see things that you just don’t see in Canada,” Tess said.

“We went to an ice cream place and it was the size of a grocery store. So we were going around taking photos of everything and the manager came out like ‘I’m just curious why you’re taking photos,” said Luke, referencing Braum’s Restaurant. “It was crazy!”

Tess said.

When asked in closing about where they saw the band in the coming years they balked.

“I have no idea, I can’t even think that far ahead.” Tess said. “I’m living in the past — I’m still thinking about yesterday!”

And so Tennyson will continue on, hopefully playing their self-proclaimed “pastinspired” music for many future shows to come.

10 October 2016

The State-Run Media

the

State-Run media Make sure nobody leaks this to the public, wink wink

Vice presidential search histories leaked

After the vice presidential debate on Tuesday, the State-Run Media acquired the candidates’ search histories, thanks to the hard work of State-Run Hacktivist Sam Beckmann.

Due to our organization’s devotion to openness, transparency and ad revenue, we’ve decided to publish them.

Mike Pence’s Yahoo! search history

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Mike Pence worried he’s “in too deep”

Mike Pence is losing track of who he is after spending months in neoconservative circles.

An audio recording revealed that Mike Pence was undercover in Trump’s campaign, and now wants his handlers to pull him out.

Sam Beckmann Point Break fan

graphic by Sam Chott

Tim Kaine’s Bing search history

A leaked audio recording posted

by The Washington Post sheds new light onto the Trump-Pence campaign. Indiana Governor Mike Pence was caught saying to trusted advisors that he’s “worried I’m in too deep now” with the Trump campaign.

From what can be picked up in the video, it appears that Pence entered the Trump campaign undercover in an attempt to convert Trump to more traditional conservative ideas. The plan, which

involved many senior leaders of the Republican party, was put into motion after it became obvious that Donald Trump would win the primary elections.

In the audio recording, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Republican party leader Mitch McConnell was heard lamenting the plan as a “complete failure.”

Pence is heard agreeing, and adding, “I didn’t think [Trump] would get this far. Being a VP candidate was just supposed to be a good resume line.”

The audio recording reflects growing unrest among the Republican establishment, who are beginning the come to the conclusion that’s Trump’s values, such as “build a wall”, “grab them by the p****y”, and “I am the best”, do not necessarily align with the traditional conservative values such

as personal responsibility, limited government, free markets and individual liberty.

Pence’s disquiet about his position as Trump’s running-mate likely grew after the Vice Presidential debate, when even Pence was surprised with some of Trump’s comments after hearing them from Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine. In the recording, Pence mentions that perhaps he should have brought up some of Hillary Clinton’s worst scandals, to catch Kaine equally off-guard, but he has trouble keeping all of the scandals straight.

After the leaked video of Trump’s lewd comments last Friday, this reporter has heard that the next step for the GOP may be to begin an elaborate, MissionImpossible style rescue to try and save Pence from Trump’s grasp.

Clinton’s all-female staff and recently revealed objectification of men left voters disturbed.

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Leaked video shows Clinton demeaning men

graphic by Sam Chott

Corrections from last week

Last week’s article about the university’s budget cuts should not have just been a transcript of “The Puffy Shirt,” an episode of “Seinfeld” originally aired on September 23, 1993.

In our politics breakdown, all quotes attributed to Hillary Clinton were actually said by Donald Trump, and all quotes attributed to Donald Trump were actually said by “Macho Man” Randy Savage.

One article last week was published entirely in the typeface, “Wingdings.” This was a mistake. The article should have been published in the font “Wingdings 2.”

The article about students being apathetic should have been much less passionately written.

We accidentally ran a thoughtful take on what Trump’s rise said about the state of American politics. That article should have been a list of reasons why all Trump supporters are racists.

The “Which Clinton scandal are you?” graphic should have been attributed to Elias Brinkman.

Editor’s note: If anyone finds an envelope full of cash addressed to the State-Run Media from the DNC, please bring it to our office in Oliphant.

After a video of Hillary Clinton making misandrist comments was leaked, Democratic party insiders criticized her words.

Sam Beckmann Girls will be girls

In a video obtained by The Washington RePost last Friday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is heard making vulgar comments towards men.

The video shows Clinton and some aides on a campaign bus back in 2007.

In the video, Clinton repeatedly talks, in explicit terms, about the various men she has kissed and tried to convince to have sex with her. “I’m attracted to handsome,” she admitted, “I see a handsome man and just need to kiss him.”

The aides, who were all female,

agreed with Clinton, mentioning some of the men that they considered hot. Clinton then told the story of a married man she tried to court for several months before being rejected. It is unknown was these events took place, but Hillary Clinton had been married to Bill Clinton for around 30 years at this point.

Clinton also reflected on the unique position her role as First Lady of the United States put her in, “You can do whatever you want to men. And when you’re FLOTUS, they let you. … You can grab them by the d**k if you want.”

As news of Clinton’s comments became widespread, Democratic leaders are calling for Clinton to step down as the presidential nominee. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken Democrat, told reporters, “What Mrs. Clinton said is completely unacceptable. Our husbands and

sons do not deserve to be treated this way.”

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who ran against Clinton in the Democratic primary, announced that he would not be appearing with Clinton at a rally next week.

In his comments, Sanders said “Mrs. Clinton’s comments towards men were akin to advocating sexual assault.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted “Crooked Hillary’s words show her true character! She does not respect men at all. Very sad.” in response to the video.

In a statement released Saturday night, Clinton apologized for her comments, saying that she “regrets” saying those things, and has “changed since then.” She also noted that this video “distracts from the important issues of this election,” and will “see everyone at the debate Sunday night.”