5 September 2016

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

september 6, 2016 issue 2 ~ volume 102

Prevention requires discussion:

Sexual assault & harassment The University of Tulsa has policies in place to protect victims of sexual assault and harassment on campus, and yet new cases arise every year, with many going unreported. There are numerous reasons why victims may not want to report their experiences: fear, uncertainty or a lack of knowledge about the resources available to them.

r che d a e er t rasse d n sge ing ha n a Tr rts be p 4 , o rep mpus ca on

One student’s account of on-campus harassment exemplifies this. The student had difficulty reporting the harassment, which led to fear and discomfort with being on campus and ultimately caused her to transfer schools. Editor-in-Chief Hannah Kloppenburg and Managing Editor Kayleigh Thesenvitz report.

Assault and harassment on campus.

A transgender student left TU last year after an incident of sexual harassment that made her feel unsafe on campus. She asked that we not use her name.

The student shared that in early October 2015 she was walking past Greek Housing on her way to work. Because she is pre-HRT (hormone replacement therapy) she does not typically “pass” as female and believes that is what prompted the harassment.

According to the student, a group of unidentified young men heckled her as she walked past. The verbal harassment included liberal use of the word “tranny” and other LGBTQ+-related slurs, as well as questions about her genitals and whether or not she was a “real girl”.

“I was lucky that I was near the Student Union Center (sic), ran and they didn’t pursue,” she shared.

Later in the day she met with a campus security officer, but chose not to file a report because she felt as though he didn’t believe her story.

“The next day, I woke up late and took the same route because it was the quickest and the same guys were waiting, sans one,” she shared. On the second encounter the young men were reportedly more hostile, openly threatening sexual violence.

The student ran past them and called Campus Security again. She reported the incident and location to an officer, but without the names of the men or proof of the encounter she was told there was little that could be done. Instead the officer advised her to take another route to work.

After the incident she was afraid to be alone on campus. She contacted Student Services for assistance, who referred her back to Campus Security once again. For the remainder of the semester she relied on close friends to drive her across campus and walk through buildings with her in order to avoid aggressors.

“I would never linger anywhere it was not 100 percent necessary,” she said.

The student took steps to avoid another encounter, but these measures resulted in fear, unease and stress. She left TU at the end of the fall semester.

She is by no means alone in her feeling of being unsafe on campus, or that she had nowhere to turn to for support. Statistics indicate that although sexual harassment is fairly common on college campuses, few victims file reports. For example, 90 percent of rapes on college campuses are committed by someone the victim knows personally. In the greater population, that number is only 75 percent.

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.

It is estimated that more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report their assault.

81 percent of women and 35 percent of men report significant short-term or longterm impacts such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after experiencing some form of sexual violence.

University procedures and ways to find help on campus.

Julie Friedel is a sexual assault investigator and patrol corporal with TU’s Campus Police who has had extensive training in how to investigate sex crimes. In the four years she has been with TU, she has taken

over 220 hours of courses in handling sex crimes.

“As far as our security department goes, we are right up there with most police departments in the state of Oklahoma when it comes to the amount of training we do,” Friedel told The Collegian. “With our license we are required to do 16 hours of continuing education every year.”

“All of our officers go through an 8 hour sexual assault class,” Friedel said. Additionally, officers are trained in dealing with traumatic memory recollection and how to conduct cognitive interviews.

Interviewing victims of sexual assault requires a special procedure and extra care.

“Memories of someone who goes through a sexual assault are not stored in a normal pattern,” Friedel explained. For this reason, investigators will give a victim one to three sleep cycles after the incident to process what happened to them and begin to recall crucial details.

“The way we interview [victims] is different than the way we interview suspects,” Friedel stated. “We just let them talk to us without interrupting.”

Another facet of training is victimology, the study of the psychological impact the experience of the crime has on the victim.

This allows officers to understand the different responses victims may have when being interviewed. Friedel explained that “Some people respond angrily, some are quiet and some laugh so the main thing is you don’t want to judge them. You start by believing.”

Campus Security uses the same processes for investigating both sexual assault and sexual harassment. There is no time limit on when a student can report their instance of assault or harassment.

“Usually an initial report is made and then I do an investigation,” Friedel said. “In fact, most sexual assaults are not reported immediately because they know the person that assaulted them.”

“Unfortunately this is a small school and so there are a lot of fears that our victims have that they think everybody knows what happened to them.”

Friedel also stressed that the University tries to be on the proactive side when it comes to instances of sexual violence. “We try to do a lot of safety talks and the one thing we stress is for people to lock their doors.”

Friedel described a triangle of victimization which includes the attacker, the victim and opportunity. “If you can take one of those out of the triangle,” she explained, “you don’t have a triangle anymore, so the opportunity is where we say, ‘lock your doors’.”

Alcohol is the number one rape drug and so Friedel wanted students to know, “if you’re going to drink, have a buddy.”

“We also offer free to the students RAD for women and men,” Friedel said. RAD is a series of sexual assault prevention courses for women and men. The course for women is called Rape Aggression Defense and the course for men is Resisting Aggression through Defense. These self-defense courses are on the event calendar for the last two weeks of September, and there will be one

on s n o ini p o ’ rs d safe e t i r t w gs an n e d Stu r warnin e trigg s, p 9 e spac class in Oct o b e r.

Sign-up is not required, but is encouraged so there are enough instructors on hand. More information about the courses can be found in the event calendar.

Alongside RAD there are other programs student can use as resources, like HAVEN, the mandatory online sexual assault course all students have to take in order to enroll for the spring semester. Friedel emphasized this by saying, “We have to have [student] buy-in to have bystander intervention and we have to have their buy-in to report and encourage a victim to report.”

There are numerous options for reporting assault or harassment at TU, each with varying degrees of anonymity. There is no time limit to reporting a sex crime. “If they don’t report we don’t know it happened and we can’t do anything about it,” Friedel said.

If a student doesn’t want to file criminal charges with their report, the school will take action. If a student does want to file criminal charges, campus police will put them in contact with the Tulsa Police Department and will assist them in getting a protective order. For more information on how to report a case of sexual assault or harrasment you can go to https://utulsa.edu/ offices/campus-security/crime-reports/.

Recommendations from and Comparisons to outside sources. Improving TU’s response to sexual assault.

According to a US News report, many colleges are attempting to prevent harassment by moving away from traditional programs. Traditional programs are “brief – one hour or less – and focused on improving knowledge about the problem,” according to behavioral scientist Sarah DeGue. “Knowledge is important, but it’s clear these programs don’t prevent people from perpetuating sexual violence.” TU’s program HAVEN can be best compared to these traditional programs.

Instead, Elon University requires an online semester course, Indiana University incorporates consent training into orientation as a musical, and the University of California is implementing a 10-year plan. UC-

Graphic by Elias Brinkman

Santa Cruz has a week-long program called “Consent Week.” Other schools have made moves such as banning hard alcohol or restricting parties to a certain amount of guests.

Bystander intervention programs have proven to be very effective at many schools.

A 2014 University of Kentucky study showed that the use of Green Dot, a common bystander intervention program, in Kentucky high schools was connected with a 50 percent drop in sexual harassment at those schools over 5 years. TU has its own bystander intervention classes through Advocacy Alliance, but these courses have been small and have gone largely unattended by students.

At some schools, student groups such as fraternities and sororities are not only learning about sexual violence, but also actively helping to get the word out. Many programs are focusing on defining consent, since so often sexual assault occurs when one or both parties are drunk. TU has hosted a few sexual assault workshops and events of that nature in the past.

Additionally, some colleges and universities offer self-defense courses and Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) programs, just like the ones that TU has begun to offer.

In light of some victims’ interactions with poorly trained officers, many schools are beginning to implement the sort of training that Julie Friedel described as part of TU’s officer training program. The University of Michigan and Michigan State University have created a Special Victims Unit within the campus police department in order to promote better evidence gathering and more sensitive treatment of victims of harassment. In a similar vein, the University of Pennsylvania employs a former sex crimes investigator to preside over cases, and Harvard created a central office with professional investigators.

We have suggestions on improvements the university could make too. To learn about them see page 4.

The Collegian: 2

Sports

6 September 2016

Golden Hurricane run over San Jose State

photos by Greg Diskin

Clockwise from top left: senior quarterback Dane Evans throws down the field during Saturday’s win over San Jose State. Evans finished with 198 yards and one touchdown on the day. Lucas gets tackled down the field in his first game back from injury. He had over 100 yards for the seventh time in his career, finishing with 116 yards in the win. Senior James Flanders runs right through the middle of the Spartans’ defense.

Flanders had 82 of the Golden Hurricane’s 305 yards in the win. The Golden Hurricane run onto the field in their new all-white jerseys to open up the 2016 college football season.

The Golden Hurricane started their 117th season with a big win over old-time Western Athletic Conference foe San Jose State.

Matt Rechtien Sports Editor In the season opener against San Jose State, the Golden Hurricane run-game led by junior running back D’Angelo Brewer, routed the Spartans 45–10. The offense looked sharp throughout the first half, picking up right where they left on in the Independence Bowl, scoring within 46 seconds after touching the ball.

These two teams looked to be an even match throughout the week leading up to the game. This was the seventh time that the Golden Hurricane and the Spartans have played, with the lifetime series being split 3–3 before the game. They also both finished 6–7 and went to bowl games.

The Golden Hurricane started the game on defense and forced a San Jose punt to get the ball back on their own 8-yard line.

The offense and returning wide receiver— who missed nine games last season due to injury—didn’t miss a beat with the first offensive play of the game a 46 strike to Lucas deep. Two plays later Brewer made his case as the leader of the Tulsa run-game with a 38-yard run into the endzone. Four plays, 46 seconds, touchdown.

Lucas’ return is big news for the Golden Hurricane. He was a 1,000 yard receiver in 2014 and on pace to do that again last sea-

son picking up 409 yards and five touchdowns in less than four full games. He led the team in receiving yards in Saturday’s win with 112 yards, his seventh career game of over 100.

For the next couple of drives the Spartans and Golden Hurricane traded punts with neither team seeming to make any ground.

Defensively the Golden Hurricane were standing strong, forcing incompletions and finishing drives off with sacks. With five minutes left in the quarter the Spartans got the ball back but once again didn’t seem to be doing anything on their drive that started with a penalty for 12 players in the huddle.

But, with one throw—a 64-yard pass from Kenny Potter to Rashead Johnson—San Jose State tied up the game at 7–7 apiece.

Tulsa responded by rattling off 38 unanswered points starting just two minutes later. On the ensuing Tulsa drive, Brewer ran around the Spartan’s defense, but the drive stalled at the 18, forcing the Golden Hurricane to settle for a field goal. After their defense forced a three-and-out on two pass deflects, Tulsa once again ran straight over San Jose State, capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Brewer, his second of the game.

On the first play of the next drive, Jesse Brubaker picked off Potter’s pass after it was tipped and ran it in for a 24-yard touchdown return. Dating to last year this was the fifth pick-six in Tulsa’s last seven games.

After the first quarter Tulsa led the Spartans 24–7.

The next Spartan drive ended in another turnover, this time a fumble recovered by

Frankie Davis Jr. Tulsa took advantage and put up another seven points on an 11-yard pass from Dane Evans to Dustin Hobbs, Evans’ only touchdown of the game.

After stopping San Jose late in the second quarter, but having their drive stopped immediately after, TU’s Dalton Parks rocketed a punt 61-yards. The Spartans couldn’t keep control of the ball and fumbled it into the endzone where it was recovered by Mckinley Whitfield for another Tulsa touchdown putting the Golden Hurricane 31 points ahead of the Spartans at the half.

The second half started off almost the same as the first did, with the Golden Hurricane scoring on their opening possession, once again on a Brewer touchdown, his third and final touchdown of the game. After an impressive four-play goal-line stand in the middle of the third quarter, TU started running down the clock to preserve the win.

Sophomore quarterback Chad President subbed in for Dane Evans in the fourth quarter to get playing time.

San Jose State scored a field goal at the start of the fourth quarter but couldn’t muster any more offense against the Tulsa defense as they were held to just 287 yards. In comparison, Tulsa rushed for 305 yards and had 512 total yards of offense in the win.

Tulsa held the Spartans to just 53 rushing yards, the lowest in any game since 2012.

Brewer rushed for a career-high 164 yards and already has half as many touchdowns as he did all of last season.

“Well, I thought it was a great team win.

Obviously we’ve still got a lot of things to improve on, but those are a whole lot easier

to correct when you get it after a win, being able to go in a fix those things on tape. But I thought the way our guys came out and competed, especially early, I thought we captured momentum early. The big pass to Keevan [Lucas] kind of set the tone there in the first drive, and then defensively coming out and playing as well as they did, I mean, I thought they did an outstanding job stopping the run all night.” Head Coach Philip Montgomery said in his postgame press conference.

Later when asked, Montgomery emphasized just how important the rushing defense was for the Golden Hurricane. “I’m really pleased with what we did stopping the run. They had four of their five offensive linemen back plus their tight end back. The only thing they were really missing from that running game last year was their running back. So I thought our defensive line handled that front really well and did a great job of stopping the run, and I thought we -Coach Young, Coach Norwood did a good job of keeping them confused and giving them different looks and keeping us on the edge right there. Really pleased with what we did defensively today, but we’ve still got a lot of room to grow.”

The Golden Hurricane (1–0) will be in action again next week on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes (1–0). Ohio State — currently ranked sixth in the country — won the Fiesta Bowl last year and were the National Champions the year prior. In their first game against Bowling Green they won 77–10. That game will be broadcasted nationally on ABC at 2:30 Tulsa time.

ing camp, but looked to be turning things around in the last couple weeks. Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera said “He’s had a couple of really good days, and he played well the other night [against the Baltimore Ravens]. He’s a young guy who is starting to string it together.” Garrett also made some strong plays in the preseason games against the Patriots and an impressive onehanded catch against the Steelers in the preseason finale. Even with being cut, Garrett’s career isn’t over. He will most likely make it onto the practice squad which will give him a chance to make the team at a later point.

Some of the other players drafted out of the AAC are having tough times in the NFL as well. Paxton Lynch, previously at Memphis and drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos, is fighting for the backup position behind Trevor Siemian. He played the entirety of the final preseason game and threw for over 200 yards and two touch-

downs, but still has room to improve.

Broncos Head Coach Gary Kubiak talked about what he needs to do. “He continues to make plays because of his ability, but it continues to be about consistency. But I think the strides he’s made since we got him have been very good and he’ll make some more.”

The other first-round pick from the AAC, William Jackson III, has had a rough start for the Cincinnati Bengals. He was having a strong training camp before he suffered a pectoral injury that many thought would end his 2016 season before it had even truly begun. However, after getting a second opinion, there is a possibility that he will be able to return before the season is over. Head Coach Marvin Lewis said “he’s going to have a surgery that is going to re-attach his pectoral muscle, but we anticipate that he has an opportunity still to play this football season. It’s just a matter of how his body heals. He had a little more glide in his stride

this morning because he sees some light at the end of the tunnel.”

Keenan Reynolds, the quarterback from Navy who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and had to receive special permission to postpone his service for the Navy in order to play in the NFL, was cut from the Ravens roster. This move was made to bring their roster within the required 53 players. The expectation at this point is that if he clears the waivers he will become a member of the Ravens’ practice squad.

All the other AAC players drafted into the NFL made it onto their respective team’s 53-roster and will continue on in their NFL career. This includes Demarcus Ayers (Houston - Steelers), Parker Ehinger (Cincinnati - Chiefs), Matthew Ioannidis (Temple - Redskins), Tyler Matakevich (Temple - Steelers), Chris Moore (Cincinnati - Ravens), Elandon Roberts (Houston - Patriots) and Tavon Young (Temple - Ravens).

Where are they now? AAC NFL players

Since college football started last week and the NFL starts this week, we decided to spotlight players from the American Conference trying to make it in the NFL. Matt Rechtien Sports Editor

The American Athletic Conference had nine players drafted in the NFL in April, and some other players including ex-Golden Hurricane Keyarris Garrett were picked up by teams immediately following the conclusion of the draft. Here’s a brief look at where these players stand at this point in the season.

The big news for the Golden Hurricane, unfortunately, is that Keyarris Garrett was cut from the Carolina Panthers on Saturday as they trimmed their roster to 53 men.

Garrett did not have the best start to train-

Sports

6 September 2016

Justin Guglielmetti is…

the

bleacher creature

Tebow Time He’s back, ladies and gentlemen! Tim Tebow isn’t running around shirtless on the practice field anymore and will probably never return to the NFL, but God’s favorite football player is now trying his hand at baseball.

Opinions about how good the guy actually is are mixed. his plate discipline has been praised and his power graded at the highest level (80) by at least one scout, while his ability to actually make contact seems comically low by major league standards. I personally love the fact that he’s giving it a go.

Stuffy baseball pundits and traditionalists are trying to make a bigger deal out of this than what it is, insisting like they always do that it’s a publicity stunt and harmful to the integrity of the game. Puh-lease, let the guy have some fun out there, I promise that Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb aren’t spinning in their grave.

Besides, the overwhelming odds are that this whole story will amount to nothing and Tebow will never play in MLB. The guy hasn’t even played competitive baseball since high school, and he lacks the freak athleticism of a crossover star like Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, so really what are his chances? Then again, people said the same things about his ability at quarterback and Tebow still managed to will the Broncos into the playoffs back in 2012 behind some combination of black magic, deer antler spray and good-old-fashioned prayer.

Who’s to say he won’t summon up some of the old mojo again?

Serena’s Not that Great You may have seen the Nike ads recently that proclaim tennis superstar Serena Williams as the greatest female athlete ever, only to scratch out the modifier and identify her as the GOAT of all sports. It’s a positive message and a reminder that when discussing the accomplishments of an athlete (or indeed any individual), we don’t need to first qualify their gender as a way of ranking how important they are. But good intentions aside, can we stop pretending that Serena has any sort of claim to being the best athlete ever?

I don’t even see this as an opinion so much as it is an objective fact, and let me break down why. There are basically two schools of thought in determining how good an athlete someone is. One looks at the physical feats a person is able to perform that have been traditionally classified as “athletic,” things like how high they can jump, how fast they can run, and how strong they are.

The other simply takes into account how good a person is at their respective sport(s).

So in other words, by the first measure Tom Brady might be one of the worst athletes in American professional sports history while by the second, he is indisputably one of the greatest.

Now as for Serena, neither she nor any other woman can possibly claim to be the greatest athlete by the first standard as a simple matter of biology. No woman has ever been born or ever will be born that could measure up to the physical dominance of a Wilt Chamberlain or a Usain Bolt. It is then by the second measure that Nike and others insist she is the greatest athlete ever, and while that opinion may be argued slightly more convincingly than the first, it is still a demonstrably false one. Dominating the way she has in the most competitive era in tennis history might make her the best player in her sport ever, but even that is far from an undisputed reality, as she lacks the

Monday

records for either most career singles victories or most career Grand Slams (Margaret Court Smith holds both with 192 and 24 respectively).

By my count, the title of best athlete ever can only be debated between three people: Wayne Gretzky, who would have been the NHL’s all-time points leader if he never scored a single goal in his entire career, then insisted on being the all-time goal scorer for good measure; Don Bradman, whose test cricket career average of 99.4 (out of 100) is nearly double the next best career average and the approximate equivalent of a baseball player hitting .700 over the course of his career; and Aleksandr Karelin, the Russian Greco-Roman wrestling legend who went 887-2 over his career, won three consecutive Olympic golds, and once went six years without giving up so much as a single point. No disrespect to Serena, but all three were far more dominant than she could ever hope to be.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Being known as “The Great One” seems to point towards Gretzky being a pretty decent player.

Are You Ready for Some (Fantasy) Football?

It’s that time of year again! No, not the start of the NFL, the return of fantasy football, possibly the most addictive and legal means of gambling we currently have available to us in this country.

Here are some quick pointers for your season: Pick Antonio Brown first overall.

I don’t care if you are playing standard or PPR, the guy is one of the most talented WRs ever who has seemingly telepathic chemistry with a terrific quarterback in a pass-happy offense, and he’s going to break some records in 2016….Stay away from Adrian Peterson, especially in PPR. He’s an all-time great and a guarantee to get fed the rock, but AD is 31 years old and will be facing nothing but stacked boxes now that Teddy Bridgewater is done for the season.

You never want to own a stud the year he crashes back to Earth, and I fear that this could be that time for Peterson….Ameer Abdullah was for some reason labeled a bust even though he averaged 4.2 yards per carry playing on a terrible team behind an abysmal offensive line. The Lions made lots of improvements across the board and the explosive Abdullah is primed to benefit big-time from them. He is a terrific value at his current draft position….There is no better handcuff to own this year than Alfred Morris, who despite feeling like he has been in the league forever, is only 27 and now playing behind the Cowboys’ vaunted OL. Rookie Ezekiel Elliott will get the first crack at the starting job and is for sure the guy to own in the long run, but should something happen and the team feel the need to protect their prized investment, Morris will be right there to pick up the slack. An injury to Elliot would instantly make him a top-10 RB….

Josh Gordon is back after a long absence, but before you expect him to replicate his historically great 2013 season, remember that a return to form after almost two full seasons of injury-free time away from the game would be pretty much unprecedented.

Make sure to temper your expecta...aw, who am I kidding. Hop on board the hype train, baby! 2,500 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns here we come!!!

Tuesday

Wednesday

The Collegian: 3

Kaepernick’s “stand”

As he struggles to keep his NFL career afloat, Colin Kaepernick has created a national discussion, contributing to a history of bringing social issues to the forefront of sports.

Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer

In what has been one of the biggest media firestorms in ages, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has recently come under intense scrutiny for his decision to sit during the national anthem of a preseason football game, citing his opposition to the oppression of black Americans and raciallybased police brutality as the reasoning behind his protest. It was a powerful statement from a player who has increasingly shrunk from the sports world’s eye and succeeded in, if nothing else, getting people talking.

I won’t discuss my views here on the issues Kaepernick brought up, nor will I argue that he should have been forced to stand, which would have been a clear violation of his right to free speech. Rather, I think it’s best to look at this incident through the great history of sports activism.

There’s a cynic in me that says this was all some sort of elaborate publicity stunt and Kaepernick did it to distract from the fact that he just lost his starting job to the immortal Blaine Gabbert, but I don’t think this was the case. Athletes have a platform unique only to them and certain members of the entertainment industry in which they can easily reach millions of people and instigate social change. Perhaps professional athletes, who so often seem larger-than life, are faced with the challenge of stepping down from their ivory towers to reach everyday people, but I think most folks are more willing to relate to their sports heroes than they are to, say, a typical politician. What resonated

more, Rick Scott saying his heart went out to the family of Trayvon Martin, or the Miami Heat players emerging from the pregame tunnel solemnly adorned in black hoodies?

Sports are in so many ways an imitation of real life. The Ancient Greeks, from whose sports culture much has been drawn in the modern world, created much of their earliest athletic competitions to be simulations of warfare (combat sports, javelin throwing, etc.), and in the millennia since they have come to embody much more of the human experience. We support and connect to our favorite players as if they were part of our family, we grieve big losses with the solemnity of a funeral, we stress about the financialss of our teams as though they were the money troubles of our own lives. Nothing is quite so much an accurate or cathartic model of reality as sports. It only makes sense then that when someone in the sports world stands out to protest something, a corresponding someone(s) would mirror him and take the battle to the real world.

So you can criticize Kaepernick all you want on the issues he is choosing to protest, but never say that he is stepping out of line in using his voice at all. As he rightly said, “this is bigger than football.” Men like Jackie Robinson and Arthur Ashe, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali, proved that many times over, using their athletic prowess to leverage a meaningful place in the civil rights debates of their day. What Kaepernick is trying to do is no different, and all those athletes are remembered (for the most part) as national heroes, a term I don’t think you will hear thrown around around Kaepernick’s name very often. Whether that is fair or not is a matter that history will decide when it documents the social climate of the 2010s, but until then, let no other athlete ever be afraid of standing up and speaking out for what they believe.

Scores and Recaps

Men’s Soccer In their home opener, the men’s soccer team defeated the University of Missouri - Kansas City 3–0 for their first win of the early season.

Head Coach Tom McIntosh discussed the importance of playing at home. “It was nice to not only be at home, but get a good win at home and get off on the right foot.”

Jacob Gooden, Matthew Puig and Ray Saari all scored for the Golden Hurricane in the victory. After their game against Saint Louis University they will play in the UAB Soccer for a Cure Classic next weekend.

Women’s Soccer The women’s soccer team also earned the win in their home opener over Missouri State by a score of 3–1. “It’s nice to be home,” Head Coach Kyle Cussen said. “we’ve spent the last three weekends on the road abd I think we were a little amped up to play at home today. To give up a goal in the first 22 seconds wasn’t ideal. but we showed some resiliency there and scored less than a minute later.” After the

Thursday

Women’s Volleyball The women’s volleyball team won the Creeds and Crests Classic going 3–0 over the weekend against Kennesaw, Stephen F. Austin and Texas State. Rebecca Reeve was named the MVP and Brooke Berryhill and Erica Bohannon were both name to the all-tournament team. “We worked really hard this offseason and it’s nice to see that hard work pay off and have your leaders step up and lead in the right direction,” Head Coach Ryan Wills said after the tournament. “You hope thatt when those things happene that the team gets the rewards that they deserve because they’ve done what you’ve asked of them and they’ve worked hard.” The team — now sitting at 5–1—travels to Arkansas State for a tournament next weekend, before hosting the Tulsa Volelyball Invitational the weekend after.

Sept. 5 - 11 Friday

Volleyball @ UT Martin 12:30 p.m.

No Events No Events No Events No Events

win over Houston Baptist on Sunday afternoon, the women’s record now sits at 3–2–1.

Volleyball @ Arkansas State 6:00 p.m.

Men’s Tennis @ Silverado College Invitational Men’s Soccer @ UAB 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Soccer vs. OU 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Volleyball vs. Central Arkansas 10:30 a.m.

Football @ Ohio State 2:30 p.m.

Sunday

Women’s Golf @ Rawls Golf Course Men’s Soccer vs. Stetson 11:30 a.m.

Women’s Soccer vs. Rice 3:30 p.m.

The Collegian: 4

News

6 September 2016

Campus Security intercepts visiting transgender professor Professor complains of profiling and harassment by officers, who call the stop routine.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor

On Wednesday, July 20th, Campus Security stopped visiting professor Dr. sj Miller.

Miller was en route to TU’s College of Law to continue teaching a one-week course for high school Advanced Placement teachers.

University officials called the stop “a routine pedestrian check on private, university property.”

Miller was returning from an early-afternoon run on the campus track, carrying only a cell phone and a shirt, chest scars from sex reassignment surgery and tattoos clearly visible. While Miller was walking across the Newman Center parking lot, a Campus Security officer parked his car.

Miller thought nothing of it at first, saying “I had no reason to suspect I did anything.” The officer then asked Miller to stop walking. Miller says the officer would not respond when asked “Why are you stopping me?” Miller also mentions noticing that the officer “didn’t pull his gun, but he had a gun.

I noticed that right away.”

The officer then asked for identification, which Miller didn’t have at the time, having left it behind before going on the run.

After explaining this, Miller says that the officer called for backup “immediately; there was like no hesitation.” University officials mentioned the lack of ID, saying “Professor Miller had no identification but claimed his presence on campus should not have been questioned.”

Miller then says a second officer pulled up, asking for identification again. Miller explained the circumstances, giving the officers a list of credentials and the names of Summer Institute officials Campus Security could contact to verify that Miller is a visiting professor.

Miller described the officers as being “very rude” throughout the interaction, say-

ing they “made me feel like I did something wrong.”

Another car showed up, and Miller was suddenly “the centerpiece of three cop cars.”

Miller states that officers were still not responding to questions, which had escalated from “Why are you stopping me?” to “Are you profiling me because of my tattoos?”

Though Miller can’t be certain that tattoos or scars played a part in the interaction, Security kept Miller in the parking lot for fifteen minutes before one officer accompanied Miller to the AP teacher’s class, in which students verified that Miller was their professor, prompting the officer to leave.

After the incident with Campus Security was over, Miller left the classroom in tears.

The next day, Miller says the incident “escalated immediately to the President’s office,” and a meeting was held between Miller, Summer Institute officials Jack Applegate and Frances Najera and Campus Security Director Joseph Timmons, among a few others. Notably absent, Miller mentions, were the four officers involved the day before.

Miller says Timmons asked for an account of what happened, but would also not answer Miller when asked about profiling

courtesy sj Miller Visiting professor sj Miller doesn’t believe coming back to TU is an option after this summer’s experience.

sociate VP of Human Resources & Risk Management Wayne Paulison sent to Miller, saying “pedestrian stops on campus are not an uncommon occurrence,” and that “[Mill-

“Officers shouldn’t presume guilt [based on appearances].

It’s as simple as that.”

and why officers felt a need to conduct a stop. Timmons went on to explain that TU is in a high-crime area, meaning that officers stop anyone they don’t know, and Security received a report of “a suspicious man holding a bag walking on private property.”

University officials echo this sentiment, stating that “campus security carries out several hundred pedestrian checks a year with zero prior complaints” and that “the university has offered its sincere regrets for any misunderstanding between Professor Miller and the officers involved.”

This was reiterated in a message that As-

er’s] many inquiries have been received, considered, reviewed and evaluated by campus administration.”

Miller describes the University’s response as sounding like “We’re sorry this happened to Dr. Miller; we’re not sorry we did this.”

What strikes Miller the most about these statements and the meeting is that “not a single person has responded to apologize.

Nobody.”

University officials, on the other hand, note that “the [Advanced Placement Summer Institute] program director [Najera] apologized to Professor Miller in writing following the incident.” Miller feels this

isn’t adequate, saying “[Najera’s] the one that ran the institute; she’s not a University official.”

This interaction has left Miller feeling that Campus Security officers should participate in anti-prejudice training, saying that officers shouldn’t “presume guilt [based on appearances]. It’s as simple as that.”

University officials say that “officers undergo significant training upon hiring and continue various forms of training... throughout their employment at the university.” Officials also state that “TU also asks that all employees participate in human resources training that focuses on building a sense of community across our campus and includes sessions on fostering friendship, hope and a nurturing attitude.”

Miller, now working at New York University, says that, after sixteen years with the Summer Institute and two years at TU, “there’s no way I’m being re-invited [to Tulsa],” and that TU is “completely ignoring [the incident].”

SA to take over funding sexual assault prevention program

Although Haven fulfills mandatory sexual assault requirements, SA believes it is necessary to continue funding the Advocacy Alliance.

Maureen Haynes Student Writer

The University of Tulsa’s Student Association will soon vote on the new budget for the school year which, for the first time, includes an explicit allotment for TU’s Advocacy Alliance.

“The Advocacy Alliance is an interdisciplinary, interdepartmental committee, which seeks to prevent and intervene with interpersonal violence on The University of Tulsa’s campus,” according to their webpage.

They, in tandem with other programs on TU’s campus, including TITAN (The University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice), seek to provide sexual violence prevention and education to students and faculty.

Because the Advocacy Alliance does not

receive institutional funding, SA funding would fill critical gaps in their budget. Previously the program has mostly been funded through donations from TU’s Women’s and Gender Studies department.

The new funds would allow the Advo-

By focusing attention on these issues, Student Association has decided to take this issue on from a student perspective, although the university does have institutional funding dedicated towards sexual assault prevention.

“It would be good in helping raise awareness and empathy if

more people heard about [Bystander Intervention training] and wanted to attend.” cacy Alliance to host a speaker in spring semester and affords more funding for their Bystander Intervention training sessions.

Last week, the Advocacy Alliance hosted their first Bystander Intervention training session for the year. “I used to think TU did enough to promote awareness of sexual violence,” said student Tessa Copeland, who was in attendance, but added that “there were only about fifteen students” at the workshop. “I think it would be good in helping raise awareness and empathy if more people heard about it and wanted to attend.”

The Campus SaVE (Sexual Violence Elimination) Act, signed into law by President Obama in March of 2013, addresses how college campuses respond to the rising rates of sexual misconduct occurring on University properties. It includes an outline for mandatory education programs required to be initiated by secondary education institutions. The education programs must be three-pronged, outlining information on bystander intervention, risk reduction and the school’s victim reporting system. Furthermore, the program must involve training

both students and faculty/staff-members.

“New students and new employees must be offered primary prevention and awareness programs that promote awareness of rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking,” according to the American Council on Education.

Universities not in compliance with the Campus SaVE Act risk disciplinary action, including fines and a loss of eligibility for federal funding, giving them incentive to be in line with this mandate.

TU fulfills Campus SaVE requirements through Haven, a mandatory online training course for all students. Most of the institutional budget for sexual assault prevention is funneled into this program.

SA felt it necessary, however, to go further than just fulfilling these requirements to exhibit student involvement in making TU a safer place. With this allotment of money towards this program, the Student Association funds programs to ensure the safety, wellbeing, and health of all TU affiliates.

The Collegian’s suggestions for sexual assault resources

We are happy to see the efforts TU has made in recent years to step up their game in regards to handling cases of sexual assault and harassment, but we still feel that there is more to be done. We would like to propose this list of actions: -Improve accessibility of TU’s policy and reporting process to students. While it is currently online, searching through Campus Security’s website in order to find it is a difficult process. Giving students a paper copy of the policies, having posters displayed on campus and simplifying the process to find policies online would extremely useful.

-Create a student organization for anonymous support. An organization similar to the anonymous LGBT+ support group in the Little Blue House would allow victims of sexual assault and harassment to come to terms with what happened to them and have a support network of fellow survivors.

-Set up incentivized sensitivity trainings for students. Haven and Bystander Intervention are a step in the right direction, but both fail for various reasons to be effective. A course should encourage participation without the apathy that often comes with mandating trainings programs and make students aware of how best to talk with and understand fellow students when disclosing their experiences.

Aug. 22 6:20 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers observed an individual asleep near Chapman Plaza. After making contact with the individual it was determined the individual was intoxicated but coherent and cooperative. The individual claimed to be homeless, and Officers completed a warrant search which turned back negative followed by requesting EMSA services. After the arrival of EMSA, the individual was transported for further medical care.

Aug. 23 8:05 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Hardesty Press Storage Building in regards to a baby stroller sitting on the Southwest side. Upon arrival Officers observed the baby stroller and it appeared to be abandoned due to it being covered in dirt and the wheels not functioning properly. The Communication Center advised Officers that a unknown person was observed on camera leaving the baby stroller on the Southwest corner and never returned. Officers disposed of the baby stroller.

Aug. 24 12:00 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were flagged down by an employee flagged due to observing possible weapons in a vehicle. Officers found the vehicle and observed the possible weapons. Officers made contact with the owner of the vehicle and advised them of the rules and regulations on campus. The individual was very cooperative and stated

that they forgot they were in their vehicle but they would be removed.

Aug. 25 4:05 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers noticed a deputy from Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department at Pi Kappa Alpha House. The deputy was trying to serve a student with a protective order who lived at the residences. The deputy could not find the student at the fraternity house and went to the students new residence and the student was found and served.

5:30 a.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers observed an individual asleep on a bench in the vicinity of Samson Plaza. Officers conducted a field interview where the individual was found not to be university affiliated. A warrants check was conducted and was negative. The individual was trespass warned and was escorted off campus without incident.

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.

Aug. 27 1:10 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Kappa Sigma Fraternity House for a party shutdown. Officers met with the members of the fraternity.

The fraternity members shut down the party and requested that all guests leave. Officers ensured that the building was secure before leaving the area.

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

News

6 September 2016

The Collegian: 5

Sexual health data rates show disparities in Tulsa

Recent data on Tulsa County health reveals a large gap in health outcomes across zip codes.

The health department plans to use this information in new outreach programs.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

Last week, the Tulsa Health department released their annual Tulsa County Health Profile for 2015. This report shows important health indicators and their prevalence across Tulsa, separated by zipcode. Separating by location reveals what parts of town are most affected by certain diseases or health choices, allowing healthcare professionals to tailor programs to specific areas.

Since the report spans population demographics and socioeconomic status to mortality and behavioral risk factors, it provides for a wide range of analysis. Perhaps one of the most glaring is sexual health issues, from teen births to sexually transmitted diseases.

In 2013, teen birth rate of girls 15-17 years old in Tulsa was 17.9 live births for every 1,000 females, lower than the state average of 20.5, but higher than the U.S. average of 12.3. About 37 percent of mothers received delayed or no prenatal care, a rate which was similar across most ethnicities.

Prenatal care is important for the health of mother and baby, and the rate of delayed care in Tulsa is higher than state and US rates. Infant mortality rate in the county was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than both the state (6.8) and country (6.0) rates.

Disparities in race/ethnicity are reflected in the data, as black infant mortality rate was three times higher than that of whites.

Compared to the national average, rates of sexually transmitted diseases in Tulsa county are also extremely elevated. The chlamyd-

ia incidence rate was 545.5 cases per 100,000 in 2013, while in the state the rate was 474.7, and in the US as a whole, 446.6 cases. The highest incidence rates were found in the 74106 and 74126 zip codes.

This STD, commonly asymptomatic, can cause short and long-term reproductive problems than can be transmitted during births.

Gonorrhea incidence rates in Tulsa were also double the national average, at 200.5 cases per 100,000 compared to 106.1 cases per 100,000. Syphilis rates, however, were slightly lower than the national average, but higher than the state average.

The locality map, however, showed syphilis incidence rates were not evenly spread across the county; the 74106 district had a rate of 24.7-32.1 cases per 100,000, while some districts had none.

This difference played out repeatedly. New cases of gonorrhea were found at a rate of 464.91000.3 in the 74106, 74126, and 74103 areas. This rate was over four times the national average.

The greatest percentages of new chlamydia and gonorrhea cases were found in 20-24 year olds, mostly in females and blacks.

For syphilis, the most new cases were reported in 25-29 year olds,

graphic by Michaela Flonard

Tulsa Health Department is planning new programs to address the high rates of STDs in Tulsa.

highest at 78 to 81 years — were those with the highest STD rates.

The median household incomes of some of these areas were also the lowest in the county, around 19,712 - 28,005 dollars, with close to or over 30 percent of the population below poverty. These areas had low population density and

“Sexual health education in Oklahoma may play a role in these [STD] rates.”

and about 80 percent of these new cases were male. The majority of the new cases were in whites, and about half the cases were men who have sex with men.

In new HIV/AIDS cases, the greatest number was in 20-29 year olds, majority male and white.

Over half the new cases were in males who have sex with men.

When comparing the sexual health data to other data available, some similarities became apparent. Some of the zipcodes with the lowest life expectancy — around 68 to 72 years, compared to the

ranged from 12,000 to 21,000 people, compared to some regions of 36,000 to 58,000.

The Tulsa Health Department is “currently developing a plan to address” the STD rates in certain high risk areas of Tulsa county, according to Kaitlin Snider, health department spokeswoman. Part of this outreach is Expedited Partner Therapy. In this treatment, a patient with chlamydia or gonorrhea receives prescriptions to give to his/her partner without the health care provider first examining the partner.

Currently, this therapy is potentially allowable in the state, with some administrative regulations authorizing it, but other administrative regulations, statutory authority, case law, and medical board opinions pose legal barriers.

Studies have shown EPT is a cost effective and cost-saving treatment option for these STD forms. While the treatment will not be recommended to every patient, Snider believes it will help decrease rates of infection.

The Tulsa Health department also works with the disease intervention specialists from the state’s Department of Health in notifying hard-to-reach clients with positive test results. The county’s North Regional Health and Wellness Center does offer STD services and education.

Staff work to provide counseling on ways of safer sexual behavior, provide help to sexual partners of those infected, and identify those with infections who are unlikely to seek diagnosis or treatment.

As a state, Oklahoma ranks high

in many STD transmission rates.

In 2013, the state ranked 14th in chlamydial infections and 10th in gonorrheal infections nationally.

For HIV diagnosis, Oklahoma ranked 24th in 2013 nationally.

Sexual health education in Oklahoma may play a role in these rates. State regulations do not require sexuality education, only HIV/AIDS-prevention education.

HIV/AIDS discussion must be limited to “discussion of the disease AIDS and its spread and prevention,” according to regulations.

Only AIDS curriculum is mandated to be medically accurate; HB 2721, which required sex education curriculum to include medically accurate, age-appropriate information designed to reduce risk factors and behaviors associated with unintended pregnancy, failed in 2016.

Tulsa Public Schools began offering comprehensive sex education and pregnancy prevention in fall of 2014. Other districts teach nothing past the required HIV/ AIDS-prevention courses.

Young Democrats form new organization at TU Young Democrats club offers TU students a chance to involve themselves in local elections.

Michaela Flonard News Editor Last week, the Young Democrats club was chartered by SA. The club is associated with the Tulsa County Democratic Party and the Tulsa Young Democrats and hopes to “educate, organize and mobilize” TU students for the Democratic party.

The club originated from president Breton Thomas’ increasing involvement with local progressive politics. From this experience, he realized the need for a club that

would “bring together like-minded students who could work towards electing local Democrats to our state legislature.” In April, the nascent club began working with the local Democratic Party and Tulsa Young Democrats.

By educating students on political tactics like canvassing, fundraising and using a phone bank, the club plans to organize students to work for local candidates.

Through this, Thomas hopes to “[use] our combined enthusiasm to see progress in Oklahoma by electing our local candidates to office.”

The club has already made contact with local campaigns. Student will be able to “engage in every aspect of electing our candidates to office,” Thomas says. He hopes to

see these efforts come to fruition in the Nov. 8th election.

As for long-term plans, Thomas hopes to create a “place to come, empowering yourself and those

shortage of funds meant a week of jury trials — scheduled to be the last before summer — were postponed. The county lacked the funds to provide jurors the required $40 for their cooperation. These trials did not resume until Aug. 29th.

Over the months that have passed since, the department has found no definite solution to its budget crisis. Administration at the county jail has vocalized its desire for more staff members, while the sheriff’s office

County Budget Board reported having to allot approximately half a million dollars from the funds intended for public parks, legal, and IT to the jail. If this weren’t vexing enough, many claim the city of Tulsa isn’t pulling its fair share of the subsidization.

The board has reached a degree of consensus regarding one issue, at least: the planned expansion for the jail can only worsen the department’s spending and deepen its debts. The project’s estimated

courtesy Young Democrats Club

TU Young Democrats hope to help change the political climate of Oklahoma.

around you, promoting equality and accessibility for all marginalized groups.”

“Where we build bridges and not walls,” he continues, “love

trumps hate, always.”

Thomas believes students should join the club because “the people of Oklahoma deserve better.” After listing off a variety of statistics on incarceration rates, education, and domestic abuse, among others, he stressed “our Republican dominated legislature has mismanaged our state, at the expense of its citizens, especially poor.”

This club offers students the chance to help change the political climate of the state and fight for those marginalized in the community.

Those interested in joining the club should follow them on Facebook or email brenton-thomas@ utulsa.edu.

Tulsa County jail faces continued budget issues With an expansion on the way, Tulsa County jail sinks farther into debts.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor Tulsa’s county jail is once again facing a budgetary crisis; more accurately, it never stopped. As early as January, Tulsa city commissioners became aware of the department’s economic struggles, most notably its inability to pay its own staff.

Instead, these staff members found themselves on the payroll of the sheriff’s office. This was one of many controversial decisions meant to act as quick fix rather than a long-term solution.

Tensions rose high after commissioners attempted to persuade Sheriff Rick Weigel to utilize the nearly $1.5 million belonging to the sheriff’s office cash fee fund to pay the jail’s debts. Weigel announced his resignation soon after and was replaced by Michelle Robinette, who quickly made the jail’s budgetary woes public.

The crisis made headlines again in June when the department’s

“The jail will...always have budgetary issues.” has elected not to replace many of the deputies leaving the jail.

Rather, department officers are being hired at significantly lower wages. As a result, workers are taking up the same obligations for less pay — estimated $34,000 less.

Despite this, payroll increased 4 percent just this year, reaching a cost of 25 million dollars.

Dan Witham, a member of the Sales Tax Overview Committee, had a disappointing diagnosis.

“The jail,” he says, “will always have budgetary issues.” The Tulsa

costs were unrealistically low, board-members claim, and now they suffer for their optimism.

The intent was to have the expansion paid for through sales tax, but so far this hasn’t been sufficient.

The jail has already failed in its goal to repay the debts it accumulated while providing inmates with medical care by Monday.

Sheriff Vic Regalado has enacted several different steps to fund the expansion, among them a new contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that

courtesy Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office

Budgetary issues within the Tulsa County jail have led to payroll issues and controversial quick fixes.

would permit the jail to hold inmates facing immigration charges.

He’s also taking over the jail commissary and intends to cut costs by purchasing cheaper cars for the detention officers, and permitting fewer to be taken home by employees. Regalado, unlike his hesitant predecessors, will be dipping into the sheriff’s financial reserves for $1.2 million.

Jail trustee Mumodou Ceesay offers a unique solution: dimin-

ish the population of the jail.

“The people who are not supposed to be there, not a threat to society, they should not be in that jail. If we reduce the population by 300, 400 people, in a year, the cost of running that jail would be substantially manageable.”

Oklahoma, it’s worth noting, has the second highest incarceration rate in the United States, a standing which can only worsen the county jail’s financial predicament.

News

The Collegian: 6

Black Wall Street interests John Legend’s film company Tulsa’s Black Wall Street may be the subject of a TV show.

Hannah Kloppenburg Editor-in-Chief

John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Co. are teaming up with actress Tika Sumpter to create a series for WGN about Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street.” Get Lifted Film Co. is responsible for such recent works as Underground, WGN’s most-watched series, and Southside With You, a movie about the Obamas’ first date (in which Ms. Sumpter plays Michelle).

The series, reportedly titled Black Wall Street, will document Tulsa’s Greenwood District and the Tulsa Race Riots. In the 1910s and 1920s, Tulsa’s Greenwood District was home to a number of thriving, affluent black families and businesses — it was for this reason that the area was known as

the “Black Wall Street.”

However, the community was ravaged through two days of rioting and racially motivated attacks which were prompted by a black youth’s interaction with a white

“You Are Here” planned for TEDx

Though many consider the riots to be one of the most tragic events in American history, they are not often the subject of books or television shows.

Mike Jackson, a representative

“Though many consider the riots to be one of the most tragic events in American history, they are not often the subject of books.” woman in an elevator. Rumors circulated in white newspapers that he had assaulted her, which lead to violent encounters between blacks and whites.

More than 800 people were hospitalized and roughly 6,000 were incarcerated. Reports of the dead varied wildly from 39 to nearly 300. Greenwood itself was devastated — burned to the ground by white perpetrators. Most of its residents were left homeless and broke.

6 September 2016

of Get Lifted, told Deadline that “our experience working with [WGN] on Underground has been fantastic. Additionally, we’re looking forward to working with our friend Tika Sumpter to help tell this incredible story that many people know nothing about.”

Though Black Wall Street is in the very earliest stages of production, it is predicted to debut in 2018 if successful.

courtesy James Whisenhunt

Students and faculty can share their ideas relating to the theme “You Are Here” at this year’s TEDx.

TEDx calls for speakers for this year’s event.

Anthony Means Student Writer

Last year the University of Tulsa hosted the first TEDxUniversityofTulsa. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. Their mission is to spread ideas worth sharing and to spark conversations and connections from community to community. TEDx is about bringing like minded people and even people who want to learn something new together and sparking new ideas to build a better future. TEDX events are organized by a motivated individual.

Last year this individual was Katie Snyder who hosted the theme Truth or Dare because “Truth often leads us to be daring, and daring

often leads us to new truths.” Each year a new organizer is recruited to plan the next event in order to keep the ideas flowing. This year the event has been passed down to Sam Beckmann who will be organizing the theme “You Are Here” which will take place on Friday, March 31st 2017 at the Lorton Performance Center.

TEDxUniversityofTulsa is currently looking for speakers and performers with ideas worth sharing. To sign up yourself or nominate someone, visit TEDxUniversityofTulsa.co and apply.

“We know there are students and professors all around campus who can give great talk and we need everyone’s help to find them,” Beckmann said. You can find more information on the Facebook page or Twitter page.

Wednesday, September 7 at 10:00am to 2:00pm Reynolds Centers, Concourse Engineering & Natural Sciences Job Fair Information on companies/organizations attending will be updated through Golden OpporTUnities and the TU Career Fair + app.

Register today through Golden OpporTUnities.

Wednesday, September 7 at 7:00pm to 8:30pm Student Union, Alcove American Chemical Society: Earthquakes and Waste Water Disposal The Tulsa Section of the American Chemical Society is sponsoring a public forum on earthquakes and waste water disposal. This Chemistry Café is free and open to the public. Parking is available for free just north of 4th place and Harvard.

A panel of experts will make short presentations followed by a one hour audience question and answer session. The objective is to present to the public facts about the relationship between drilling waste water disposal and the large number of major earthquakes recently experience by the state of Oklahoma.

The panel of experts include Matt Skinner of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission which regulates waste water disposal, Johnson Bridgwater who is head of the Oklahoma Sierra Club and Jeremy Boak of the Oklahoma Geological Survey who are studying the effects of waste water disposal on the probability of induced earthquakes.

This promises to be an enlightening evening discussing a topic which is of high importance to many Oklahomans.

Thursday, September 8 at 7:30pm to 9:30pm Lorton Performance Center, Meinig Recital Hall Original Electroacoustic Music By Konstantinos Karathanasis The TU School of Music will present an electro-acoustic music concert of performances and original compositions by composer Konstantinos Karathanasis.

The concert will also feature Brazilian percussionist Ricardo Coelho de Souza.

Karathanasis and Souza will perform acousmatic compositions (i.e. music for loudspeakers) in a quadraphonic setup; music for bendir, a Moroccan frame drum; and live electronics.

Thursday, September 8 at 7:00pm to 8:00pm Tyrrell Hall, Ellen G. Adelson Auditorium More than Just a Trend: Local Food and the Farmers Who Grow It Emily Oakley and her partner Mike Appel, own Three Spring Farm, a USDA Certified Organic family operation in Cherokee County, Oklahoma.

This lecture will discuss their decision to start the farm, the foundation of the Cherry Street Farmer’s Market, and the ways locally-grown food shapes the health of our bodies, our communities, and our planet. A fresh-from-the-farm reception will follow.

Thursday, September 8 at 3:30pm to 5:00pm Hardesty Hall On-Campus Job Fair Departments from around campus will be speaking to students interested in oncampus employment about current job openings.

Saturday, September 10 at 2:00pm to 3:30pm Gilcrease Museum, Tom Gilcrease Jr. Auditorium Tres Vidas (Afternoon Performance) Tres Vidas (Three Lives) is a live musical theatre work for singing actress and trio (cello, piano and percussion), based on the lives of three legendary Latin American women: Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant activist Rufina Amaya and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni. The music ranges from traditional Mexican folk and Argentine tango songs sung in Spanish to instrumental works.

Choose from two performances: 2:00 or 7:30 p.m.

Seating is limited and advanced registration is required. Registration price includes museum admission. Presented with support from the Hispanic American Foundation.

Sunday, September 11 at 2:00pm to 4:00pm Gilcrease Museum, Tom Gilcrease Jr. Auditorium West Mexico Symposium 1: A View from the Field Join experts Chris Beekman, John Pohl, Marcos Zavaleta and Lorenza Lopez Mestas as they discuss recent archaeological research. Fieldwork in West Mexico continues to provide new insight into the cultures and architecture of the past. In recent years, archaeologists have conducted extensive surveys to locate new sites and to map the distribution of sites in order to determine where people lived and how their lives changed through time. In addition, excavations on habitation and shaft and chamber tomb sites have provided details of life and death from the time of some of the first towns to the arrival of the Spanish. Part one of a three-part symposium series that also includes: West Mexico Symposium 2: The Art of the Human West Mexico Symposium 3: CSI West Mexico The Collegian does not produce all event descriptions in the Community Calendar.

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager Senior offical executed in North Korea According to South Korean intelligence, North Korea allegedly executed a senior official for slouching during a meeting presided over by Kim Jong Un. The official, Kim Jong-YIn, was the Vice Premier for Education of the DPRK. According to varying sources, the 63-year-old was arrested, interrogated, and accused of “anti-revolutionary” activity. South Korean reports of the reclusive and isolated North Korea are not always accurate, but a government purge of officials is reportedly underway. The nation has a history of executing, publicly or privately, officials or citizens deemed revolutionary or lackluster in their work.

Chief ISIS strategist allegedly killed in drone strike ISIS has reportedly lost one of its most crucial members, chief strategist Abu Muhammed al-Adnani, after a coalition air strike in Al-Bab, Syria. Although the Defense Department claimed to still be assessing the results of the strike, ISIS announced that the strategist had been “martyred” while surveying fields. Adnani had been chief of operations for the caliphate’s emir, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

“Besides Baghdadi, he’s the second-most central figure,” a U.S. official said. “He’s central to military planning, central to messaging efforts. He’s the voice of ISIL, and he has been the one advocating for all these horrific attacks in Iraq and Syria and around the world.” ISIS has been directly or indirectly responsible for attacks such as those in San Bernardino, Nice, the Pulse nightclub and a plethora of suicide bombings in the Middle East. Adnani’s death comes in a time when ISIS is suffering major reversals in its war efforts.

Hurricane Hermine hits Florida Over 250,000 people lost power after Hurricane Hermine struck Florida with sustained winds up to 80 mph. “There’s nothing open in our county right now,” said Maj. Trey Morrison, sheriff of Wakulla County. The hurricane made landfall there and has since pushed to Georgia and the Carolinas as a tropical storm. Officials urged citizens to remain cautious even after the worst seemed to be over.

Florida Governor Rick Scott told citizens to remain cautious as they surveyed damage, saying, “We have a hurricane. You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property.

You cannot rebuild a life.” In light of the storm, some health officials seek to downplay concerns surrounding the Zika virus. “We associate severe rain events like tropical events and hurricanes with increases in nuisance mosquitoes, not disease-spreading,” said Ben Beard of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Uzbekistan president confirmed dead After a week of rumors and cancelled events, Uzbekistan officials have confirmed the death of their president, Islam Karimov. The president, who ruled for 27 years, reportedly had a brain hemorrhage earlier this week. A United Nations report described the country’s administration as using torture systematically.

Human rights groups have spoken against the president’s harsh practices in the past, but he claimed that it was the correct response to security threats such as growing radical Islamism in the region. Vladimir Putin gave his condolences, describing Karimov as having “contributed to the security and stability of Central Asia”. Sherzod Igamberdiev, a lawyer in Tashkent, told reporters, “If you put all your efforts into stopping terrorism, you will have criticism, but we live here, we know the situation on the inside, we are satisfied with him, we love him.”

Brazilian president impeached Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been impeached by the Senate. Rousseff, the first female president of the nation, was accused of moving government expenditures within the budget to make it appear that Brazil’s economy was performing better. The former president called the impeachment a political coup and plans to appeal the matter.

She had served as president since 2011 and may run for the next election. Her vice president Michel Terner, now president of Brazil, inherits a troubled economy. The recent Olympic host has a high unemployment rate, wealth gap, and a budget deficit at 9.6 percent of GDP that’s likely to widen. Terner, who shares a low approval rating with his predecessor, will only serve the rest of the term until 2019. He addressed the Senate, saying, “As of today, the demands will be much greater on our government.”

Commentary

6 September 2016

The Collegian: 7

Kaepernick rejects desire for apolitical sports

While some viewed Colin Kaepernick’s protest as disrespectful of the flag, this imposes a rigid view that prevents discourse on America’s flaws.

Michaela Flonard News Editor

For the past three 49ers’ preseason games, Colin Kaepernick has elected to not stand for the duration of the national anthem.

This move is a silent protest of treatment of people of color by the police, saying “there are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder” and he cannot continue to stand for the anthem as that occurs. While NFL rules and US laws state he is well within his bounds to do so, teammates and others have been critical, some going as far as burning his jersey.

Standing for the national anthem is seen as a display of respect. It honors the country, and in particular, the troops who have sacrificed so much for our safety.

One of the main criticisms against Kaepernick is that he is disrespecting the flag or the troops. The issue here is equivalating the flag with the troops.

Not every person views a symbol the same way, as Kaepernick has demonstrated. While someone like Drew Brees, New Orleans

citizens, he feels unable to give it that respect at this point.

Demanding he see the flag the same way Brees sees it goes against the First Amendment and even common sense. One person should not dictate how another feels or thinks of a certain object; what one thinks and feels goes back to history, culture and childhood, things we cannot argue with.

To value the respect of an object over that of a class of fellow Americans seems to go against the values inscribed in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, values that are supposedly written into the flag.

The issue of respect, to some commentators, has meant suggesting Kaepernick try another way of protesting that would be more acceptable. Brees commented that “there’s plenty of other ways that you can [protest] in a peaceful manner that doesn’t involve being disrespectful to the American flag.” Asking Kaepernick to change his method of protest to something less disruptive — less noticeable — is an example of respectability politics in protesting.

Respectability politics is the notion that the systematic oppression of a group can be overcome if the members of that group are moderate, polished and well-behaved — if they adjust their behavior to what is prized by the majority, then they will eventually gain legitimacy. This puts the burden on the “other” to change, to self-regulate and internalize the stereotypes put on their group.

In protesting, respectability politics manifests as a preference for polite protesters. As veteran civil rights activist Barbara Reynolds wrote in a Washington Post essay about the Black Lives Matter

published, they caused outcry.

But today, when videos of police brutality — think Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and so many others — are widely shared in the media, instead of sweeping change there are just promises of investigations or suspensions. Perhaps those respectability politics no longer fit our era. Each time period is different, and while it may have worked in the past, today it may not. Honestly, why should it have to? Why should people who are sometimes brutally mistreated for their race or ethnicity be so polite?

This is not to suggest violence is the solution, but neither is dressing in your Sunday best and politely asking for change.

The idea of respectability politics in protest needs to end. It is propagated by many, but it puts an extra burden on those striving for equality. The pressures to self-police for more “acceptable” behavior come from a multitude of sources, but people need to stop thinking this way. Doing one’s best simply for oneself should be good enough. When a fire alarm is pulled, we do not sit around complaining how disruptive it is.

The situation is assessed and what needs to be done is done.

People do not need to be “respectable” and fit into a mold of what a good member of an oppressed group is in order to deserve equality in treatment. This idea ignores the realities of institutionalism and systematic oppression that may make it near impossible for most to achieve that level of “respectability.”

Respectable ways of protesting might also just mean less noticeable ways. The backlash to all of this shows how much people want sports to be apolitical. The NFL

“People do not need to be ‘respectable’ and fit into a mold of what a good member of an oppressed group is in order to deserve equality in treatment.”

Saints’ quarterback, may see the flag as something “sacred” and reflect on the military members he’s visited and his family’s service when he sees it, Kaepernick sees it as a symbol of “a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He, unlike Brees, does not view the anthem or the flag through the prism of the military.

That doesn’t mean Kaepernick hates veterans or the country, as he’s said he has “great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country.” He views the flag as a symbol of what America should and could be. Seeing how the country is failing, in his eyes and in countless others’, to respect the rights of some of its

movement, “The 1960s movement also had an innate respectability because our leaders often were heads of the black church, as well.

Unfortunately, church and spirituality are not high priorities for Black Lives Matter, and the ethics of love, forgiveness and reconciliation that empowered black leaders such as King and Nelson Mandela in their successful quests to win over their oppressors are missing from this movement.”

This sort of thinking may have worked at the time, but even then, not all were the passive, perfect protesters commonly portrayed in the history books and media.

When images of the Civil Rights protesters hosed by police were

can “support” the military while getting paid by those organizations to do so, spending taxpayer money in a promotional event that paints the NFL in a good light.

From 2011-2015, the fourteen NFL teams were paid $5.4 million dollars by the US Department of Defense to “honor” soldiers at their games. The military has claimed this served as a useful recruitment tool, but as audience members didn’t know the NFL was being paid for their celebration of our armed forces, this deal surely worked to make the NFL look altruistic, helping it survive other issues it has faced, including domestic violence.

But outside of that window, peo-

violently dragging and throwing the child.” The zoo’s security team chose to kill the gorilla rather than tranquilize him, which might have taken up to ten minutes to take effect. Many people blame the zoo and Mrs. Gregg for Harambe’s death, and so project their anger into memes that are often satirical, sometimes political and have now officially turned the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s social media into, well, a zoo.

The zoo, Harambe’s home for the past year, closed their Twitter account after it was hacked and later spammed by messages bemoaning the late Harambe on every posting. The Facebook was overrun by spam as well, although the official account is still available. Memes are all good and well, but this is disrespectful. The marketing branch of the zoo now has to contend with a sharp drop in available spaces to advertise and interact with the public. Parents can no longer check their Twitter to see half-priced ticket days or other promotions. Children following the zoo can no longer learn fun facts about animals, which the zoo provided on both platforms.

All of this is added to the pain of

zoo workers who knew and interacted with Harambe. Any family that has lost a pet can tell you that losing an animal is a deeply emotional experience. The internet, instead of acknowledging people’s grief, made Harambe a meme and shot down a chance for the Cincinnati Zoo to continue to reach out to the community and communicate in personal and meaningful ways.

One way to respect the zoo, Harambe, and the community that loved them is to be aware of where you post content. Think to yourself, “Am I writing about Harambe through a medium that will detract from the purpose of that medium?” No? Congratulations! You are not currently part of the problem! Memes are a fun, hip way to express humor, outrage, grief, or anything else easily understood by others. No one wants to take them away from you. Posters that spam a social media account, however, are aware of exactly where they are posting. There’s an endless amount of internet that is not specifically focused on the Cincinnati Zoo. Consider sharing emotional and political expressions there.

Trolls no longer hide under bridges. They will always be

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Misinterpretation of Kaepernick’s actions have distracted from his message.

ple seem to not want to see politics from their players. Because they pay for their jerseys, watch their games and argue over their stats, they expect the players’ political beliefs to match their own or for them to be silent about the issues.

Those affected by racism, sexism or any other sort of group oppression do not get to live perfectly apolitically. Sexism might not be as blatant as it has been was when women couldn’t own property, but a Pew research poll found that 63 percent of women say obstacles continue to make life harder for women than for men. Clearly, it still affects their daily life.

Why shouldn’t Kaepernick force audiences to think a little deeper about what they consume?

He recently explained that “I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.” We constantly ask celebrities to be better role models, for rappers to stop focusing on sex and money and condoning violence, for actresses to mention equal pay.

There is historical precedent for this kind of protest. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave the Black Power salute during the 1968 Olympics, are now widely known and respected by most Americans for their actions during that game; at the time, they were suspended from the national team, expelled and sent home to America. The organization called it “a deliberate and violent breach of the fundamental principles of the Olympic spirit.”

In the same vein, we want our

athletes to be silent about an issue that may affect them when they have a public stage to speak on.

It’s paradoxical. Role models cannot be silent, and change cannot occur if we demand that protests are respectful and non-distracting.

To force a conversation, a change of views, one must cause some sort of inconvenience.

Starting a conversation like this will not be all that’s necessary to cause societal change, especially given the direction of it. If we, as Americans, want to honor our country, we also need to be willing to hold discourses on its failings.

Respecting and loving a place does not mean holding it sacred.

We also need to abandon this idea of respectability politics, in protest and in life. Those suffering injustices do not need to be perfect victims for them to be examples of mistreatment by those in power. Your statuses should not determine how valid your criticisms are, and how you choose to criticize should not define it either, unless you choose to do so in a violent way.

In the last preseason game, Kaepernick was joined by a teammate, Eric Reid, in his protest. This time, they kneeled, to show respect to the military. He hoped this move would shift the focus away from the controversy about his respect of the flag onto his intended point.

To add to his actions, Kaepernick also plans to donate the first million of his salary to organizations that help communities dealing with racial inequality and police brutality.

there to infuriate and complicate digital communication, but it is also worthwhile to consider what we can do to make the internet a less stressful place. Unfortunately, Facebook and Twitter do not currently offer easy comment moderation. Many websites allow users to choose to approve or disapprove individual comments with a

single click before they show up to the public. To suggest this change, you can click “Report a Problem” on Facebook, then select “General Feedback;” on Twitter, finding a feedback button is nearly impossible. However, you can report spam by going to the Help Center, then Policy, then Our Policies, then Report Spam.

Harambe memes a detriment to Cincinnati Zoo

Constant memes about Harambe’s death are keeping the Cincinnati Zoo from advertising and moving on.

Raven Fawcett Student Writer

Four months ago, Michelle Gregg’s child fell into a gorilla enclosure in Cincinnati, and the internet spiraled into a frenzy over Harambe, the gorilla shot and killed in order to protect the child. The memes started as a form of outrage and commentary.

Mrs. Gregg let her child wander off, and Harambe could hardly be blamed for acting like a gorilla. On the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Facebook page, the zoo explains that “According to a CFD incident report, the gorilla was

courtesy Wikipedia

The Cincinnati Zoo’s decision regarding Harambe has set the internet aflame.

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The Collegian: 8

6 September 2016

Basic income would be Basic income would be unworkable in the US feasible in the US

Although it would improve on the current welfare system in some ways, a universal basic income would ultimately be unrealistic.

Brennen VanderVeen Student Writer A universal basic income is a proposal to replace most or all current social spending with a single cash payment to every adult, regardless of income level. There are two main benefits to such a program. First of all, the administrative cost of it would be quite low since it is only one single program and there is no need to verify income. Secondly, it would eliminate welfare traps for people with low incomes.

A welfare trap is a situation in which one can actually be worse off by working more.

Obviously, welfare benefits decrease as one works more and therefore gains a higher income. However, if the benefits decrease nearly as fast as one’s income rises, one is essentially working more hours for no immediate net financial benefit. Taxes can also influence the welfare trap by decreasing the actual financial benefit of working more.

Some programs, such as disability insurance, go so far as to be eliminated entirely if one is employed.

For these reasons, a universal basic income actually has some support on the right. It would certainly be less bureaucratic than the current hodgepodge of programs and would eliminate the welfare trap since taking on more hours would always yield more income.

The most prominent advocate of a basic income on the right is probably Charles Murray, a political scientist, author and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. I’ll use his proposals as an example of a basic income, but of course there could be other versions. He’s proposed that every American citizen over 21 receive a monthly payment of $13,000. $3,000 of that would have to go to health insurance, but the remaining $10,000 would have no strings attached.

His plan is not completely universal, though, since there is a small phase-out. After making $30,000 in income, not including the basic income, basic income would slowly decrease until an individual makes

$60,000, at which point the basic income would be $6,500.

The program would be paid for by eliminating “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, housing subsidies, welfare for single women and every other kind of welfare and social-services program, as well as agricultural subsidies and corporate welfare.”

To be clear, eliminating these programs is a fiscal necessity under Murray’s plan. It’s difficult to calculate an exact cost, but Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute estimated that a plan such as Murray’s would cost about $2.25 trillion, which would indeed have a surplus if Tanner’s estimate of $2.5 trillion in annual savings is correct. However, that number is disputed. The Atlantic published an article in April that put Murray’s specific plan as having a shortfall of $355 billion.

Even if a basic income would result in a surplus, though, there would still be problems. Mainly, the idea of eliminating all of those programs in the short term is not feasible. Let’s assume that social security, which is both one of the government’s largest programs by far and one of the hardest programs to reform, is somehow allowed to be eliminated. Even with a basic income, some people would still see a decrease in benefits since social security currently spends about $16,000 per recipient. Cutting that over a short period of time could cause severe financial strain for current social security recipients, which is why most plans to reduce social security expenditures only affect younger generations who presumably have time to save more.

Also, a basic income would be inadequate for replacing certain types of social programs. For one thing, there is no increased benefit for raising children. Whether one is childless or a single mother of several children, one’s benefit is exactly the same. For another thing, even if a basic income eliminated the welfare trap, some people are on public assistance because they are not capable of working. $13,000 would not cover their expenses. Even if one concedes that a basic income would work well for working adults, it would leave holes in the social safety net for the most vulnerable.

If America’s welfare system were aligned with some of the goals of the basic income the country would be better for it. For instance, programs could be reformed so that one does not have a net financial loss because of work. Some programs could also be consolidated in order to reduce bureaucracy. Some specific programs could even be replaced with more generalized small cash payments. However, a full-scale replacement of the system with a basic income is not workable.

A universal basic income would reform a broken welfare system and maintain the liberty and ingenuity Americans pride ourselves on.

Kayleigh Thesenvitz Managing Editor

America’s democratic socialists often look to countries like Finland, Denmark and Norway as the shining example of what we could be. This is firmly met with cries of impossibility by the economically conservative right. They believe universal health care, a basic income and other policies of a “welfare state,” don’t jive with our capitalist ideals and self-image as a land of liberty and equality. I disagree.

First and foremost, it is important to know that the policies being put into place in Finland are experimental, and arguments for and against it are likely to change as data is compiled and analyzed. Additionally, the scale of the experiment will not cause a taxations strain on Finland large enough to be measured and compared to the cost of similar policies in the US. However, the hypothesis as it stands — that a basic income would reduce the incentive traps found in current welfare systems — is based on sound political theory and careful analysis of the potential causes of incentive traps.

The theoretical arguments for and against a basic income are crucial for understanding the pros and cons of enacting it as policy. Anthony Painter, the director of policy and strategy for the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in the UK, wrote a paper titled, “Creative citizen, creative state: The principled and pragmatic case for a Universal Basic Income,” which is one of many studies to find that universal basic income would be a significant improvement on the welfare state and crucial for a future where growing technological improvement could cause critical unemployment levels.

Painter suggests, “If you want to incentivise work at every level of income then Basic Income is simply the best system.”

If people are not worried about where their next meal is coming from, they will be free to pursue work they find rewarding and that will have a positive impact on the community. It would allow citizens who do not currently participate in civic duties due to financial and time restraints to be able to do

so. People may also work in order to have extra spending money for luxury items or entertainment. Basically, people would be able to better regulate their time spent working, participating in civic life and pursuing happiness as a citizen.

The average monthly cost of living for a single adult with no children in the US is roughly 2,370 dollars according to data agreed upon by the Economic Policy Institute, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, American Community Survey and United States Department of Labor. For a married couple with four children (the highest number of people per household that cost-ofliving calculators tabulate) that number is 6,908 dollars per month. If a basic income was distributed based on household size and was allotted based on the cost-of-living in their state or urban center, the payout per household would exist somewhere within that scale.

Granted, that is a steep rise from the 900 dollars a month that a family of four currently receives in food stamps, and so the rate of taxation would rise as well. However, having a basic income for every household would allow for getting rid of food stamps as well as other welfare programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, housing subsidies, agricultural subsidies and corporate welfare.

In 2010, the US government spent 927 billion dollars on welfare programs outside of Social Security and Medicare. In 2014, 888 billion was paid for Social Security alone and the combined spending on Medicare and Medicaid was over one trillion dollars. These cuts combined with a reduction in military spending and a small increase in sales tax could create a feasible starting point for the government to implement payments of percentage of the cost of living per household.

Large-scale reforms to such big bureaucratic systems is an extraordinarily difficult task that will require the collaboration of the largest think tanks in the US. However with the looming failure of the Social Security system, it is arguably past time for reform.

The other common argument against a basic income is that it is perceived as incongruent with American ideals. However, liberty and equality would both be bolstered by a common ability of all Americans to provide for their needs. The ingenuity of American capitalism would not be hampered by the process, since people who want to work and have ambition to do so will be even more capable. In fact, a basic income could be a safety net for many people in an uncertain future when robots can be programmed to do many of the menial labor jobs that currently require a human touch. A basic income would be a spectacular solution for an innovative American future.

graphic by Elias Brinkman

Basic income models typically give the same amount of money to all citizens of a country.

Burkini ban doesn’t make sense in western culture cry religious intolerance. However, the burkini ban and the burqa’s symbolism are not as simple as many people would like to make it seem.

To many critics, the burqa is not exactly a symbol of liberty. The outfit, which covers all but the hands and eyes of its female wearer, is not always worn freely by women.

France’s attempt to ban the burkini flies in the face of western ideals and assumes one interpretation of Islam.

Nathan Gibbons Distribution Manager One of the West’s strongest values is tolerance, and many countries do a pretty decent job of living up to that ideal. So when France bans a swimsuit simply because of the religion it represents, it only makes sense that people around the world would

were banned in France was to avoid discrimination against muslims. One of the cities pushing the ban, Nice, was the target of an ISIS-claimed terrorist attack earlier this year. 86 were killed and over two hundred were injured after a truck driver drove through crowds in a blocked off street.

Rather than being sparked by Islamophobia,

“The West should pride itself on allowing its citizens to live as they want to.”

Pressure can come from Muslim society to wear the religious coverings in order to ‘not tempt men’, or for dignity’s sake. If adultery or ‘dishonorable’ activity is suspected in more severe Muslim communities around the world, punishments usually fall on the women. Through a sexist interpretation of Sharia law, Muslim men are often left as the judges of Muslim women’s lives.

The purported reason burkinis, a swimsuit in accordance with Muslim tradition,

many officials claim the the burkini ban was put into action to avoid a ‘civil war’ in the city, as tension is nearing a boiling point.

This is where the term ‘tolerance’ comes under fire. What exactly does it mean to be tolerant if the matter itself may be an effect of discrimination? Wouldn’t banning the burkini and the burqa be a thing of liberation for many women? Doesn’t a city have a right to ban outfits linked to a religion whose members have killed and threatened

so many of their citizens?

Interpretation is key. A religion can be interpreted differently by different kinds of people. Individuals can commune under the same religion, but practice it entirely in their own ways. Where one person practices their religion violently, someone else may preach peace. A burqa may mean female oppression to one wearer, and religious dignity to another who freely chooses.

The West should pride itself on allowing its citizens to live as they want to, while avoiding intolerance. This means all religious practices should be allowed except for those that encroach on others’ liberties.

France’s highest courts could find no legitimate reason to ban burkinis, as they posed no risk to other swimmers or citizens. Since the face is left uncovered, security concerns surrounding veiled faces are also void. An administrative burkini ban, then, makes very little sense in the free world.

6 September 2016

Commentary

The Collegian: 9

Safe spaces damage Safe spaces aren’t intellectual debate meant to stif le ideas The University of Chicago’s stance against safe spaces and trigger warnings is an important step in fighing oversensitivity.

Justin Guglielmetti Student Writer Last week, the University of Chicago released a statement to its incoming freshmen informing them that they would not be granted “safe spaces” on their college campus where their ideologies would be free of questioning. “Trigger warnings,” the advance notices before discussing a topic that it might be emotionally upsetting to some people, were also condemned by the school in its letter. Naturally, the reaction from the public has been somewhat mixed, with most of the rhetoric on the internet seeming to go against UChicago’s decision. But if you think that I am one of those people, let me offer you a trigger warning now in case you want to stop reading; I think it is about damn time.

One thing that this election cycle has made all too obvious is that this country has been overrun by oversensitivity and the fear to offend. Long before the term “political correctness” became the calling card of Donald Trump’s campaign, I and many likeminded observers had become concerned with how much self-censorship was being gradually foisted upon the American people under the guise of basic decency. Over the past several years the problem has spiraled out of control as the country has become increasingly Balkanized, with the far left attempting to dictate a strict set of views that are culturally acceptable to hold. Dangerously stigmatizing labels such as “racist,” “sexist,” and “homophobe” (take your pick of the supposed phobia) are applied left and right to people undeserving of them, just because they hold a dissenting opinion from the majority. Bill Maher is called an antiMuslim bigot because he holds negative views about the Islamic faith, with his detractors seemingly ignoring his obvious and public contempt for all religions. Trump is labeled a racist for standing against illegal immigration in all its forms, even though the last time I checked “immigrant” was not a race. Nowhere has the problem been worse than on college campuses, where controversial speakers being canceled and ridiculous measures being taken to avoid “microaggressions” seem to be occurring ever more frequently.

Though the media’s definition of a “microaggression,” which was originally coined to define the institutionalized derogatory remarks and actions towards AfricanAmericans in everyday life, but has since been coopted to refer to almost any comment towards a person that may be personally viewed as insulting or harmful, is borderline ridiculous to me, I can admit that the discussion and study of one is a worthy pursuit at an academic institution. Far more offensive to me is the attempt to stifle intellectual thought and the fraternizing of differing opinions by the creation of so-called “safe spaces,” which are by their very definition contrary to the ideas embodied by institutes of higher education. Safe space rhetoric reached its height of absurdity last year with the infamous video of the Yale student screaming at the master of her residential college for his views on whether students should be so easily offended by Halloween costumes. “It is not about creating an intellectual space!” she insisted, “It’s about creating a home here!” We are living in a world where a college professor is lambasted for insisting on fostering an environment of tol-

erance and critical thinking. As I witnessed the tide of public opinion continue to move against those who would stand up to political correctness run amok, I began to grow somewhat concerned as a holder of many so-called “offensive” beliefs. Imagine my delight then when I read that the University of Chicago, one of the premier academic institutions in our country, was finally taking a stand against these social justice warriors.

In telling their students that the school will not cater to each and every student’s desire to feel comfortable, UChicago is teaching an invaluable lesson: you don’t get to be comfortable all the time. Believe it or not, the real world puts people in all sorts of situations where they are forced to interact and yes, cooperate with people who think differently. And not only that, but this reality is actually a healthy and positive one, a catalyst for innovative ideas and compromise that engenders progress.

Imagine if you would what the world would like if there was no difference of opinion, if one ideology would have the potential to dominate the masses through groupthink without anyone willing or able to question it. As it so happens, we have a plethora of historical examples to choose from, all in the form of authoritarian dictatorships. I’m not suggesting that the overly sensitive anti-free speech movement in this country is evil or capable of committing any sort of horrible atrocity, but their wish to silence the voices of those who disagree with them is just as reminiscent of fascism as anything that Donald Trump is generating in his Republican base. Now contrast the failed and unjust regimes of dictators to the great civilizations that have been created in the name of democracy, a form of governance that needs its citizens to debate and compromise in order to succeed. Unimaginable wealth, knowledge, and opportunity have been created from such a system and running away from what makes us who we are is not the proper course for the future.

At this point it seems important to note that like almost all ideas gone awry, political correctness began with good intentions.

Certainly it is not too much to ask of moral and civil individuals to do their best not to offend or aggravate others, just as a matter of common courtesy. But this does not translate into a right not to be offended, and I would argue that it is just as much the responsibility of the offended party to shrug off what has been said as it is for the offender to not say it in the first place. If all these “triggered” people could just try to not care so much that there are others in the world who think differently than themselves, they would ultimately be much happier and more productive. This was a lesson we were all supposed to learn when we were five years old, when our parents told us that we couldn’t get everything we wanted because the universe did not revolve around us.

Instead of freaking out, let me offer an alternative solution, one that requires the recognition that safe spaces do not accomplish anything. If you have a criticism with someone’s sincerely held belief, the proper thing to do is not to silence them with prejudice but to have a reasoned as to why you disagree with them. When both sides come into a debate with facts and logic to back up their arguments, as well as an open mind to the views of their opponent, a meaningful conversation can be had. One side might even be persuaded over to the viewpoint of the other. And if one side finds that they can’t quite support the thing they believe, then maybe they should reconsider believing it. Ultimately, this is all the University of Chicago is asking of its students.

The school is not coming out in support of racism, bigotry, or hatred. It just wants to properly prepare its students for a future in which its graduates will hopefully have a better understanding of what those words actually mean, and be able to explain why they are so harmful. Here’s to hoping that in the coming years, more universities — and more people — will follow suit.

The University of Chicago recently condemned the use of safe spaces and trigger warnings, but this decision fails to understand the intended use of those ideas.

Claudia Conaway Student Writer The University of Chicago released a trigger warning in this year’s welcome letter to incoming freshmen that it will not support trigger warnings on campus. The irony here is appreciated. In the letter, they also condemned the use of “safe spaces”.

All of this was said for the sake of “intellectual freedom.” I think we can all agree that the freedom to learn and discuss intellectual topics is an essential thing to have on a college campus. The university, however, seems to not understand the reasoning behind trigger warnings and safe places and the reality they are meant to bring about.

When used correctly, trigger warnings don’t prohibit words and ideas from being accessed and argued, they simply give people a heads up about what they’re walking into. As an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University, Kate Manne both uses and supports trigger warnings. She wrote an enlightening article for The New York Times outlining her case.

She brings up the fact that trigger warnings are not new and that they were first used on the internet for PTSD victims. She compares the flashbacks that PTSD victims experience to the involuntary and uncontrollable states that victims of abuse or violence can be sent into by triggering words or depictions. She goes on to say, “The thought behind trigger warnings isn’t just that these states are highly unpleasant (although they certainly are). It’s that they temporarily render people unable to focus, regardless of their desire or determination to do so.

Trigger warnings can work to prevent or counteract this.” In this lies the true purpose of trigger warnings: to prepare, not censor.

Safe spaces are incredibly useful to have if an institution can spare one. We have to define what a safe space really is, though. It is a place where students can go and know that they will be comforted or heard after dealing with something triggering to them.

These safe spaces can be clubs, organizations, or just casual meetings. They differ from a classroom or a debate team in that one can feel free to express their feelings or issues without having to rationalize or justify them to others.

We have to understand that, though academics should be discussed logically and rationally, human emotions that come from a violent or abusive past don’t always follow suit with that ideal. It is a dangerous idea to simply ignore these emotions, since doing so could likely lead to either skipping class for fear of being sent into a triggered state or shutting someone else’s opinion down because our emotions haven’t been understood. Having somewhere to go on campus where a person’s history of abuse

or violence isn’t an argument, but rather an understanding, allows for healthier students, and thus, better classroom discussions.

Here is my proposal, and I believe it’s one the University of Chicago would appreciate: we accept and even embrace the right kind of trigger warnings and safe places on campus without refusing to hear anything in our academics because of them. We don’t change book assignments, we don’t cancel guests, we don’t push out voices of offense (however offensive some people on college campuses may be).

The choice of using trigger warnings would be left up to professors, who undoubtedly understand what constitutes a triggering selection and what doesn’t. As Professor Manne puts it, “Common sense should tell us that material that is merely offensive to certain people’s political or religious sensibilities wouldn’t merit a warning.

True, politics and religion can make people irrationally angry. But unlike a state of panic, anger is a state we are able to rein in rationally — or at least we should be able to.” For example, a professor might assign a reading that includes an argument for the French Revolution. Now, someone in the class might disagree with that argument on a political stance. He or she might have passionate ideas about this stance, but the student will most likely be able to think about these ideas in a logical manner without a damaging memory of a violent or abusive history coming up. This wouldn’t warrant a trigger warning, because there is most likely not an abusive memory directly attached to it, and if there is, it would probably not be a direct correlation.

In another situation, a professor might assign a reading that includes a very detailed description of rape. The professor then decides that he or she will make a note on the syllabus to warn the students of when they should prepare themselves to read and talk about those issues. This would be a good use of a trigger warning, because a depiction of rape can be directly linked to a triggering memory of a rape, and it’s useful for the student to be able to prepare for the reading beforehand.

It should be rational now to accept that trigger warnings and safe spaces can and should be used as guides, not stop signs. It would be worth the time to stop trying to hinder the optional choice of incorporating trigger warnings and, instead, hold discussions on how we can use them to better understand one another and communicate our ideas. One such topic that will be important to discuss is the issue of keeping the use of trigger warnings and safe places in check. I can personally see no set way to keep students from limiting themselves, triggers warnings or no. A student will get what they want to get out of a course, and will read what they want to read, whether they worry about being psychologically hindered by it or not.

The best way to encourage students to engage and expand their minds is to let them know that a trigger warning is not an excuse to close themselves off from something. A student should use a trigger warning or a safe space to use with a reading, not against it. Professors could encourage this by not giving out excuses for students simply on the basis of being triggered. By having the exact same expectations for every student in the class, we can keep the practice in check.

This also will give validation to the student who genuinely uses trigger warnings and safe spaces to his or her full advantage.

Safe spaces and trigger warnings have opened up larger conversations about US culture and harassment. graphic by Elias Brinkman

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6 September 2016

We must provide sexual health aid to North Tulsa

North Tulsa’s STI problem is a symptom of a lack of sexual health resources and information on safe sex.

Hannah Kloppenburg Editor-in-Chief

The latest data from the Tulsa Health Department (THD) indicates that areas of Tulsa County boast STI rates ranging from 4-9x greater than the national average.

The THD report asserted that in 2013, Tulsa County experienced gonorrhea rates of 200.5 per 100,000 people (double the national rate of 106.1), chlamydia rates of 545.5 per 100,000 (national rate, 446.6), and syphilis rates of 3.1 per 100,000 (actually lower than the national rate, 5.5).

The catch? According to the Tulsa World, North Tulsa boasts drastically higher rates than the rest of Tulsa County. The worst rates are evident in the 74106 zip code, a large chunk of North Tulsa ranging from the northern edge of the Greenwood District to East 46th St. N. The 74126 zip code, also included in the more troubling statistics, encompasses the area further north of the 74106 code and west of the Tulsa Zoo. The 74106 and 74126 zip codes had gonorrhea rates ranging from 464.9-1,000.3 per 100,000, chlamydia rates of 1,149.1-1,892.4 per 100,000, and syphilis rates of 24.7-32.1 per 100,000. Those of you who might have just done some quick mental math will realize that these rates are several times greater than Tulsa County averages, which are already greater than national averages (with the exception of syphilis).

A Tulsa World article on the STI rates goes on to quote several doctors and nurses who work in the North Tulsa area who confirm the high frequency of STI cases they see in their workplaces. Tulsa Health Department officials make

a shout-out in the article to their North Regional Health and Wellness Center, which offers STI services, educational resources, and $20 screenings. No one is refused services due to inability to pay.

The OU Wayman Tisdale Clinic distributes free condoms to teens.

This is all well and good, and those resources are much appreciated and very, very needed. However, in order to solve this STI problem we need to look at the root of the problem; or, more accurately, the roots of the problem.

The fact that the highest STI rates in the county are centered in one of Tulsa’s lowest-income areas can’t be ignored. There are two major factors that play into this distribution: 1) a lack of access to affordable testing and 2) a lack of sexual health education.

1. Access to affordable testing There are quite a few centers for STI testing in the Tulsa County area. Several are located downtown, or near downtown to the south, including Tulsa Health Department and Planned Parenthood.

There are a few centers in Broken Arrow, a couple centers in Sapulpa, two in Coweta, two in Claremore, one in Wagoner, one in Okmulgee, and one in Jenks. Their zip codes cover a wide range: 74105, 74135, 74112, 74104, 74120, 74429...

This distribution of health centers doesn’t look like a huge deal at first glance, as there are several testing centers in the Tulsa area, including zip codes near the affected areas.

However, in the 74106 and 74126 zip codes -- the most affected areas -- I was only able to find two health centers with access to STD testing. Morton Comprehensive Services (on Lansing Ave. in the 74106 zip code) offers testing for all three of the major STIs listed above; Guiding Right Inc (on Madison Ave in the 74126 zip code) only offers syphilis testing.

In contrast, you can see that there are many centers in towns that can reasonably be considered suburban areas of Tulsa County.

For a lower-income community that likely has reduced access to personal transportation, this CAN actually be a big deal. It can be difficult and expensive to leave the family or workplace and plan an

Medical marijuana petition purposefully delayed

Attorney General Scott Pruitt is imposing his personal agenda to delay the medical marijuana vote.

Kaylee Gould Student Writer

For the third consecutive year, groups of Oklahomans are trying to legalize medical marijuana.

However, the initiative may fail again. Unlike the previous two years, more than enough signatures were collected by the group Oklahomans for Health, but there is some controversy surrounding the next steps in the process.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt has reviewed the ballot title and decided to submit a rewrite. Oklahomans for Health claim that Pruitt deliberately worded the revised title in a way that would incite hesitation in voters, making it unclear whether the title is about recreational or medical marijuana.

Because of this, it is highly likely that Oklahomans for Health will challenge the rewrite of the title, thus delaying the process and decreasing the chances of the initiative being placed on the November ballot. Pruitt denies that he intentionally worded the title to delay the process, saying that the signatures were not submitted with enough time to “allow the process to be played out completely.”

In my opinion, Pruitt did pur-

posely reword the title so that Oklahomans for Health would have to challenge it, thus delaying the course of action, or otherwise risk losing the vote due to the poor wording. Pruitt has been criticized in the past for his “misleading and partial” revisions. He has also made it clear in the past that he is against the legalization of marijuana; he attempted to sue the state of Colorado in 2014 after Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use. I believe that Pruitt has inserted his own political agenda into this process in order to try to stop something from happening that he does not personally agree with. The legalization of medical marijuana could potentially help thousands of Oklahomans suffering from conditions including seizure disorders, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and PTSD. There are really only two major options from this point, and neither one is great. The first is that Oklahomans for Health challenges Pruitt’s rewrite and delays the process likely beyond this year’s election to as far as 2018.

The public could vote on the title in a “special election” this year, but this would cost Oklahoma – a budget-crunched state – approximately $1.2 million. Therefore, this result is unlikely. The only other option is for Oklahomans for Health to accept the rewritten title and allow the public to vote on it as is in November. I think that this is the best decision. If it doesn’t pass, they can always try again in the coming years. Since they got enough signatures, I think it’s best for them to risk it and go ahead and try this year rather than wait two more. The results could come out in their favor.

all-day public transportation excursion across Tulsa to get tested.

Affordability of testing is likely an issue as well: only Planned Parenthood and Tulsa Health Department specify that you will not be turned away due to an inability to pay, but many still charge fees for screenings. THD says on their website that they charge $20 per screening, but information about screening rates at other centers is not easy to find. Additionally, not all of the health centers offer testing for all three of the most common STIs listed above, and some only offer HIV/AIDS screenings.

On top of that, reliable information about STI testing in Tulsa was difficult to find. In order to find local STI testing centers, one must wade through a maze of ads, sketchy-looking centers that didn’t seem 100% certified, and quasi-

get tested in the first place, resulting in relationships where neither partner knows whether the other is a carrier.

Sexual education reportedly varies widely in Oklahoma public schools, which is to be expected in a mainly conservative state which is largely in favor of abstinencebased education. According to a report by the Oklahoma Watch, some of the largest public school districts in Oklahoma offer limited or no sexual education programs.

While the Oklahoma Department of Education doesn’t keep records of which of the state’s 520 districts teach sex education, we do know that Oklahoma does not mandate sex education in public schools, though it does mandate HIV/AIDS prevention education.

At this point, we need to bypass the political implications of sexual

HIV/AIDS education includes a discussion of the spread and prevention of the disease.”

Note that this definition includes abstinence as part of the curriculum. Tulsa Public Schools made a (positive, in my opinion) switch to this sort of comprehensive curriculum in 2014 — something never before done in the district.

Union and Jenks Public Schools offer mainly abstinence-based sex education.

With all this in mind, STI education absolutely needs to be a more significant part of Tulsans’ education. This isn’t a political issue, it’s a safety issue.

In addition, Tulsa County and North Tulsa in particular could really benefit from increased access to sexual education for adults.

Most Tulsa residents haven’t benefitted from the recently-introduced

“At this point, we need to bypass the political implications of sexual education and focus solely on Tulsans’ sexual health.” credible search engines--and that’s if you have access to an internet connection.

If information about testing isn’t readily available, what motivates a lower-income family member to sacrifice excessive time, money and obligations to family or work in order to get sexual health testing? What prioritizes this testing over other health problems or dentist appointments, which are difficult to pay for as is?

A vital step towards lowering the ridiculous STI rates in North Tulsa is to provide people who have STIs with treatment and resources in the first place. We need health centers operating directly from the affected areas, where they can actually reach the people who need them most.

2. Lack of sexual education The doctors and nurses in the aforementioned Tulsa World article emphasize the importance of getting tested for STIs, saying that many patients didn’t even know they were carriers of an STI. This is partly due to the fact that some STIs don’t have easily visible symptoms; however, it’s also due to the fact that many people don’t know how important it is to

education and focus solely on Tulsans’ sexual health.

Statistically, it’s very likely that at some point teens will become sexually active: the average age for virginity loss in the US is 16.9 years old for men and 17.2 years old for women. In 2011, 50 percent of female high school students and 51 percent of male high school students in Oklahoma reported having had sexual intercourse. This was higher than the national averages of 49 and 46 percent. Oklahoma boasts one of the highest national rates of teen pregnancy as well.

With this in mind, even an abstinence-only sexual education course should include information about STIs and an emphasis on how to protect yourself from them.

If we can mandate HIV/AIDS education, isn’t it just as important to expand STI prevention education?

The Tulsa World reported in 2014 that “Comprehensive sex education includes medically accurate information on topics such as relationships, human development, abstinence, the benefits and side effects of all contraception, disease prevention and how to avoid unwanted sexual advances, according to the sexuality council.

comprehensive sex ed program provided by Tulsa Public Schools.

I imagine that the STI testing clinics offer useful information-- — or at least, they would if there were any in North Tulsa to begin with.

problems at Walmarts as being one of the most persistent in the country, but it did so in a larger article concerning the high rate of crimes that plagues the superstore on a national level. This year, a violent crime has occurred at a Walmart on a daily basis in the US. The question is, are these crimes preventable? And should the company be held accountable?

To answer the first, we’ll look at Target, a massive retail chain which certainly parallels Walmart in several aspects, and yet manages to prevent crime much more successfully. Target has just as many locations in Tulsa as Walmart, and yet just last year reported only 300 crimes in the city, miniscule when compared to Walmart’s 2,000. Target, some would argue, is often located in safer areas and sells items of higher prices, so this may account for some of the disparity in crime between the two retail stores. But experts point to the presence of staff and security, both of which are often visible the moment you enter the store, as an effective deterrent against crime.

For nearly two decades, Walmart has chosen to cut costs in a myriad of ways, one of which was to simply employ less work-

should Walmart be held responsible for the actions of a few thousand criminals? Here, legally, the answer is quite simply yes. The law of premise liability dictates that Walmart is obligated to provide its customers with a safe environment. As figures show, this is often not the case, with the chain’s locations becoming a hotspot for violent attacks, robberies, and even hostage crises.

The solution to police officers’ woes might be found in the small town of Beech Grove, Indianapolis, where Mayor Dennis Buckley once lamented the negative attention crimes at Walmart were affording his small suburb. To solve the issue, he convinced the local store to take on the responsibility of paying off-duty officers to guard the store. So far, the method seems quite effective, with the superstore no longer absorbing the police’s time and efforts.

Tulsa’s Walmarts have employed a variety of tactics to deter criminals, including a re-instatement of greeters, more security cameras, and more employees overall. The efforts have seemed fruitless so far, but it might just be a matter of time. Even if shoplifting at any one of the city’s four

In conclusion The bottom line is that the current STI rates in Tulsa County, particularly North Tulsa, are unacceptable. Tulsa County is a community that absolutely should be able to provide the resources and the technology to ensure the sexual health of its residents. This isn’t the dark ages — while difficult to treat, STIs can absolutely be prevented through accessibility and education. I understand that advances in sexual education will be difficult to accomplish and depend entirely on the school district as well as on the mandates of the Oklahoma government.

With that said, if Tulsa County truly values the health of its residents (and that includes their sexual health), it can start by providing them with basic resources and education at easily accessible clinics, because the current rates are quite honestly an embarrassment to County officials and an injustice to the people of Tulsa.

Walmart is responsible for handling crime at their stores

Frequent crimes at Walmart suck up much of Tulsa police officers’ time, and by extension, tax-payer money.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor

There are four Walmart supercenter locations across the city of Tulsa, each one gracing headlines one time or another for what seems to be an incessant occurrence of crime. Some are predictable and rather harmless. Shoplifters are caught on camera by store staff, who contact police officers, who in turn arrive just in time to see that the would-be petty thieves are given a warning if it is their first offense.

These crimes are not considered noteworthy on their own, but they consume much of the Tulsa Police Department’s time. Officer Darrell Ross in particular has become known to his colleagues as ‘Officer Walmart’ for the overwhelming amount of effort he spends responding to Walmart’s calls for police. The superstores have caught the attention of the general public for much more unusual events than theft, such as shootings, murders, and even an attempted in-store meth lab.

The fact is that both kinds of occurrences are not so unique to the city of Tulsa. Bloomberg might have spotlighted Tulsa’s criminal

“Walmart is obligated to provide its customers with a safe environment.” ers. The company removed greeters, replaced cashiers with selfcheckout desks, and generally cut down on employees. Now there’s one worker for every 500 feet of retail space, a daunting figure when it becomes the employee’s responsibility to ensure property is never stolen.

Now the second question:

locations just became near impossible, it’ll take criminals a while before they stop thinking of the stores as easy prey. In the meantime, Walmart can adopt the simple tactic of hiring more off-duty officers as security guards, diminishing its reliance on the time of the Tulsa Police Department to answer it’s every beck and call.

Variety

6 September 2016

the Collegian: 11

First Friday Art Crawl bridges artists and community First Friday, held in venues across the Brady Arts District, gives Tulsans access to local galleries and music.

Trenton Gibbons Variety Editor For just under ten years now, the Brady Arts District has hosted the First Friday Art Crawl, a monthly event meant to expose Tulsans to a variety of art and entertainment they might otherwise have missed. In line with the Crawl’s original purpose, independent artists are also given the chance to display and sell their work to the general public in mini-galleries. For just one evening, galleries such as 108 Contemporary, Philbrook, and TU’s own Zarrow center allow free admission. In addition, local restaurants and bars host live entertainment in the form of independent artists and musicians. The Annual Symphony in the Park played to a large audience on the Guthrie Green, while it should go without saying that a few food trucks accompanied the event.

I was only able to make it to three of the available venues, all located on the same block, as each occupied a space in the former warehouse of the Tulsa Paper Company. The building was renovated into a sprawling artistic showcase by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and today serves this purpose impressively.

The Zarrow Center hosted Michael Ananian’s “Portraits, Characters, and Music,” a series of portraits and larger paintings.

Though the artist used different techniques, such as oil on canvas and charcoal on paper, his work was consistent in its intimate depiction of individuals. Ananian’s depictions of people are extremely close. Faces, wrinkled, worn and caught in seemingly candid expression, make up the majority of his works, assigned simple titles such as “Jim Asleep”

The Symphony in the Park attracted a sizable crowd to the Guthrie Green.

or “Mariam”, which seemed to convey a personal connection between the artist and his characters. One exception to these individual portraits was “The Only Song That I Can Sing.” That piece, which portrayed musicians playing in a communal circle, was one of many to explore Ananian’s interest in the “Old Time musical traditions of learning and transmitting music by ear.”

The next gallery was Philbrook Downtown, with an exhibition focusing on early 20th century artist Cady Wells. Wells was “inspired by New Mexico’s dramatic landscapes and traditional Hispanic religious traditions,” producing works very different from the “sunny, romantic scenes of the West popularized by cowboy painters of earlier decades.”

Admittedly I found these influences much easier to identify in his works, many of which were portrait studies, using a mix of ink and watercolor on paper, than I did his apparent fear of radioactive contamination,

World War II atrocities, and society’s intolerance for homosexuality. It’s nevertheless interesting to hear of these anxieties, as it is probable a greater critic than I might be able to read a theme of paranoia in his work I was unable to discern.

After having visited the Native American works on the Philbrook’s second floor, I made my way to 108 Contemporary. This proved to be my favorite gallery of the night, especially for the way in which it challenged it posed to the very same exhibition I had just exited. 108’s works ran counter to the normative view of what constitutes accurate Native American art in almost every way.

One artist had produced prints of stereotypical Native American imagery, only to scrawl over each in bold white font condescending text. A valley caught in an orange sunset was obscured by the words, “I know what you are thinking, my Native American sunsets are authentic as shit,” while a majestic white buffalo was in turn covered with,

Claudia Conaway Student Writer

courtesy the University of Tulsa

McFarlin Library exhibits World War I memorabilia The exhibit explores the conflict’s effect on both individuals and society as a whole.

Jacob Eddy Student Writer Every year, the McFarlin Library Special Collections Department has several displays available to the public. Since 2014, the 100 year anniversary of the start of World War I, Melissa Kunz and Jenn Donner, who serve as curators for the event, have hosted an exhibit depicting events and people from 100 years ago. This year focuses on 1916.

Several large battles are represented in the displays. Pictures and artifacts from The Somme, Jutland and Verdun can be seen in pristine condition.

One of the largest items, a folding panoramic drawing illustrating the battle of The Somme, spans an entire display case while only partially unfolded. The first few display cases focus almost entirely on these battles.

Further in, the focus changes from conflict involving multiple countries to the effect of the war on individual countries. Newspaper articles from Harper’s Weekly, political cartoons, and wartime propaganda all help to capture the overwhelming sense of tension that resonated throughout the war.

In one section, an early 1916 article titled

“As requested here is that majestic white buffalo you troglodyte.”

Another artist had a book documenting Native American citizens and freedmen, but had drawn within the pages a teary-eyed blonde white girl, whose thought bubble reads, “I’m part Cherokee but I can’t prove it!” Also in the gallery were football helmets whose mascots were not Indians or Redskins, but rather traditional black and white pictures of Native Americans, and a board game whose tile spaces had been replaced with TV shows’ negative depictions of their culture.

I hope next month to make it to a few of the musical performances as well as the galleries, but this provided an above-satisfactory experience for myself. I urge people to attend every Art Crawl they can, not because the event doesn’t already draw a formidable, enthusiastic crowd, but rather so that they can appreciate Tulsa’s ability to promote their uniquely talented artists.

“Disorder” features dangers both real and imagined “Disorder” invites you into the mind of a security guard plagued by PTSD and surrounded by possible danger.

Located at the top of McFarlin, the Special Collections Department is currently housing a range of WWI paraphernalia.

photo by Trenton Gibbons

“War as a Stimulus to Invention” exemplifies what was then cutting edge military technology. WWI was the first conflict to use armored tanks in combat. Because of this many artist depictions and pictures of early prototypes can be seen on display. One of the most notable of these is a photograph of the “Little Willie”, the first completed tank prototype in history. These clippings of historical documents help highlight the industrial boom that fed into the war as well as the fear some of these machines inspired.

The final case brings the focus to a more personal level. This case includes a journal from a German soldier, as well as biographical descriptions and portraits of several individuals of a variety of nationalities. According to Kunz and Donner, it was of the utmost importance that the exhibit include elements from all sides of the war, without regard for nationality.

The exhibit, which is comprised primarily of donations, is just a sampling of the library’s large collection of WWI items. Kunz and Donner plan on continuing the yearly exhibit until at least 2018, the 100 year anniversary of the end of WWI. The exhibit is open to the public, not just TU students, and can be viewed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday in the Special Collections Department, located on the top floor of McFarlin library. The exhibit is planned to be open until late September, and is the first of four displays the Special Collections Department will be featuring this year.

Circle Cinema hosted a showing of the French suspense drama Disorder on Friday. The film was released in 2016, but saw success with critics at festivals before that, leading to director Alice Winocour winning the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Achievement in Direction and a nomination for Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Festival in 2015.

The film could best be described as a character study within a psychological thriller. From the beginning, we are brought into the mind of Vincent, a security guard and former French special forces soldier plagued by PTSD. Vincent, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, is put in charge of protecting the family of a Lebanese businessman vacationing in France.

He senses that things are getting sketchy with the family very early on in the film, but he often gets himswelf into trouble because of his intense paranoia. When the husband of the family leaves the country for a business meeting, Vincent becomes the sole protector of his wife, Jessie, played by Diane Kruger, and her son, Ali. There are a few quiet, intimate moments between Jessie and Vincent, but there is al-

most never a time where Vincent is not on high alert. He perceives threats everywhere they go, guiding us into intense states of confusion and paranoia with him. Kruger shows off some quality acting in those intimate moments, but due to the film’s focus on Vincent, we don’t get very good moments of character building for anyone other than him. This is mostly because we are enveloped so deeply into his own mind that we really only see what he sees; his reality is fragmented with the flashbacks from his past.

One of the best things about the film is its exploration of the senses. A repetitive beeping sound is played, with varying intensities, whenever Vincent is captured in a PTSD-induced flashback. The film’s music incorporates the beeping into its suspenseful aura. A good number of close ups on shady characters’ faces and necks serve as liaisons from our minds to Vincent’s. The intense focus, coupled with paranoia, on what he perceives to be real threats acts as what drives him and the viewer through the film.

You’re never really sure if Vincent’s paranoia is justified or not, which truly brings you into the state of his mind. You are placed into the world of someone who is stuck in a perpetual state of tension and confusion due to the imagined dangers his disorder brings him, while the film presents very real and very present conflicts as well.

As a thriller, Disorder was an entertaining combination of hallucinations and realworld suspense.

courtesy IMDB

Vincent’s military experience acts as both a boon and a hinderance in his ability to protect others.

the Collegian: 12

Variety

6 September 2016

Squeaky Clean Standup really f***s up comedy

Comedy Parlor’s night of clean comedy was a forced and unfunny trek through surface-level suburban humor.

James Whisenhunt Commentary Editor Last Saturday night, Comedy Parlor presented “Squeaky Clean Stand-Up,” an event aiming to take the sex, drugs and swearing out of stand-up and leave the audience with some pure, wholesome comedy. Despite the child-friendly atmosphere, there was only one child in the audience of about 30 people, most of whom seemed to be between the ages of 40 and 70.

Perhaps this turnout was expected, since most of the material the 5 comedians used in their sets seemed to be aimed toward this older age group. Stories about marriage, children, and church dominated the sets, which began to feel repetitive after hearing about how wacky the comic’s children were for the third time.

This isn’t that the sets were completely devoid of unique features. One comic performed a “magic trick,” another sang a country song about the reality of growing old and another had a pretty funny story about teaching a child with a fake eye. For each unique feature, however, there were three jokes or stories that were completely forgettable.

And just in case you hadn’t heard enough about the recent earthquake from your Facebook friends, the comedians were all too happy to mention it at one point or another.

Comics also had a general problem with set flow. Many of the performers had a lot of stammering or dead space between segments. One performer forgot the next part of their set three times and another had to backtrack to tell a story about their spouse.

There were also a fair amount of allusions to ‘edgy’ content that couldn’t be told because it was a clean show, which comedians used to plug their sets at the adult show Comedy Parlor was hosting just a couple hours later.

This turned out to be a pet peeve of mine: I don’t want to be watching this forced censorship as much as you don’t want to be doing it, so please stop calling my attention to it.

One act that proved to be a standout, for better or for worse, was Jack Allen. Third in the setlist, Allen’s set was a complete departure from those before and after. The entirety of the set was Allen’s voice pre-recorded, as he acted out and reacted to his disembodied voice on-stage. The format allowed for some creatively structured jokes. One voice began to set up a joke, then a different voice (supposedly recorded a few days later) cut off the first to tell a different joke and explain that the first wasn’t funny.

Unfortunately, the new and improved joke still wasn’t funny. Allen’s humor, instead of focusing on family life, was a series of purposefully awkward bad jokes, followed by

self-deprecation. The set felt more like he was just showing off his pre-recording trick instead of doing anything that was actually supposed to make us laugh. Other comedians, however, were not-particularly-funny in a more traditional format, which is even less remarkable.

Overall, the issue with every act boils down to the fact that it wasn’t funny. Maybe I was too young and sober (despite being a clean show, Comedy Parlor was happy to serve alcohol) to really appreciate the jokes, but the whole ordeal felt like pulling teeth.

Saying that makes it sound like the other audience members were splitting their sides with laughter, which certainly wasn’t the case.

Without seeing the same comedians in adult shows, it’s impossible to tell how much of the problem was being forced to put together a clean set and how much of it was the comedians themselves. A clean set isn’t inherently bad, but limiting the subject material in this case left the Comedy Parlor with a homogenous mess of pandering to middle-aged suburbia.

clocking in at around 31 minutes with just ten songs, but BOYO manages to do a lot within this capacity.

The neo-psychedelic movement tends to lean in a poppier direction than its humble ancestors from decades past ever bothered to go. It’s a wonderful thing, honestly, bringing the genre in a more accessible manner to a more impressionable audience.

All the pedals and the reverb serve to bob a few heads, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just need a pop record.

That’s exactly what BOYO has given us.

Control is very pleasantly weighted. The better songs are evenly distributed throughout the record, enticing the listener while simultaneously discouraging a limited listen of only -- say -- its first half. The opener, “See You When I Die,” has us drifting into the album via some wonderful, gingerly picked guitar. In true pop form, the driving beat follows soon after. Keeping with the neo-psych movement, the whole thing is caked in reverb and topped off with apathetic, nasally vocals. That’s not to say that Tilden doesn’t take chances with his vocal strategies, though they tend to be hit-or-

miss. Take, for example, the soaring lyrical pitch on “Moombah,” and contrast that with the awkward vocal patterns from the album’s unfortunately chosen single, “Control.” Tilden’s vocal experimentation does pay off at times, though. Most notably in “Alright,” a piece that incites the intimate aesthetic of early bedroom recordings.

The blatantly clear high-point of the album lies in the second song, “TV Shows.”

The record as a whole is pretty well characterized by its dark lyricism, and “TV Shows” is no different. Lines like “I hate all my friends / I can’t tell you what it is,” pepper the verses before they lead into a pop rhapsody of a chorus. Tilden’s lofty delivery of the line “I’ve seen those TV shows / I’ve still just wanted something more” sends the song in a gleefully different direction, both lyrically and musically. A distorted, hauntingly beautiful pseudo-solo follows in the post-chorus before falling back into a funk with the next verse. The unfortunately short track ends with a bridge that somehow treads the line between hard rock and pop before we’re lead into “Moombah.”

The record has its low points too. The

fifth track, “Won’t Shake,” is the largest blemish on the otherwise solid album. The song plays like Tilden forgot he was no longer in his garage rock group. The production value takes a nosedive - the music loses its comfortable reverb and pop melodies.

One could make the argument that Tilden went in this direction purposefully for some artistic reason, but it’s just such a jarring disconnect between the rest of the album; it seems a nonsensical misstep.

Yet, that’s what Tilden does on this record -- he tries different things. Despite it being poppy and playful, Tilden wields the psychedelic element to some fairly experimental lengths. Nothing too avant-garde, but he takes these tracks, these pop songs, and transforms them into entirely different entities. It’s not like he just stepped on the reverb pedal, either. Interesting bridges, fantastic vocal melodies, the filtered percussion. Tilden has created a genuinely fun record to listen to. While his dark lyrics juxtaposed with the poppy content may trudge along the border of an “emo” category, the chorus of control’s final song sums up the mood pretty well: “Now you’re happy.”

Attempting to perform a “clean set” tends to hinder comedians.

graphic by Elias Brinkman

BOYO’s ‘control’ a wonderful reverb-soaked debut While paying homage to his garageband roots, Robert Tilden crafts something entirely new in BOYO’s first album.

Ethan Veenker Student Writer Let’s give a shout-out to Australia — not for today’s record, but for giving us the neo-psychedelic movement. They gave us bands like Tame Impala and King Gizzard & Lizard Wizard, who, in turn, are inspiring a new generation to add to the mix. It’s unclear whether these bands inspired today’s record, but there’s a clear parallel. BOYO, with their debut album aptly titled Control (stylized as control), have given us a beautiful new album to add to the weed playlist on YouTube.

Based from LA and signed with Danger Collective Records, BOYO is the side project of Robert Tilden, taking a break from his garage rock band Bobby T. and the Slackers. Control’s a bit of a short album,

Local musicians entertain bargoers at The Colony The Colony’s Singer/Songwriter Night gives local musicians the chance to perform and test their material in front of a live audience, though a small one.

Mary Loveless Student Writer Last Monday, I ventured down Harvard to a little dive bar called The Colony for their weekly Singer Songwriter Night. I always have high hopes for gatherings of local musicians, and this one did not disappoint.

The Colony, according to its mantra, is meant to be a place where “locals could come to support original music every night and enjoy as musicians brought their ideas together to develop their craft.” In working towards this dream, The Colony began hosting the Singer/Songwriter Night, giving local musicians the chance to test their material to a live audience.

The first up was a man by the name of Baby Keith, who sang a folksy song with a lot of la-di-das and smiles and an electric guitar that made me feel right at home in a place I never would have expected. His next song was more of a story, and showed off his wonderful low notes and dazzling high notes. He can best be compared to a cross of Taye Diggs and Darius Rucker. He topped off his set with a completely different sound, a slow heartfelt melody about his love for his father.

Frank Gallagher was next up with the

kind of quirky Irish style folk song meets show tunes one would find at a Renaissance fair. He could maybe even be called an adult Wiggles. Such odd phrases as “I’m just another descendant of amphibians” were artfully turned into unexpectedly charming life lessons. His second piece had a sort of 70s ballad feel with the message “don’t dream or you’ll fail, be average”. It was very angsty, wistful and brought a blanket of nostalgia over the whole bar.

It was the kind of thing where, if it wasn’t entirely wood and brick, people would raise their lighters and sway. He finished with a song containing odd metaphors, including one comparing a boy to a “ping pong ball in a world of paddles” and the overall message was “don’t give up underdog” which left the bar on a more inspiring note.

Next, Simon Hajjar walked up with his full beard, mustache and acoustic guitar. First he played a love song about “the sweeter things in life” that made him rival Hunter Hayes in heartthrob appeal, especially with the indie vibes and lack of country twang.

He went on to play a newer song about his breakup that sounded more like older country ballads. After his earlier sweet ballad, this song was heart-wrenching but beautiful.

He made his story even sadder with a song to his son, talking about how hard life is, heartbreak and how growing up isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Overall the performers were fantastic, and I hope to see all of them again at future Singer Songwriter nights.

tucollegian@tucollegian.org editor-in-chief

Hannah Kloppenburg managing editor

Kayleigh Thesenvitz news editor

Michaela Flonard sports editor

Matt Rechtien variety editor

Trenton Gibbons commentary editor

James Whisenhunt satire editor

Sam Chott photo & graphics editor

Elias Brinkman

business & advertising manager

Paul Moses web manager

Sam Chott

distribution managers

Nathan Gibbons, Kirby Hockensmith and Trenton Gibbons

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Variety

6 September 2016

the Collegian: 13

Heathers: The Musical a dark satire of highschool drama While vastly different from the 1988 film, Heathers: The Musical, performed by Tulsa’s Theater Pops group, suggests high school is not the end of the world.

Michaela Flonard News Editor Tulsa’s Theater Pops group opened their season with Heathers: The Musical, performed at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

This musical, based on the 1988 cult film of the same name, first premiered in 2010 in New York.

Both the show and the musical follow Veronica Sawyer as she navigates her senior year of high school in Sherwood, Ohio. As a misfit in the ruling clique, known as the “Heathers,” Veronica finds refuge and a like mind in the mysterious new kid, JD. But JD takes her anger to a darker side than she originally intends, and she is soon forced to confront him head-on.

The tale flips the classic high school movie formula on its head.

A smart, somewhat nice girl enters the world of the mean ones and decides she hates it. Although it may initially seem reminiscent to Mean Girls, this revenge goes to the extreme, as the oft-repeated line goes, “My teen-angst bullshit now has a body count.”

For those with knowledge of the movie, the musical’s version of events may be a little jarring.

While the overall arc of the plot remains the same, characters’ personalities have been altered. JD’s character, by the end of the musical, becomes more sympathetic and likable. He’s still not someone you want your teenage daughter dating, but with a bit more time,

there’s promise that he might be capable of loving Veronica without wanting to destroy the rest of society. Veronica also softens as audiences see how she becomes part of the popular clique and her efforts to lessen the brutality of their actions.

The characters themselves may seem a little clichéd, but that’s the point. There’s the two rude, dumb jocks, the mean ruling girls, with a cold-hearted queen and subservient second-in-commands, the nerds, the wannabes and the pitiful overweight girl. Rounding out the pack are the main focus: Veronica, the smart, good girl lost in the clique, and JD, the alluring bad boy.

Supernatural elements also enter the musical and serve as an added conscious for Veronica.

The ghosts, primarily Heather Chandler but also the two football players, Ram and Kurt, add tension, serving as the angel (or devil, depending on who you root for) on Veronica’s shoulder, reminding her of all she’s done. In death, these characters become kinder voices, suggesting that how we are remembered may be much differ-

ing homosexuals. While a similar tender moment existed in film, this song lengthened and strengthened the point, as one character came out of the closet after changing his mind about his dead, gay son. This journey to acceptance is slightly lessened by the revelation that the character is also repressing homosexual feelings, turning a possible moment of loving someone who’s different into a make out scene built for laughs.

With an often barren set, the actors still managed to make the audience feel the familiar corridors and rooms of a high school.

Occasionally, lockers, tables and other pieces were wheeled on set for a scene, but these were often only one piece of furniture, to give the audience a brief idea the setting had majorly changed.

In the house party scene, for instance, red Solo cups and plastic shot glasses abounded, where as in the opener, set in the lunchroom, actors used lunch trays to remind audiences of the location.

Otherwise, the set was empty, so that the focus became the mood of each song. Without any set pieces there, the actors showed the

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Both the film and the musical prey upon the highschool formula.

two football players featured slow motioning punching, replacing a blank-filled pistol from the movie.

“(Unlike) Mean Girls, this revenge goes to the extreme, as the oft repeated line goes, ‘My teen-angst bullshit has a body count.’”

ent than what our actions proclaim.

Without the power to enforce her words, Heather becomes mocking voice that could push Veronica either way, instead of an overlord.

The musical also makes it a point to emphasize tolerance and acceptance, albeit ironically. “I Love My Dead Gay Son,” the first song after the intermission, depicted characters’ journeys to accept-

essential heart of high school, bustling, judgmental, and with clearly divided social lines.

Choreography of the performance occasionally seemed choppy. With the amount of dancing required by the show, it became obvious when actors movements weren’t in sync; something that was noticeable, but not terribly distracting. The choreography of the fight scene between JD and the

Each punch was obviously inches away from the opponents’ faces, which lent a bit of unintended comedy to Veronica’s infatuation with JD and belief that he would fight for her.

One of the comedic choices in costuming was the underwear on Kurt and Ram. In this musical, ghosts appear in what they die in, so the pair retain their superhero underwear, complete with a cape on the back. Each time their ghosts

walked onto stage, it provided a stark contrast between the living and the dead, potentially serving to emphasize JD’s point that death provides different social groups the possibility of friendship. Because no one can appear superior and threatening in caped, Batman undies.

In the last number, “Seventeen (Reprise)”, the true optimism of the musical came out. While the movie ended with a similar, positive change in Veronica’s friends, she also comes across much colder and toughened from what she’s seen and done. High school might be a terrible place, but we can make it better, it tells us. With all the school had been through in the musical it, it makes you wonder how well they will succeed.

photos by Adam Lux

(Left) Vendors at the flea market took the opportunity to rock their unique looks and (right) sell their unique goods.

Punk Rock Flea Market attracts counter-culture crowd

Vendors at Punk Rock Flea Market cater to the eclectic and counter-cultural.

Adam Lux Student Writer

The Tulsa Punk rock flea market was a melting pot of different counter-cultures all coexisting at once. People of all walks of life gathered to buy, sell, trade or just enjoy the atmosphere. There were

people in the late 70s to 5 year olds in adorable leather jackets and everyone in between. I’m pretty sure I saw at least 5 different colours of mohawks.

The booths had everything one could want, as longs as what one wants is related to the counterculture. There were of course the staple band t-shirt and old vinyl booths, artists booths and satanic cult booths, but there were also booths dedicated to beard care, artdeco kitchenware, larping, rocks and minerals, and just about any-

thing else an aspiring punk rocker could possibly want. Most booths didn’t even have a particular theme but were rather just a hodgepodge of knick-knacks, art and artifacts that people might find interesting.

The booths were surrounded by several food trucks and alcohol vendors that thankfully weren’t too expensive. The centerpiece, of course, was the stage which had both a DJ and a punk band, both of which provided an appropriate backdrop to the event.

I saw all sorts of weird art:

painting of zombified celebrities, mannequin with nails all over them, sculptures made entirely out of dismembered doll body parts.

There’s also plenty of art thats quite as unusual as the doll sculpture if that’s your thing. I very nearly bought a piece of Pokémon art done in the style of Edo-era japanese painting.

All of the vendors were super friendly and eager to talk about their art, merchandise or just about anything. I had a 30 minute conversation about the woes of wed-

ding photography with a woman wearing an elephant-covered vest.

The man running the beard care booth commiserated with me about the struggle that is eating ice cream without getting any in your facial hair.

I had an awesome time browsing booths, chatting with people, and spending more of my money than I originally planned. The Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market is definitely not for everyone, but if you like punk rock, food trucks and local art you need to check it.

6 September 2016

The State-Run Media

the

State-Run media Weiner banned from Take Your Kid To Work Day

French officials protect women from themselves arrête ça !

The rocket will be ready to leave by election day.

graphic by Sam Chott

Scientists threaten to move off-planet if Trump wins

Shortly after a possibly habitable planet was discovered, scientists announced that they’ll move there if Donald Trump is elected.

Adam Lux Votes with his feet

French police officers have been saving Muslim women from dressing too modestly.

When Muslim women were oppressing themselves by going to the beach, French officials wisely decided to save them from sexist ideals.

Mary Loveless Only wears secular attire In recent weeks, French officials have made the bold and heroic move to ban the Burkini (a full body piece of swimwear primarily worn by Muslim women) from French beaches. In doing so, they have freed Muslim women from the chains of misogyny.

One lawmaker, Christian Estrosi, stated the wisdom behind the ban: “[A] public space is a place where everyone, without discrimination, can be a free citizen.” And free they are. Muslim women no longer have to make swimwear decisions based on the opinions of

their husbands, fathers, or themselves!

These lawmakers, these radical champions of women’s rights, have done so much to help these women reap the benefits of their freedom. For instance, fines are issued by police every time a woman is seen in a burkini, so that the man who supports her will be

graphic by Elias Brinkman

have to give her some tough love.

These extraordinary men have even saved Muslim women from the burden of their own ideas, at great personal cost.

The decision has caused outrage from those who just don’t understand the effect male control has on Muslim women. Some courts have even overturned the

“These extraordinary men have even saved Muslim women from the burden of their own ideas.” forced into the 21st century.

In the unlikely event she is independent, the police will kindly remind her she can be herself with a suggestion to take off the oppressive clothing. If she still clings to her internalized misogyny, officers

ban, and reversed the progress made towards independent female thought. However, the bravest lawmakers will continue to fight for Muslim women’s right to wear anything they want to the beach… except the Burkini.

Scientists recently made a historical discovery in the form of Proxima b, an Earth-like planet orbiting in the habitable zone around the Sun’s closest neighbor, Proxima Centauri. At a mere 4.2 light years away this planet is still far out of range of where we can reasonably travel to with our current technology; however, that may not stop some from trying.

A group of about 80 scientists have publically declared that they will leave Earth and colonize Proxima b if Donald “The Donald” Trump is elected as the next president. The leader of this group, who call themselves “Proxima b or Bust,” also happens to have been the lead scientist of the team that discovered the planet, Dr. Penelope Mathews.

In an interview with Mathews, she said that the idea “started as a joke” during the celebration after Proxima b’s discovery. However, after a few napkin calculations the group figured out that “their chance of survival was .00026 percent more likely during the trip to the new planet than under the

leadership of Trump.” The next day the team ran a more accurate calculation and found the difference in likelihood could be as high as .00058 percent.

According to Mathews, the team’s plan is to take a ship to Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter, and camp out there for six months to a year as they make modifications to their spacecraft. While on Europa they will drill through the planet’s icy crust to liquid water and create an Atlantis-like structure for a shelter. They then plan on using the gravity of Jupiter to slingshot themselves out of the solar system on a path to Proxima b.

The team is still working through some problems like food, water, and how to not die in the icy grip of interstellar space, but many of Earth’s top biologists, chemists, physicists and engineers have been joining the group in droves and they are expected to find some solution to these problems.

Mathews admits that the possibility of survival all the way to Proxima b is highly unlikely in one human lifetime; however, she believes that one of her far-off descendants might step foot on the planet. “Spending the rest of my life in the void is space has to be than an America without taco trucks on every corner,” Mathews stated at the end of our interview.

Applications to join the group are open at this time, but spots are expected to fill quickly.

Five easy ways for TU students to cut costs around campus

College can be expensive, but there are ways to help your hurting wallet. The State-Run Media’s finest accountants have compiled these unique tips to help you save money.

Zach Darland Financial “planner” The Buried Treasure Scavenger Hunt: Rumor has it that there are free book waivers for the bookstore buried in random places by the Physical Plant. There will be shovels distributed at Hardesty sometime in the upcoming week.

Keep your ear to the ground for that one.

The Body of David S. Francis: How many people do you know that have seen the bells of Sharp Chapel? That’s right, not one. There was only one person who knew where the bells actually were, and that was David S. Francis. If you can find the bells, you will find his final resting place. In the coat pocket of the suit he was buried in is a half-off coupon for Hot Topic.

Fighting for the Dean’s Honor: Now we’re getting into some riskier territory. For this, you’ll need a like-minded individual.

You and your opponent-to-be need to go to the Dean’s house, stand 30 feet apart and then face the house.

In proper style, you should both say, “Those who are about to die salute you.” If you hear “Go well” or, you know, just perfect silence, the fight is on. This is a gladiatorial fight to the death. If you spare your victim, you will receive 1/4 of a Presidential Scholarship, but if you finish them, you will be rewarded with 1/2 of the aforementioned scholarship. If the Dean somehow has not noticed the fight by this time, go knock on the door and explain that you won the scholarship. It will be deposited in your account the next day.

Murder for Money: Due to a clerical error and a law from the mid-19th century, when a student dies on campus, the last person who saw them inherits their financial aid. Does it make sense to me? Hell no. Is it highly profitable and outrageously exploitable?

Hell yes. All you have to do is be around when numerous people die.

graphic by Zack Darland

Follow these easy guidelines and you could save up to $3.17/month.

So if you like taking advantage of others’ pain as much as I do, then this is definitely for you.

Selling Your Body. Here’s one that’s tough to talk about, but if you’re still reading this, it means that you really don’t have other options. According to the FBI, the black market price of a kidney alone is upwards of $200,000. With

that statistic in mind, just imagine how much an entire body runs for.

Now’s the hard part: Marketing.

The black market isn’t something you just ask around for (well it can be, if you like police) you have to know people. Start by going to Collins hall and ask to speak to the Senior Marketing Advisor. If done successfully, the secretary will make a phone call and take you to

the back room. You will lay on the table and be anesthetized. When you wake up, your body will have been sold to traffickers and on its way to Oklahoma City; in your account, you will find what they deem your body worth. You’ll be little more than a head in a jar, but from this point on, money will be the least of your concerns.