21 January 2020

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Janet Levit Interim President

President Clancy steps down, citing medical issues Chris Lierly Commentary Editor Effective Jan. 17, Provost Janet Levit has been temporarily designated as acting President of the University of Tulsa. President Gerard Clancy informed the Board of Trustees that due to medical issues, he will be unable to fulfill his duties as President of the University for a number of weeks.

This appointment was announced

by Frederic Dorwart, Chair of TU’s Board of Trustees, via email to staff and faculty on Friday, Jan. 17, and took place “in accordance with the university’s bylaws.”

While President Clancy remains on medical leave, acting President Levit will retain her role as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs until such a time as Clancy is able to return.

Top 10 best and worst sports moments of 2019, p. 3 TU bond rate lowered, p. 5 Bynum refuses to recognize “Live PD” problem, p. 8 Top 10 movies of 2019, p. 11

Sports

The Collegian: 2

21 January 2020

Golden Hurricane falls to USF What you missed from the break: James Taylor captures the action from the TU women’s basketball team’s 68-52 loss to the Bulls.

Rebecca Lescay drives though a hoard of USF defenders (top). Alexis Gaulden looks to pass the ball to an open player (bottom). Morgan Brady looks to score (right).

photos by James Taylor

How the Chiefs came back against the Texans

51

Mahomes threw for five touchdowns.

NFL expert A. C. Boyle covers exactly how Kansas City pulled off their glorious and unexpected comeback.

31

graphic by Emma Palmer

Being a Chiefs fan is not easy, I’ll tell you that right off the bat. But that’s slowly starting to change, and I’m loving every minute of it.

The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2019 NFL Season with a 12-4 record, same as the year before. They are now heading to their second straight AFC Championship game at home, and they are 7.5-point favorites to win that game, which is on Sunday, Jan. 19, against the Tennessee Titans.

During that game, Kansas City will be seeking their first Super Bowl appearance since 1970, and their head coach Andy Reid will be looking for his first Lombardi Trophy.

But before Chiefs Kingdom could move one step closer to the highest of highs, they first had to descend to the lowest of lows.

Last Sunday saw Kansas City in the Divisional Playoff round against an upstart Houston Texans team, led by quarterback Deshaun Watson and Head Coach Bill O’Brien. Maybe Kansas City didn’t think of Houston as a pedigree team, but I certainly wasn’t about to underestimate them, not when they won the regular season matchup against the Chiefs.

But enough of the extra details, let’s talk about this Chiefs-Texans game, because it was so goddamn hyped up that people are talking about it nationally (which always feels good to any fan of a smallmarket midwestern sports team).

Kansas City started out this game about as bad as any team can start an NFL game. They missed tackles, let receivers get wide open, and even allowed a punt of theirs to be blocked. Again. (Seriously, how do you let this happen twice in one season?)

By the start of the second quarter, the Texans were up 24-0, and the onlookers at Arrowhead Stadium were fearing a rout, another playoff humiliation to add to the cabinet.

And then, everything changed.

Everything.

By the end of the second quarter, the Chiefs were winning the game, and by the end of the third quarter, it was a blowout the other way.

The final score was a beautiful 51-31, a number Chiefs fans will be remembering for a long time (Texans fans, not so much).

Along the way, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and orchestrated the consecutive drives that led to 41 unanswered points, and tight end Travis Kelce had 10 receptions and three touchdown catches. It was an unexpected obliteration of everything Houston, a plot twist to rival an absurd anime directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

And it was, I’m sure, a huge relief to all those Chiefs fans who bought tickets to the game.

I don’t think anybody gave up and left early, either, though I wouldn’t chalk this up to optimism, but the fact that nobody in their right mind would spend hundreds of dollars on playoff tickets and then leave before the end of the first half.

So how in the world did the Chiefs fight their way back into this game?

Well, I can identify three points where the momentum shifted in KC’s favor.

The first came when the Texans, up 21 in the second Quarter, elected to kick a field goal on 4th and Inches in KC’s territory, even though the statistical odds of converting 4th and short are around 63 percent.

Many pundits have already criticised this decision, but it is understandable, as you aren’t exactly in a “go for it” mentality when you’re winning.

That being said, the decision to play it safe might have woken the Chiefs out of their football coma, for the second huge moment came when the Chiefs got the ball back next.

On the subsequent kickoff, Mecole Hardman of the Chiefs returned the kick to the Houston 42-

yard line. While the play wasn’t anything spectacular, it got the crowd amped up and back into the game, and was the spark of morale that lit the blaze.

A minute later, it was 24-7. The third, and most important, moment of the game came on the Texans’ next drive.

On 4th and four in their own territory, Houston went for a fake punt run play that failed to pick up the four yards necessary for the first down, with KC’s Daniel Sorensen making the crucial tackle.

This baffling playcalling blunder demoralized Coach Bill O’Brien and the Texans, who looked flat and dead after that. A minute later, it was 24-14.

Two minutes later, it was 24-21.

By the third quarter it was 41-24 in favor of the Chiefs, who kept Houston out of the game by not letting up on the gas. The rest was merely a formality.

This was the largest comeback in Kansas City Chiefs team history, and the fourth-largest playoff comeback in NFL history.

What made this comeback so impressive, though, was the 51 total points scored by the Chiefs, and the fact that the entire comeback was made in only 10 short minutes.

Make no mistake, even if the Chiefs don’t get to the Super Bowl this year, it will not diminish in any way the achievement of this win, just as Buffalo’s historic 32-point playoff comeback against Houston in 1993 (poor Houston!) was not diminished by their eventual Super Bowl loss that year.

But it goes without saying that this better be the year for Chiefs Kingdom.

And the optimist in me really does think it is, because after a win like this, the locker room always believes in the magic.

By the time this article is out, the Chiefs will either be heading to their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, or I will be writing the angriest sports rant in human history. See you then!

21 January 2020

Sports

The Collegian: 3

Top 10 best sports moments 2019

Student writer Zach Short looks back at 2019 and highlights the most glorious moments in sports of the year, from college football to international women’s socccer.

10. Joe Burrow and the Wave at Texas Occuring a time long before the national title was claimed, “the wave” was such a move. Joe Burrow carried the LSU Tigers to victory over the Texas Longhorns, in Austin no less, and then proceeds to wave goodbye to the thousands of dejected fans.

Burrow was good and he knew it, but it is

The band broke up and now the Warriors have one of the worst records in the NBA. Sad as it may be for fans of Curry or Durant or any of the others, it is mostly inarguable to say it was not fun to see Kawhi get absolutely elated and overcome with emotion when he helped ring in a new era of basketball.

5. David Ortiz returns to Fenway Park One of the most shocking events of the year occurred in June, when baseball and Red Sox legend David Ortiz was shot while visiting his home country of the Dominican Republic. The attack thankfully did not prove fatal nor debilitating, and Big Papi was able to make a full recovery.

World Series victory than the Nationals last year.

It did not quench their bloodlust to only make the Postseason in the absence of Bryce Harper, nor did it even satisfy them that Bryce Harper did not qualify. They went on a rampage to win the title, with “Baby Shark” as their anthem no less. The fact

“Biles has secured brilliant success in gymnastics, and solidified her spot as a legend in her field with the move, despite being only 22 years old.” only after a season of proving himself that this moment can be cited as spectacular.

9. The St. Louis Blues and “Gloria” Musical traditions in professional sports are cherished across the nation. While the start of the famous Red Sox’s love for “Sweet Caroline” happened too long ago for many to remember, hockey fans in 2019 got to see the birth of a new tradition: “Gloria,” the 1982 hit from Laura Branigan.

There is little mystery as to why the Blues were able to latch onto the song so quickly.

It’s catchy, it has synthesizer, and it is so violently ‘80s that no one can resist its charms.

Legend has it that a number of players heard it in a Philadelphia bar while watching an Eagles game.

They fell in love with it instantly, and the rest is history.

The cherry on top? The Blues went on to defeat the Bruins in dramatic fashion to claim the Stanley Cup. 8. Raptors win the Finals While the Patriots were able to prove their dynasty had not reached its end, the same cannot be said of the Warriors.

At first it seemed that they would be unstoppable again, but then everything changed.

The Raptors were scrappy and unwilling to be stopped, and the Warriors looked tired and could not prevent a slew of injuries that plagued them. When the Raptors took them down, all was over.

7. Tiger wins another major Someday there will be a blockbuster film with a few Oscar nods about the life of Tiger Woods, but right now he is living in that movie. There were years of unmitigated success with the golfer, followed by the blow-up where many affairs came to light and he began to plummet.

However, Woods did not allow that to be the end of his story, nor did he allow the much circulated DUI picture from 2017 end him either.

He came back from a fourteen-year drought to win a major and reaffirm his legend status in 2019, and the whole world was cheering for him.

6. UVA returns to the tournament with a vengeance During the latter half of March, college basketball dominates sports news. People who do not watch sports the whole rest of the year awaken from their coma to join bracket pools and compete with friends and co-workers alike.

In 2018, Virginia ruined a lot of dreams with their shocking fall (the first of its kind) to 16 seed University of Maryland Baltimore County.

The following year, people were wary to pick the school for hardly any wins at all with their newfound reputation.

Yet, despite the bad press, Virginia went on to claim the whole tournament in decisive fashion in one of the greatest comebacks in college sports.

Three months after being shot, he made his first public appearance since the incident to throw out the first pitch at his home away from home, Fenway Park.

4. Simone Biles triple-double It had been accomplished only twice, both times by men, before Simone Biles became the first woman to ever land a triple-double (three twists, two somersaults) in competition.

Biles has secured brilliant success in gymnastics, and solidified her spot as a legend in her field with the move, despite being only 22 years old. It was nothing short of incredible, and the only thing left to be asked is, what could she possibly have in store next?

3. AFC Championship game It was the Super Bowl the world deserved. The Patriots were up by two touchdowns at halftime and the aspiring young Chiefs teams seemed all but defeated. That is, until they exploded in the second half with 31 points and forced an overtime. It was a gripping thriller with everyone biting their nails wondering if the Patriots really were done. Alas, Tom Brady was not willing to go without a fight, and the Chiefs came up short of a Super Bowl appearance, but that did not make for a bad game. Patrick Mahomes made the veteran earn his ticket and the game was fun enough that people were able to forgive a Patriots victory.

2. The Nationals Beat the Astros There was not a team more deserving of a

that the Astros could not beat them even by cheating only makes the victory that much more spectacular.

1. Megan Rapinoe says “I’m not going to the fucking White House,” proceeds to win World Cup It is not every day that a person picks a fight with the leader of the free world and then proceeds to prove herself as a top member of one of the most dominant sports teams on the planet.

Professional sports teams visiting the White House has become an issue during the Trump administration, with notable moments like the Philadelphia Eagles being banned on what was apparently kneeling for the anthem, despite none of them ever doing so, and LeBron James and Stephen Curry agreeing before the 2018 Finals had ended that neither of them would visit should they win.

Megan Rapinoe, who has been kneeling for the anthem for a few years now, put her sentiment in common language by assuring in an interview that she would not be “going to the fucking White House.”

The president upped the ante by saying she should win before saying something like that and offering an invitation, win or lose, to everyone but her.

He, much to his chagrin, came out the loser in that situation, when Megan Rapinoe and the U.S. Women’s soccer team won the World Cup and nobody came to visit him.

Top 10 worst sports moments 2019

On the other side of things, sports writer Zach Short also covers the 10 worst happenings of the last calendar year, from the NCAA to European Soccer.

10. Competition dies in MLB (four 100win teams, four 100-loss teams) To clarify, this is not in reference to the Houston Astros cheating scandal. The death of competition in Major League Baseball comes from a less obvious enemy: the money-making machine of professional sports.

In the right market, the owner and investors in a given sports franchise may stand to profit more from producing terrible results than from trying to win.

Despite this truth, the executives that be will often take enough pride in what they are doing to be competitive. For example, Mike Ilitch owned the Detroit Tigers from 1992 to his death in 2017, at which point ownership was transferred to his son Christopher. From 2014-2016, the Tigers won 250 games.

From 2017-2019, after the father-son trans-

steps to hide his displeasure with one of the girls on the team.

In a caption that was later amended, he said, “The 7th player (not in pic) missed this game for a dance recital so that should tell you where her focus was at this time.” She was a child and he was a household name: it was a breach of etiquette.

7. Antonio Brown When the band broke up in Pittsburgh, Antonio Brown probably should have just called it quits.

This year gave the former superstar a brief stint in New England, a handful of sexual assault allegations, a whole slew of ire coming both before and after the allegations and a weird return to college (that may have been a weak attempt at positive press).

Nobody outside of a Pittsburgh locker room

is no secret that what happened was a difficult moment to watch.

An exchange between the then-point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder and a Utah Jazz fan ended with Russell Westbrook offering a slew of threats to the fan.

Westbrook claimed that the fan was out of line and used racially-charged taunts, and an investigation by the Jazz found enough evidence of deplorable behavior to justify banning the fan for life.

It was a stark look at the uglier side of sports.

4. England and Bulgaria Soccer Match Speaking of that ugly side of sports, fans were seen behaving at their absolute worst at the October match between the English and Bulgarian soccer teams. Fans of the Eastern European team engaged in a wide array of

spised more than cheating, and while there are differing viewpoints on the PED-fueled sluggerfest of the ‘90s, it is probably safe to say that no one is okay with what the Astros were doing.

Stealing signs is dirty, and it, unlike the aforementioned days of big hitters doping, does not make the game more fun for fans at all.

The scandal did nothing but give one team an unfair advantage and possible rob the Dodgers of a title they rightfully deserved back in 2017. At least they did not win another title.

1. The NCAA and James Wiseman The NCAA has been a heavily criticized organization for years, much of it to do with their strict rules on what can be given to a player to persuade him or her to go to a

“... Americans were left with one of the lowest-scoring and most incredibly boring Super Bowls of all time and another ring for Tom Brady.” ferral, the Tigers won only 175, averaging a loss of 25 wins per season. The Tigers, one of four 100-loss teams in 2019, lost no less than 114 games last season.

Whereas a 100-win season used to be a terrific feat, success has been devalued with the advent of the money-making junior varsity teams.

9. Maximum Security is disqualified Not requiring as much explanation as the last, the stripping of Maximum Security’s title at the Kentucky Derby was a difficult subject for all who watched.

The opinions ranged greatly, with some saying that the rule called into question (that the horse drifted into a competitor’s lane) was a lousy way to disqualify a racer, whereas others would say that the repercussions (terrible as they may have been) were deserved and would set an example for future would-be rulebreakers.

Regardless of personal opinion, it is undeniable that all would have gone much more swimmingly had Maximum Security just stayed in his lane.

8. Kobe Bryant calls out child in Instagram post This one may have flown slightly below the radar of many sports fans, but it was not a great moment for the Black Mamba.

In an Instagram post discussing a tournament in which a young girls’ basketball team, coached by Kobe Bryant, took fourth place, the former Lakers superstar took no

can say who is at fault for the death of a dynasty, but it could not have been so bad as to make this year any kind of improvement for Brown.

Going from years of brilliant success to a regular TMZ target is certainly a downgrade, making Antonio Brown tonight’s biggest loser.

6. Tua Tagovailoa injury Alabama is a dynasty in the college football circle, and the argument could be made that they have had a few seasons that could have been average NFL performances in lieu of dominant college records.

With this level of success, every team that gets to play them is either quaking in their boots or, more likely, itching for a chance to take down the formidable foe. However, despite how badly any given team may want to beat them, no one wants to win because of an injury.

Tua Tagovailoa was one of the most talked about quarterbacks in college football last season and was looking like a top prospect for the NFL. That is, until his tenure at Alabama was cut short by a dislocated hip.

The injury took one of the best quarterbacks active out of the game and effectively eliminated Alabama from real championship contention. No one ever wants to win like that.

5. Russell Westbrook Altercation with Jazz Fan While it is still ambiguous to the public what actually happened that fateful night, it

racist chants and actions that continued after repeated threats of game cancellation from stadium announcements.

It was enough of an issue that the UEFA was prompted to take action and the head coach of the Bulgarian soccer team resigned not long after. Heckling may be a part of sports, but racist taunts are way over the line.

3. The Super Bowl Possibly the biggest snoozefest of 21st Century Super Bowls and definitely the worst game of the respective postseason, Super Bowl LIII was a colossal disappointment.

Almost everyone in the world was cheering for a final game devoid of all Patriots, especially after the Eagles had supposedly ended the reign of terror the year before.

However, with almost all of football nation on their side, the Chiefs failed to stop the monstrous franchise from returning. On the other end, fan favorite Drew Brees appeared cheated out of another appearance with the now infamous no-call for pass interference, so there was bad blood with both teams entering the game.

Regardless, millions of Americans tuned in to watch anyway, and they were left with one of the lowest-scoring and most incredibly boring Super Bowls of all time and another ring for Tom Brady.

2. Astros’ scandal There are few parts of sports that are de-

certain university, whether those means be from said university or not.

California’s legislature took on the organization last year with the passage of a bill guaranteeing compensation for the use of a player’s likeness, but the outcome of that is still in the air as the rule will not take effect until January 2023.

The problem with the biggest association of college sports reached a nasty boiling point with the plight of young basketball prospect James Wiseman.

The issue in question was that Penny Hardaway, current coach of Memphis college basketball, gave money to Wiseman’s family in moving expenses a couple years ago when they moved to the city of Memphis, a time when Hardaway was the coach at Memphis East High School.

The NCAA dubbed this improper and suspended Wiseman for 12 games. For coming from an organization that has been controversial for many years and for taking the number one prospect out of college hoops, this ranks as the worst moment in sports for 2019.

To make it personal, Wiseman would have been a conference competitor against Tulsa.

Golden Hurricane fans have now been robbed of a chance to see a potential number one pick, and the players have been stripped of a chance to compete with a future top NBA pick.

Sports

The Collegian: 4

21 Janurary 2020

New sports to watch in 2020 With 2019 good and gone, seasoned sports journalist Hannah Robbins suggests some new sports to add for your viewing pleasure in the lead up to the 2020 Olympics.

As the new year begins, everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, but one thing seems to stay the same: their sports habits.

However, while a small number of sports seem to monopolize all the attention, there are many others out there, and with the Tokyo Olympics coming soon, there is no better time to get involved in watching new sports. Without further ado, here is an (abridged) list of some new sports to add to your playlists and bookmarks.

First up, climbing. Bouldering, speed climbing and lead climbing are all in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for the first time. Unlike most sports, where each of these com-

pletely different disciplines would receive their own medal, climbing in the Olympics is a triathlon, which means you will have three different styles to watch.

Bouldering is free climbing with no specific route and each competitor tries to get to different checkpoints of the route, earning points at each. Speed climbing is one specific route that climbers try to summit as quickly as possible, usually reaching the goal in under six seconds for men and eight seconds for women to advance in head-to-head races. Lead climbing is as simple as climbing the highest possible for a given route.

Each of these aspects of climbing

is available on YouTube to watch, and the crazy maneuvers alone make the sport easy to watch. The next competition is the Pan-American Championships from Feb. 24 to March 1.

Next up, we have rhythmic gymnastics. While not as famous as is counterpart artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics is best known for the ribbon apparatus, where gymnasts have a 17-foot ribbon they use for complex gymnastics.

This sport has both an individual event and a team event, where five gymnastics compete together. Unlike artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics is more about telling

a story than competing high flying tumbling passes, and watching the sport seems more akin to watching a ballet than watching Simone Biles on balance beam. For the first time since 1991, the United States has qualified two individuals for the individual competition and has a chance to send a group to Tokyo as well.

The next competition is the first of the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup series April 3-5, however the 2019 World Championships is online.

Another often forgotten sport is surfing. Also making its debut in the 2020 Olympics, this sport that is another reason we all should

visit the fiftieth state and has such fun terminology as “ankle busters” (small waves) and “dropping in” (trying to surf a wave when it’s not your turn). If you needed another reason to watch a sport with timeless competitors (Bethany Hamilton has been spotted in competitions recently), look no further than the commentators, whose accents and slang make for a very entertaining watch.

Since the surfing competition will take place in the ocean, we’re in for a wild time in Tokyo, and a primer will make the upsets and waves all the better. The next competition will be the Sunset Open Jan. 18-28.

Pro Bowl system unfair, misleading

Student writer Brett Tyndall maligns the fan-based voting method in the NFL’s All Star game, highlights snubbed players and gives his picks for who should have made the cut.

Since Pro Bowl rosters were released last week, the age-old argument of the Pro Bowl’s legitimacy comes into question once again.

With the most recent group of selections, the Pro Bowl proves that

The rest of my complaints come out of the NFC, as two defensive stalwarts failed to make the cut of popular renown.

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith should’ve

season, but a big reason why these two made it is because they are Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly.

The two have been dominant forces on defense since they were both drafted in 2012 and have

But with Jordan Hicks, his snub comes from the fans’ collective respect for two superstar inside linebackers that have each been NFL elites for eight years. These are only a few of the notable snubs

Green Bay RB Aaron Jones, Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu and so on. Someone needs to say it: fans should have little to no input on Pro Bowl rosters.

There’s a reason why making the

“Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith should have gotten it instead of Chicago’s Khalil Mack.” it serves as nothing more than a popularity contest among players from the best teams in the NFL. The end-of-year selections continue to ignore standouts from teams that had lackluster seasons, have smaller followings among fans or are unfairly overshadowed by fellow teammates.

Just going by statistics, there are people who clearly should have gotten in.

For example, Miami Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker balled all season despite being stuck on a mostly putrid Dolphins team.

He finished the year with 1,202 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. These numbers outclass Pro Bowl selection Jarvis Landry from the Cleveland Browns (1,174 yards and six touchdowns).

Parker had the fourth most receiving yards this season and Landry finished with the ninth most.

This goes against the popular belief that everything about the Dolphins is complete garbage, so Parker didn’t make it. Tyreek Hill, star receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, also doesn’t outstat Parker, but missed several games this season due to injury, which somewhat justifies his selection.

gotten it instead of Chicago’s Khalil Mack. Smith had 41 tackles, 14 tackle assists, 13.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Mack regressed from last season and had 40 tackles, 7 tackle assists, 8.5 sacks, but had 5 forced fumbles, recovering one of them.

Smith took his snub personally in Green Bay’s divisional playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks.

After sacking Seattle QB Russell Wilson, he pulled up his jersey to reveal his white undershirt, which had “SNUBBED” decaled in large, black text.

He has a right to be upset, as he outperformed Khalil Mack in nearly every statistical category.

An argument can also be made for San Francisco OLB Fred Warner, who also had a better season than Mack.

Another notable snub is Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Jordan Hicks.

Only four ILBs make it in the Pro Bowl, two from the AFC and two from the NFC, so this was bound to happen.

The NFC’s Pro Bowl ILBs are Seattle’s Bobby Wagner and Carolina’s Luke Kuechly. They both have been statistically elite this

rightfully earned the name recognition they have.

With the news of Kuechly’s sudden retirement, it makes even more sense to include him on the Pro Bowl list.

Football fans want to see him play one more time, even if it’s just an exhibition.

However, Jordan Hicks was simply better all year and made a huge impact on an otherwise depleted and elderly Cardinals defense.

Hicks finished with very comparable stats to Wagner, but outclassed Kuechly in most categories. Hicks had 12 more tackles, 1.5 more sacks, one more interception and forced more fumbles than Kuechly.

In the case of Za’Darius Smith, his snub can be attributed to how underrated the Green Bay defense is this season, especially the pass rush.

For the past decade, the Packers have had a middling defense, at best, so public perception may still see them as only decent.

DeVante Parker was shrouded by a supposed mist of suck in Miami and went nearly unnoticed because no one cared to keep track of a team that was supposed to be hilariously bad.

from this season, but there are plenty more. Cases can be made for Detroit WR Kenny Golladay,

All-Pro team is more of an accolade.

graphic by Brennen Gray Devante Parker, Za’Darius Smith, Fred Warner, Jordan Hicks and others were snubbed.

Jan. 20 - Jan. 26 Monday

Tuesday 20

Wednesday 21

22

Thursday 23

Saturday

Friday 24

25 W Tennis @ ITA Kickoff 9 a.m.

No Events

W Basketball vs. ECU 7 p.m.

M Basketball vs. Memphis 8 p.m.

No Events No Events

Sunday

M Tennis @ ITA Kickoff 12 p.m.

W Basketball @ SMU 2 p.m.

26

W Tennis @ ITA Kickoff TBA M Tennis @ ITA Kickoff TBA

21 January 2020

News

The Collegian: 5

TU bond rating drop may signal further cuts The University of Tulsa’s bond rating lowered two tiers in two years, risking accreditation.

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor Lindsey Prather Student Writer On Dec. 19, Moody’s Investor Service, a major credit rating company, updated the status of the University of Tulsa’s revenue and student housing bonds. The downgrade — which shifted TU from its previously held Baa1 designation to Baa3 — involved a demotion of two ranks. With this new report, TU’s financial credit is precariously perched just one rating above what Moody’s labels “junk” bonds; these lower tier ratings indicate low investability and poor financial health. This most recent drop follows the previous downgrade to Baa1 in December of 2017.

In their public report, Moody’s described the outlook as negative, and wrote that both a “very weak operating performance resulting in further erosion of liquidity and an increasingly heavy reliance on a line of credit” are reasons for such an unfavorable forecast.

Among their reasoning for the loss in status, Moody’s cited a 24 percent drop in net tuition revenue between 2015 and 2019 and a rise in expenditures per student as reasons for TU’s recent financial difficulties. However, perhaps more importantly, the investor service went on to note that through the years 2015-2019, the university’s cash flow was often unable to cover the debts it had acquired.

Though the words True Commitment do not appear in the report, the report references TU’s plan “for optimizing enrollment, realigning academic programs and reducing the university’s currently unsustainable cost structure,” and acknowledges its potential to gradually improve operations. But that is

cause TU’s bonds to drop further, earning ratings below investment grade. Though that would only require dropping one more level, from Baa3 to Ba1, the transition from investment grade bonds to high-yield or junk bonds would greatly affect TU’s ability to attract investors and could cause further accreditation issues with the Higher Learning Commision, TU’s regional accrediting body.

Conversely, if the university finds a way to increase its yearly cash flow, increases the amount of tuition revenue or achieves a growth in unrestricted funds without relying on the previously mentioned line of credit could all cause Moody’s to rate TU’s bonds at a higher and less precarious level.

Buck indicated that potentially, “everything is on the table; athletics, administration and faculty [included].” qualified later in the report as it notes that even then “management will likely continue to confront headwinds during implementation.”

Along with their assessment of TU’s ability to pay back its debts, Moody’s listed multiple ways that TU’s rating could change again in the near future.

An increase in debt, increased or continued spending and a loss of credit could each

TU’s Board of Trustees has yet to publish any official statements regarding the implications of this credit downgrade and they declined to comment on the matter The suggestion that the university is about to enter into a new period of austerity has been a prominent topic in a number of meetings, however this topic remains murky in the absence of official word from the Board.

As for TU’s administration, President Clancy stated that the downgrade “will have minimal impact on our ability to borrow and should not be felt in our day-to-day operations.”

However, TU Vice President of Finance Kevan Buck did not share the same optimism. On Jan. 16, Buck spoke to the Faculty Senate, communicating the potential for cuts that spanned far beyond those of True Commitment. Buck indicated that potentially, “everything is on the table; athletics, administration and faculty included.”

When asked whether this statement contradicted President Clancy’s earlier in the week, Buck could not be reached for clarification.

When asked this week about cuts, Clancy and Provost Levit asserted that the university is “reviewing all areas for increased revenue and reduced expenses.” However, both Clancy and Levit remained certain that the change of TU’s bond rating “does not have an immediate impact on our current cash flow.”

The Board of Trustees is set to meet in late January, and intends to announce a plan for the future in early March; it seems that a discussion over how the university can avoid falling upon a worse fiscal situation will dominate conversation.

Stitt proposes 25 percent tax on native gaming

Disagreement between Kevin Stitt and three Oklahoma tribes leaves the gaming industry in question.

Lindsey Prather Student Writer

On Dec. 31, the three largest gaming tribes in Oklahoma — the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw — filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma City federal court, naming Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt as its defendant.

This lawsuit marks the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the governor and tribal authorities regarding the state gaming compact. The situation began in July 2019, when Governor Stitt sent a letter to all casino-owning tribal governments that indicated his desire to renegotiate.

The compact — an agreement which establishes the rules that govern legal gambling in Oklahoma — was officially adopted in 2006 and was set to automatically renew every 15 years. Governor Stitt had previously communicated some dissatisfaction with the amount of money collected by Oklahoma’s state government and attempted to initiate some form of arbitration.

However, tribal governments declined Stitt’s request, which prompted a series of headline-grabbing responses from Gover-

courtesy Wikimedia Commons The largest Casino in the world, WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, one of the tribes suing Governor Kevin Stitt.

nor Stitt. Following the tribes’ rebuttal, Stitt declared that absent an attempt at renegotiation, the compact would expire on Jan. 1, 2020; as a result, all tribal casinos would be complicit in illegal gambling at the start of the New Year.

Additionally, Stitt threatened to hike the percentage of casino profit given to the state from 10 percent to 25 percent, a significant

increase that did not interest the tribal governments. This threat was accompanied by a publicly addressed letter sent by Stitt to the government of the Chickasaw Nation declaring the intent of the state to extensively audit the tribe and the financial data of their casinos in 2020. Notably, the ability of the state to audit the casinos is severely limited without the compact in place, so it is un-

known as to how this will be accomplished.

All of these actions culminated with the filing of a federal lawsuit, with Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw tribal governments seeking a ruling that would affirm that the pact renewed automatically on Jan. 1. Gov. Stitt has retained lawyers from a Seattlebased law firm to litigate the lawsuit, using funds collected under the gaming compact to finance his defense. According to a statement released by Stitt, the law firm is being paid up to $300,000, all from the compact’s coffers.

Under the initial rules of the compact, the tribes pay between four percent and 10 percent of revenue; this payment guarantees the exclusive right of the tribes to operate casinos that host Class III gambling. The exclusivity fees alone amounted to almost $140 million paid to the state in the last fiscal year, which has been used to supplement a relatively small state budget.

The outcome of the lawsuit will not be clear for a long time. However, tribes have been continuing to conduct business in casinos normally and have given no indication of halting operations. Two tribes have signed an eight-month extension to the compact — Kialegee Tribal Town and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians — however, these tribes do not currently operate large-scale gaming casinos in Oklahoma.

US killing of Iranian general causes tensions In response to the missile strike, Iran has retaliated both militarily and politically.

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor On Friday, Jan. 3, President Trump authorized a drone strike that killed Major Qassim Suleimani, a commander in the Iranian military, as well as multiple officials in the Iraqi Shiite militias supported by Tehran.

The strike came during Suleimani’s visit to Iraq and was the catalyst for what has been a tense month for relations between the United States and Iran.

Suleimani commanded the special operations Quds forces, and according to many experts he amounted to the second highest ranking official in the country after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei called for three days of mourning and a “forceful revenge” against those who killed Suleimani in the hours following reports of the strike.

That retaliation came in the form of both a cyber attack on a U.S. government website and missile strikes at two Iraqi military bases that are currently shared with the United States. There were no reported casualties in the aftermath of those strikes, but Iranian officials promised larger strikes if the United States attempted to retaliate.

The Trump administration claimed that Suleimani was planning attacks on numerous U.S. officials in the region, and that the attack was conducted to protect both American lives and the peace between the two countries. However in the weeks since,

President Trump has gone on to tweet that “it doesn’t really matter” and that Suleimani’s “horrible past” justified his assassination.

The strike came after Pro-Iranian militia forces and a large crowd stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad earlier in the week, but the killing of Suleimani also marks an escalation in tensions between the United States and Iran since Trump took office. In the spring of 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement with Iran that allowed the U.S. to maintain surveillance on the amount of enriched Uranium that Iran was able to produce. This move was criticized by many in the Democratic Party and drew harsh condemnation from Ayatollah Khamenei.

The withdrawal, praised by many of Trump’s more hawkish advisors, seems to have been the moment any good faith between the two nations began to deteriorate.

In a political response to the January strike, Iran has now also withdrawn from the nuclear agreement, despite work by multiple EU countries to continue to play the role envisioned for the U.S. when the program was created.

Iraq’s parliament also took action after the strike by voting to stop allowing American troops to remain stationed in the country, as fears of a U.S.-Iran proxy-war loom in the aftermath of Suleimani’s killing. This move could potentially end an almost twenty year conflict for the United States, but with U.S.-Iran tensions still high it is unclear whether the Trump administration will choose to comply with the Iraqi government or follow through with Trump’s assurance that he wants peace.

@TUCollegian

tucollegian@tucollegian.org editor-in-chief

Ethan Veenker managing editor

Emily Every news editor

Madison Connell sports editor

Brennen Gray variety editor

Piper Prolago commentary editor

Chris Lierly satire editor

Sara Serrano photo & graphics editor

Emma Palmer

business & advertising manager

Brian Kwiecinski

social media & web manager

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distribution managers

Alaina Nauman Mary Bergwell copy editor

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

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News

The Collegian: 6

21 January 2020

Rural US contains fewer resources for LGBTQ+ healthcare

The LGBTQ+ community faces healthcare discrimination, even with basic care.

Madison Connell News Editor Across rural parts of America, the LGBTQ+ community’s needs remain largely unmet by healthcare professionals. Despite media portrayal of the group mainly inhabiting large cities, the LGBTQ+ community represents somewhere between three and five percent of adults and roughly 10 percent of youth in rural parts of America, which approximately mirrors the rest of the country, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

Unfortunately, this does not mean people in the LGBTQ+ community who live in rural areas have equal access to all resources, such as healthcare.

a lack of medical knowledge — such as not knowing what conditions for which the community is at risk, what tests to run for those conditions, and preventative treatment to put their patients on — to a lack of the proper etiquette, such as not using the right pronouns or using old and offensive terms.

“For example,” said James, “[in the case of] a cisgender woman who identifies as a lesbian and is not engaging in sex with people who produce sperm, that perhaps routine pregnancy tests are not needed, especially if those patients do not have insurance and are paying cash for those services. For gay-identified men, whether they are cisgender or transgender, further testing needs to be done for sexually transmitted infections.”

Alex Wade, the Medical Services Coordinator at Oklahomans for Equality in Tulsa, explains that the issue is often worse for the transgender community as doctors often ignore the person’s symptoms

photo by Madison Connell The United States flag flying above the Progress Pride flag at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center.

To Ari James, the executive director of Ardmore Literacy Leadership who uses the singular pronoun “they,” “right now the main issue is whether or not providers will be affirming.”

This institutional invalidation of the LGBTQ+ community includes

and instead only focus “solely on the person’s trans identity.”

Wade added, “For instance, a friend of mine was told by an orthopedist that they would not perform a previously scheduled surgery on them because they had ‘transgender bones.’”

photo by Madison Connell The Dennis R. Neill Equality Center in Tulsa houses resources for the LGBTQ+ community, including counseling and events.

Treatment such as this largely brings those discriminated against to either travel far distances to find affirming healthcare or avoid doctors at all. According to the National LGBTQ Task Force and National Center for Transgender equality, 19 percent of transgender or gender non-conforming patients reported being refused care for their identity and 28 percent reported frequently postponing taking care of their health due to discrimination.

Currently, Oklahoma does not have any protections in place against healthcare discrimination for anyone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. According to the Movement Advancement Project, Oklahoma only scores one out of 40.5 possible points for their “LGBT Policy Tally,” which ranks states on their existing laws. Oklahoma is one of 26 states to rank low or in the negatives on this scoring system.

One reason James believes people in the LGBTQ+ community continue to travel long distances to find necessary healthcare is because doctors in rural communities have often served that community for decades without additional education on how to serve people on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

“Is there additional education mandated for LGBTQ+ people?

Of course not. So those physicians who have been in place for decades do not have the terminology or understanding of those issues even for primary care.”

While traveling to larger cities like Tulsa and Oklahoma City provides more opportunities for healthcare than rural parts of Oklahoma, finding affirming specialists sometimes requires patients to travel much farther.

“We’ve had people who’ve traveled as far as Thailand, leaving the country,” said James. “There’s a large portion of trans and intersex people who are doing the practice of medical tourism, where they are going to other countries, specifically for surgery, medication, or both.”

For Oklahoma State Senator Allison Ikley-Freeman, the issue of the lack of LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare is a personal one. She lives in Tulsa with her wife and is the first person openly on the LGBTQ+ spectrum to hold political office in Tulsa County.

In healthcare, she has experienced physicians trivializing her identity, as well as medical professionals not knowing how to refer to patients.

Ikley-Freeman said, “A form that says ‘homosexual,’ or a staff member who asks ‘Are you a practicing homosexual?’, the examples are endless but those are two that I have personally experienced. I have heard many complaints of physicians who act like someone’s sexual orientation is a burden or bother to their practice of medicine.”

She believes some of the most important things to change this pattern of ignorance and neglect are relationships, education and advocacy. “Positive bills are introduced every year; unfortunately, without more education and advocacy towards legislators these bills will continue to not progress.”

Until change happens, IkleyFreeman suggests, “If you’re reading this and are deeply bothered by the treatment of LGBTQ+ people talk to your doctors and see if they’ve done the work to get educated, talk to your legislators to see how much they need to learn and be willing to teach them over time.”

In Tulsa and around Oklahoma, some places Wade suggests for LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare include the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and Planned Parenthood.

Australian wildfires devestate wildlife, unclear if new rain will help The fires in Australia have burnt the equivalent area of South Korea or Portland, according to The Guardian.

Anna Johns Social Media/ Web Manager Sparking outrage and ecological concerns, the ongoing Australian wildfires are part of the country’s worst fire seasons on record. As of this week, the Australian Broadcasting Company reports the damage has so far totaled to 24 million acres, an amount larger than Portugal and more than 12 times the area burned in the 2018 California fires.

Currently, the damage of buildings totals over 2,000 in the state of New South Wales alone and is expected to increase, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS).

The fires have also resulted in the death of at least 28 people and impacts the health of those exposed to the carbon monoxide. According to the BBC, recent readings of the air quality find it equivalent to smoking 37 cigarettes a day.

For wildlife, the destruction is larger; the damage to wildlife is disastrous with an estimated more than one billion animals lost. Scientists fear the damage to ecosystems, and with good reason: Australia holds some of the grandest biodiversity in the world, as the continent was isolated for millions of years. The diversity was previously threatened by human interaction and invasive species,

courtesy JJ Harrison, Wikimedia Commons The wombat, an Australian mammal whose burrows have provided space for smaller animals to escape the fire.

but the ecological damage, according to Australia’s science research agency, CSIRO, is severe. However, the precise impact of the fires is hard to estimate because many

remained pristine. Now, one-third of the island suffers from fires.

Science News estimates “over half of the koala population on the island has been lost.”

And, while the crisis continues, there have been some reprieves.

Amid the devastation, Operation Rock-Wallaby provides help to NSW’s key rock-wallaby colo-

“... the damage to wildlife is disastrous with an estimated one billion animals lost.” animals that do survive will have other issues: diminishing natural food supplies, threats from predators, lack of shelter and corrupted water supplies.

Meanwhile, Kangaroo Island, a sanctuary for Australian wildlife, houses endangered species and distinct flora and fauna, surviving because the island’s habitats have

In an interview with Vox, ecologist from the Australian National University Sarah Legge said, “some of the [species] will be brought to the brink of extinction as a result of this event. And if they’re not made extinct . . . I think this is the beginning of the end for them.”

nies by dropping “over 4,000 pounds of vegetables” via helicopter, according to Matt Kean, NSW’s minister for energy and environment. Kean believes providing supplementary food will promote the survival of wallabies stranded with limited natural food.

Another environmental win was the saving of an intentionally

hidden grove of prehistoric trees, which date to the time of dinosaurs. Less than 200 of the Wollemi pines remain, and both the NSW RFS and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service worked together to carry out “an unprecedented environmental protection mission,” Kean confirmed.

Over the weekend, severe thunderstorms have brought muchneeded powerful rain to the firefighters battling the wildfires. The amount of rain varied wildly, ranging from drops to four inches, but dozens of fires persist. If it continues, the NSW RFS believes the rainstorms will be the solution to the region’s fires.

The NSW RFS tweeted, “Our fingers are crossed that this continues over the coming days.”

And while rain has helped dim some fires, it came with its own risks. The storms have brought severe weather warnings and could result in the formation of landslides in newly burned areas. According to CNN, years of drought have “left some regions so dry that rain just runs off the ground” and fires may have destroyed the vegetation that would usually absorb the water. The Victoria State Emergency Service reported a sinkhole 13 feet deep, Queensland experienced flash flooding and stranded citizens and scientists fear that the rain could harm animals that survived the bushfires.

Despite these setbacks, NSW RFS remains hopeful. Ray White, a group captain for a volunteer firefighter brigade, told the New York Times, “[The rain]’s not going to help the drought much. It’s just a start.”

News

21 January 2020

The Collegian: 7

ty warrants. The individual without warrants was trespass warned and left property, while the other was arrested by Tulsa Police Department and transported to jail.

Dec. 31 10:10 a.m.

Officers responded to Mayo Village Apartments for a water leak. The source of the leak was located and stopped. Buckets were placed below the leak to catch the residual water.

Officers determined the leak was caused by a student altering the plumbing in their apartment.

Dec. 19 11:55 a.m.

Officers conducted a pedestrian check at Collins Hall on an individual requesting to hand out flyers. It was determined that the individual was not affiliated with the university and was warned for trespassing. A contact card was completed.

12:05 p.m.

Officers responded to a noise complaint at a Lorton Village apartment. Officers made contact with the residents of the apartment producing the noise and initiated a party shutdown due to the event occurring during quiet hours. All parties cooperated and the guests of the apartment left promptly. A housing contact card was issued.

Dec. 21 2:20 a.m.

Officers discovered some graffiti on the north side of a storage shed at Hardest Press Storage Building.

Dec. 25 11:40 a.m.

A student filed a report of fraud with Campus Security and Tulsa Police. The investigation is on going.

Dec. 26 7:25 a.m.

Officers initiated a pedestrian check near the 8th & Harvard Lot on two individuals who were yelling and not affiliated with the University. A check for previous contact and warrants showed one of the individuals had multiple warrants.

Tulsa Police Department arrived and arrested the individual for their warrants. Both individuals were trespass warned and contact cards were created.

Dec. 30 8:55 a.m.

Officers conducted a pedestrian check on 2 individuals at Hardesty Press. After a check for active warrants and prior contact, one individual came back with 2 active Tulsa Coun-

Jan. 2 3:45 a.m.

Officers were approached by a non-TU affiliate who had been pepper sprayed at an off campus residence near 1st St. & Delaware Ave. by another non-TU affiliate. The Tulsa Police Department and Emergency Medical Services Authority were contacted on behalf of the individual.

Jan. 5 1:45 a.m.

Officers were dispatched to University Square West Lot on report of a heavily intoxicated university student attempting to drive off campus. Officers made contact with the student who admitted to being intoxicated. The student was not in possession of the vehicle’s key and therefore was not able to operate the vehicle. The student agreed to leave campus via a ride share service.

Jan. 6 8:50 a.m.

A non-affiliated individual sought help from an officer at 3rd St. & College Ave. after being chased towards campus by another non-affiliated individual who may have been trying to rob the first individual. The suspect stopped pursuing and disappeared into the neighborhood and the victim declined to file a report with Tulsa Police.

Jan. 9 2:20 p.m.

Officers responded to a report of an ill student in Helmerich Hall. The student refused medical treatment and Officers informed them of the closest urgent care and transported them to back to their residence.

Jan. 10 8:25 p.m.

Officers responded to a disturbance at University Square West Apartments. Officers determined the source of the disturbance was caused by items falling off the refrigerator.

Jan. 11 5:25 p.m.

Officers responded to a possible marijuana odor at John Mabee Hall. Officers searched the suspected room and were unable to locate any marijuana but recovered an Airsoft weapon that is a violation of housing policies.

8:50 p.m.

Officers responded to a marijuana odor coming from a Lorton Village apartment. Upon searching the apartment, Officers discovered a substantial amount of marijuana, paraphernalia and other contraband. The items were turned over to Tulsa Police who arrested one of the residents for marijuana possession.

Jan. 13 1:10 p.m.

Officers responded to a report of two individuals asking for signatures on a petition. The individuals were identified and a check for previous contacts and warrants was negative.

The boundaries of the campus were explained and both individuals were warned for trespassing.

8:55 p.m.

Officers responded to a non-injury motor vehicle accident in the 4th & Harvard Lot after an employee struck a light pole with a university-owned vehicle.

Jan. 15 3:40 p.m.

A student reported slander that had been committed through a social media post by another student. Officers advised the individual to contact the social media service.

Jan. 16 5:05 p.m.

Officers made contact with two individuals from Fieldworks Petition Group near the Allen Chapman Student Union. Officers advised the individuals they are not permitted to be on campus without proper approval. The individuals were informed the boundaries of campus and escorted off property. The individuals were trespass warned, and contact cards were created.

5:45 p.m.

Officers responded to a call at Hardesty Hall about a person soliciting to students. Officers informed the non-affiliate that Tulsa University is private property and soliciting is not allowed without proper authorization. The non TU affiliate left the property, a contact card was created.

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

Tuesday, Jan. 21 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Hardesty Hall, Second Floor Lobby Handshake and Headshots Learn how to set up your Handshake account so that your profile is competitive and get a free headshot. Lunch will be provided. Register on Handshake today!

Chris Lierly Commentary Editor Lindsey Prather Student Writer Ukrainian passenger jet crashes in Iran On Jan. 8, a Ukrainian passenger jet was shot down over Iran, and its subsequent crash resulted in the death of 176 people. Flight 752 had just taken off from Tehran’s airport when it was mistakenly shot down by the Iranian military, but the Tehran government denied that story multiple times before eventually admitting that “human error” caused the tragedy.

The Iranian government has also blamed “U.S. adventurism” and cited fear of escalation by the United States after Iran’s retaliation for the killing of Major Qassim Suleimani as reasons for the shooting down of Flight 752. However, that response has incited mass protests, many of which have called for the resignation of Ayatollah Ali Khahmenei. The assassintation of Suleimani came after a period of mass protests against the government in the fall, but the deeper mistrust of Iranian officials seems to have gone nowhere since then.

Turkish government approves increase in troop deployment In response to a break down in peace talks between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and its parliament have authorized troop deployment to Libya. Though these forces have been authorized to act in a “training and advisory” role, Turkey has been supplying the Libyan government with armored vehicles and drone support to deal with the potential coup for some time.

In addition to Turkey and other western nations offering support for the Libyan government, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have all helped to assist the insurgent military led by General Khalifa Haftar. Though direct fighting has only occurred thus far between Haftar’s men and the government’s forces, this development could be another step in a potential proxy war for a nation that has had little peacetime since the overthrow of Mummar al-Gaddafi in 2011 during the Arab Spring.

President Putin proposes governmental changes On Jan. 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed sweeping constitutional changes that resulted in the resignation of the entire parliamentary government headed previously by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Generally, the proposal would greatly empower parliament by limiting the currently sweeping powers of the Presidency. The changes put forth by Putin involve a strict two-term limit on presidents as well as allowing parliament to select the prime minister and confirm cabinet members. Additionally, these new rules would limit the rights of the President to reject any appointments, further strengthening the power of the body.

Finally, the plan calls for the permanent establishment of the State Council, a newly invigorated consultative body that would derive its power from the Constitution. This council had previously been used to hear the concerns of the Russian people while providing an official outlet to respond to issues. As these new proposals are implemented, the Russian government stands to look entirely different than before this change, which media outlets are dubbing the “January Revolution.”

Wednesday, Jan. 22 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Fassler Hall

TU ‘Cane Crawl Kickoff Join us for the initial planning meeting of your favorite TU young alumni event on Wednesday, January 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Fassler Hall.

If you’d like to be a part of planning this annual event benefiting the TU Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, RSVP here and we’ll save you a seat at the bar!

Fassler Hall welcomes individuals 21 years of age and older.

Wednesday, Jan. 22 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

All Souls Unitarian Church What to Expect in 2020 State Politics Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa World political writer, will share insights about what to expect in the upcoming state legislative session. Presented by All Souls ACTION team. All Souls is a proud faith member of ACTION Tulsa.

This event is part of Wednesday Connections at All Souls. Join us for dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. Childcare provided. For details and other Wednesday Connections class listings and chapel service, visit http://allsoulschurch.org/learn/adult-programs/ wednesday-connections/ Friday, Jan. 24 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Chapman Hall, Lecture Room Technology @ TU Feedback Forum Your TU IT Team is excited to meet and hear from you. Over the course of the spring 2020 semester, we have several sessions across campus scheduled to meet faculty, students and staff.

Why? Since we are asking for feedback, suggestions and ideas, we feel that it just makes sense to meet you where YOU are! Please join us on any date, in any location and share your thoughts on TU technology – positive-to-critical and everything in between.

Our job is to SERVE this campus and build for you a connected environment that facilitates teaching and learning in the best way. If we don’t hear from you, we make the decisions ourselves. And no one needs that! Thank you TU for all the hard work you do. We are honored to be here and take our role – and your needs – seriously.

Friday, Jan. 24 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Dennis R Neill Equality Center 50s/60s Throwback Night Join Oklahomans for Equality as we look back each month on different decades of LGBTQIA+ history with music, dancing, and historical artifacts!

Our 50s/60s Throwback night is the first of a monthly series of mixers that celebrate and remember the long road that we are on in the fight for equality, while also remembering the culture that our community created in a time of isolation.

The 50s/60s night will feature live music, a great bar, and a historical overview of LGBTQIA+ Tulsa/Oklahoma in the 1950s and 1960s.

Please come dressed in your finest underground club wear.

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

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

Commentary

The Collegian: 8

21 January 2020

Bynum’s defense of “Live PD” filming deserving of criticism

The reality show exploits people’s worst moments and does little to help police accountability.

Adam Walsh Student Writer Let’s quickly clear the air: I’ve never seen an episode of “Live PD” and personally see the commoditization of the impoverished individuals that oftentimes make up the “content” for these type of shows as disgusting. I also had no clue that the show filmed in Tulsa. Now, with the retirement of Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan, Mayor G. T. Bynum has gathered a group of seven applicants and held two town meetings to get the feedback of his constituents on the candidates and has taken the opportunity to reinstate the agreement between the Tulsa Police Department and the hit show. However, individuals at these town meetings have made it clear they do not approve of

the continued exhibition of crimes committed in Tulsa.

Ranging from Reverends to City Counselors, Tulsa citizens have pressed for Bynum to discontinue the city’s involvement with the show. They see it as exploiting some of the most vulnerable individuals in society, because, from what I’ve found, “Live PD” is not always about robberies and gang fights, but domestic disturbances and various forms of public indecency, which happens to impact communities racked by mental illness and instituted gang cultures the most. Bynum’s excuse that it shows the day-to-day life of Tulsa police officers cannot compare to the degradation of his populace.

Make no mistake, “Live PD” glorifies the act of crime and the supposed justice done in the name of the law by making the act of law enforcement into a stage for people to perform on, which can contribute to the shifting of officers away from actually protecting the public and converting them into would be actors trying to play it up for the camera, attempting to make good, saucy television. By recording and marketing it, the show fundamentally alters how individuals treat the policing of the populace. If the police force turns into a bunch of goons trying to get a little kickback from “Live PD” viewers through misusing their power to create a better story, then that’s a gang.

Not a police force. A gang.

One of Bynum’s defenses for letting the show capture footage in Tulsa is that it brings accountability to the actions carried out by officers because of the constant recording of their shifts, and that it bridges the divide between the common populace and the difficult lives of law enforcement officers. However, the obvious rebuke to both of these points is body cams. The requirement of body cams for every officer and strict penalties for not keeping them on would both remove the “acting for an audience” problem and retain the most important benefits of Mayor Bynum’s defense of “Live PD.” However, this path would trade any revenue brought in by “Live PD” and replace it with actual accountability, so it comes down to spending money or making it.

Another deflection from the mayor’s office is that the mayor has total control over these type of deals, but if it isn’t in the best interest of the most vocal members of the most oppressed minorities in the city, then why pursue it? If it will make the populace fear the individuals that should be protecting them, isn’t that a sheer negative outcome? Another aspect floating around is how this actually aids law enforcement. If it’s all about bridging the gap between cop and citizen, well, how does that directly help the police officer do their job? Reducing the

animosity between officer and normal person would make them more willing to come forward with information, but the constant filming and broadcasting the lives of people featured in the show does nothing more than prevent that type of relationship.

If I’m a witness with serious evidence about a crime that just happened, but I see the officers on duty have several cameras floating around them, I’m not talking to that officer and potentially risking my identity as an innocuous observer. Even if they blur out my face and remove any identifying features, the simple act of these people having that footage presents the possibility of individuals piecing together who the witness is and then the possibility of repercussions from certain less savory groups.

Perhaps this is a low blow, but it’s not like Bynum has drastically reduced the amount of crime in Tulsa over the past couple of years. One can go to the TPD website and look at the amount of crimes reported over the past six years, and it is not pretty. Robberies and burglaries have fallen, but violent crimes and other forms of theft have stagnated, with crimes like aggravated assault and auto theft staying near their peak counts in 2014 and 2015. This must be one helluva contract between Bynum and “Live PD,” because the continued exploitation of his citizenry doesn’t seem to make much sense without a hefty monetary reimbursement.

Pelosi finally hands over articles of impeachment

The Speaker’ s handling of the impeachment articles may hurt Democrats going forward.

Hannah Robbins Student Writer After four weeks of silence, Nancy Pelosi finally sent the articles of impeachment over to the Senate. While Pelosi stated that the wait for the Senate to release information on the structure of the impeachment trial led to her delay, the radio silence after the proceeding in the House left most Democrats

in the dark on the status of a major issue for both their own reelection and the presidential race. This will have lasting effects not only on the impeachment trial in the Senate, but on the political capital political operatives will have in the future.

In the Senate, the Democrats and Republicans were unable to decide on a set of rules together. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally modeled his rules after the 1999 Clinton impeachment, leaving no guarantee that witnesses would be called.

This left Pelosi backed into a corner, unable to actually ensure the inclusion of witnesses in the trial, including John Bolton, a significant witness since he is reported to have firsthand information on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Finally, Pelosi named her seven impeachment managers to preside over the trial in the Senate, who then proceeded to hand-deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday, Jan. 15. After it became obvious that the trial was about to proceed, McConnell signalled that there was a strong likelihood witnesses would be called.

This entire process was a mess of meetings and strong arming that did not seem to work in Pelosi’s favor. By staking her claim in the Senate’s impeachment trial rules that did not pan out, she was left without power in deciding when to serve the articles, and by leaving the majority of her caucus out of the loop on the decision, she created a situation where one poor moment of judgement could completely prevent any sort of political successes on the issue of removing President Trump.

In addition, she has shown just how much power she wields over the rest of the Democrats, especially when she did not even include her second in command, Jim Clyburn, on most of the deliberations on timing of sending the articles over. As the 2020 election draws closer, will this lead more Democrats to consider another choice of leadership in the future, or will Democrats allow Pelosi to continue to be the face of the party? Either way, this betrays the power of some of the other Democratic operatives to get policy hashed out behind the scenes; if they weren’t included in this decision, how

close could they really be to Pelosi? Impeachment makes for a once in a lifetime set of political circumstances, and these questions still remain unanswered.

Finally, the timing. By waiting until this point to start the impeachment trial, this brings it to the forefront of the Democratic presidential primaries. If the votes somehow appear to remove Trump, this will completely shift the stage. However, more than that, this close to Iowa and New Hampshire, impeachment will creating a dueling narrative and dilute some of the focus given to both, in a time where the Democrats need to determine a strategy to beat Trump in the general.

The almost month-long delay both allowed the public to forget about impeachment, especially for low information voters, but also to shift their focus. There is an uphill battle in the Senate, but the moves Pelosi has made seem to betray her lack of faith in any Democratic successes in the Senate.

Sanders and Warren rift only hurts progressives

CNN and other media outlets have focused on this story with less than a month till Iowa.

Brett Tyndall Student Writer Don’t be fooled: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are friends. The two don’t agree on every single topic, much like every other friendship in existence. However, the current spat in which the two have found themselves only serves to benefit Joe “Nothing will fundamentally change” Biden and the corporate interests trying to avoid any form of accountability that Sanders and Warren want to implement.

CNN reported on Monday that four anonymous sources claimed Bernie Sanders to have said in a private meeting with Warren in late 2018 that a woman can’t win the 2020

presidency. Sanders has vehemently denied these claims, citing previous speeches he has given over the course of his political career, including a 1988 C-SPAN interview. Sanders has given his version of what he said during the private meeting: “Donald Trump is a sexist, a racist and a liar who would weaponize whatever he could.” This statement, if this is what Sanders said, insinuates that Trump would use Warren’s gender as a means to undermine her campaign, harnessing the sexist sensibilities of his most ardent supporters. While this statement does not imply that a woman can’t win, it does imply that it might be more difficult. Again, if this is what was said, it’s not a stretch for Warren and her campaign to take that statement as a dissuasion to run in 2020.

This seems like one of those rare instances where both people in an argument are not wrong. Sanders would have a point in saying that Trump would weaponize whatever he could against his opponent ... because he would. Warren also has a point in thinking this train of thought is not what got numerous women elected in the 2018 midterms, or saw Hillary Clinton take the popular vote by three million votes in 2016. Trump is going to try to tear down whoever faces him, man or woman, so why not fight him anyway?

The only real contention in this feud is the phrasing of what Sanders said. There’s no need to pretend saying a woman can’t win the presidency in 2020 isn’t far worse than

This interaction marks the tensest interaction between the two progressives’s campaigns.

saying Donald Trump is a sexist liar.

On a separate incident, canvassing teams for Sanders made talking-point scripts claiming that Warren appeals to a more “affluent” and “highly-educated” demographic among Democrats, essentially saying she’s an elitist candidate. Warren criticized the Sanders campaign for wanting to “trash” her. The scripts have since been changed for what three Sanders campaign officials called “sloppy phrasing.”

These tensions only worsened after CNN’s amateurish production of the Democratic debate on Tuesday. Following the debate, after the two candidates disagreed once again on what was said in that meeting, Warren did not shake Sanders’s extended hand. Viewers could only watch as token billionaire candidate Tom Steyer found himself in the middle of a brief bickering match between the Vermont and Massachusetts senators. A day after the debate, CNN magically found the audio of that encounter: Warren: “I think you called me a liar on national TV?” Sanders: “What?”

Warren: “I think you called me a liar on national TV.” Sanders: “Let’s not do it right now. You want to have that discussion? We’ll have that discussion.”

Warren: “Anytime.”

Sanders: “You called me a liar, you told me — all right let’s not do it now.”

The timing of all this feels a little too coincidental. After some favorable polls came out for Sanders, a day before the debate and less than three weeks from the Iowa caucus, this story comes out about a private meeting over a year ago. In a case of hearsay like this, everyone involved needs to move on. Warren herself did not break this story, but she didn’t stop it from festering. While Sanders’s record on the legitimacy of minority candidacies has always been ahead of his time, no one truly knows what he said except he and Warren. The two need to work this disagreement out between themselves, and they will.

In the meantime, progressive Democrats don’t need to fan the flames on Twitter. We need to ensure that we stay united.

Sanders supporters need the help of Warren supporters if he’s the nominee, and vice versa. This so-called feud that willed itself into existence less than a week ago will not end a multi-decade friendship and alliance, as much as centrists and some news outlets would like to believe that. Remember that CNN was the first to break this story at this specific moment. What stopped anyone from having this information leaked sooner? Who cares? If progressives become divided, it will end much like 2016 did. This dispute pales in comparison to the massive stakes that this election holds, so both sides need to suck it up and get along.

courtesy Flikr/Gage Skidmore

21 January 2020

Commentary

The Collegian: 9

Stitt wants to raise gambling tax, increase state revenue

The lawsuits over the agreement are unlikely to deter the governor from increasing the tax rate on gambling.

Adam Walsh Student Writer While most of us were either really drunk or really asleep on New Year’s Day (I was a member of the latter group), leading members of the Chickasaw, Cherokee and Choctaw nations received a monstrously important transmission from Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. The turn of the decade marked the expiration of the compact made between the state government and the native tribes on the subject of legal gambling. While this was not completely unexpected – Stitt had indicated the agreement would expire and renegotiations would indeed happen – Governor Stitt has intimated that any casino operating without a new deal would be breaking state law and subject to legal recourse.

Now, if you ask someone outside of Oklahoma what they know about our gracious state, they would probably answer teepees, meth and gambling, and there’s no use in denying the popularity and prevalence of casinos in the Great Plains state. Generally, Native tribes are given a special status in the gaming market, with an agreement between them and the state government giving them exclusive rights to the gambling market in Oklahoma. These Native nations are given special treatment due to genocidal actions committed against their peoples, but federal law states that an agreement must be made between the prospective nation and the state government.

Whether or not one agrees with the ethical boundaries of gambling and the effects it has on a populace, it faces no challenge on a legal basis. However, Stitt has exercised a statute in Oklahoma’s compact that indicates upon the expiration of the compact, either party may request to renegotiate certain terms of the deal, such as government tax cuts and that important exclusivity deal.

Part 15.B in the Model Tribal Gaming Compact directly states Stitt has the opportunity to renegotiate in this period of time.

In response to Stitt’s bold proclamation, the three aforementioned Indian nations have initiated legal proceedings against Governor Stitt, not the Oklahoma state government. The Native leaders contend that the compact auto-renews after 15 years, but, according to the letter of the law, Stitt has the legal option to renegotiate, and he does have a point.

Casinos are huge in Oklahoma, and while they do not have to make their gross gaming revenue (GGR) public knowledge, one can use the amount of money gained in tax dollars from that source – approximately $148 million – then multiply it by the rate at which the casinos are taxed, which lies somewhere between six and 10 percent.

The math indicates that the casinos generate somewhere around $2.5 billion per year. However, this is without paying for operating costs and other mandatory costs.

In his statement against the casinos, Stitt mentioned going so far as forcing a 25 percent tax on all gambling operations, which would bring approximately half a billion into the Oklahoma state books, and this is where it gets messy. Now one has to weigh the responsibility of currently living citizens’ culpability on actions taken decades ago versus the potential future of the state.

Stitt, a man with Cherokee ancestry, has used his pulpit to try to equalize the playing field, stating that if no agreement is made, he will open up the state to commercial casinos, companies that would drive competition and potentially generate more revenue.

Oklahoma, historically lacking in funds, needs to find new sources to maintain and upgrade the state’s infrastructure, education and economic opportunities. With oil drying up, half a billion would be a grand gift to a struggling state.

Stitt’s position makes sense, but opponents of his enforcement of the legal law indicate that by enforcing this statute, he would be directly responsible for the scaling back of gambling operations in the state, which would cause the dealers at the affected casinos to lose their jobs. However, most card dealers already make below minimum wage, relying on tips to make it to their next paycheck, which indicates to me that the funds made from these casinos are already moving away from the betterment of the employees, and I cannot justifiably track their line of logic. How is the poverty of individuals employed by these casinos Stitt’s fault? If they cannot take care of their own employees by providing a living wage, then how can we trust these casinos to appropriately use their funds?

Government taxes would make the use of this money more transparent and go to more individuals, which would potentially produce support systems to help these horribly paid workers. However, funds made

by Native businesses are sometimes sent to measures protecting and preserving their culture, which is exceedingly important, but in a $2.5 billion marketplace, a six percent to 10 percent tax on their operations seems extraordinarily low. If these operations are not taking care of their employees by giving them a living wage, then should they enjoy exclusivity of the marketplace? It’s an exceedingly murky situation, but Stitt has the legal grounds to renegotiate, and has offered a no strings attached contract extension to any tribes that want it, but he has made it clear that a new deal will be negotiated.

Sex worker’s donation to wildfire relief a mark of hope

Kaylen Ward potentially raised more funds than Jeff Bezos’s donation for Australia wildfire relief.

Caleb Pinegar Student Writer Australia has made the news recently as devastating fires have swept through the country killing around 30 people and an estimated billions of Australia’s natural wildlife. The recent fire is considered one of the largest ecological disasters in recent history.

People all over the world are coming together to raise money to help those affected by the fire and to regrow what was lost.

Many celebrities have decided to reach into their own pockets and donate money, while some less famous people have found their own way to donate. Kaylen Ward, an online sex worker, decided to send nudes to anyone who could prove they donated $10 to a fundraising organization working in Australia. Ward also promised to donate 20 percent of her revenue from her OnlyFans to go towards a charity.

It is almost impossible to get the exact amount donated due to her influence but it has been estimated at over 1 million dollars.

Ward received so many confirmations and DMs that she and her team eventually had to quit sending out the nudes. A few other sex workers joined in with Ward offering nudes in exhange of proof of donation.

A notable name that donated from his own pocket is Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, donating only $690,000 despite his estimated net worth being at over 100 billion dollars.

He promised to donate 1 million Australian dollars, which after the exchange rate is a bit less impressive. Also it can be assumed that Bezos will use his donation as a tax write off because it’s a donation from his own money.

When compared to what Kaylen Ward raised, the amount that Bezos donated seems much less. Bezos is the richest man in the world at the moment, yet he donated less than other celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, who donated $1 million, and Metalica, who donated $750,000.

Although in situations like these any amount helps, whether it be $1 or $100,000, when you are the richest man in the world, it is assumed that you would be able to donate a little bit more.

Kaylen Ward used her power on social media to unite people to donate towards a good cause, and ended up donating more than the richest man on Earth, and she can’t use it as a tax write off because the money was never hers. She also lost her Instagram account and strained her relationship with her family in order to do something good.

As stated before, any amount of donation helps, but when measuring the moral value of the act committed, the richest man donating less than what he makes in a day is far less admirable than a sex worker selling nudes to raise money for something she belives in.

Gen. Suleimani commanded much of the Shiite forces in the region.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

US strike on Suleimani lacked justification or foresight

The decision to kill the high ranking Iranian official continues America’s ill-fated history with Tehran.

A. C. Boyle Student Writer Tensions between the United States and Iran have escalated in the past month towards the point of war, only to cool down again before a breaking point.

This spike in international tensions all started on Friday, Jan. 3, when the United States Military launched an airborne missile attack on Baghdad’s International Airport in order to kill Qassim Suleimani, a top-ranking Iranian Military official. Suleimani was a diplomat and the head of the Quds Force, a powerful paramilitary fighting force in the region. This decision, though not without its apologists, was criticized by various figures in the international community for being a senseless provocation of Iran. The U.S. had wanted to kill Soleimani for a long time, believing him to be responsible for an attack in the Middle East that killed one American

feel wronged, too. It would not be as easy as one would think to capture Tehran and plant the American flag there, and if we did, we would likely face the same steadfast guerilla insurgency that drained morale and pocketbooks, just like the wars in both Vietnam and Iraq. Additionally, Americans would be faced with their own aggressiveness, as this would be the sixth regime change war the U.S. would have to fight in the Middle East in this century alone. Yikes!

Plus, we already went into Iran and overthrew their government back in 1953. Back then, Iran had a democratically elected leader and a strong economy. But all that changed when Teddy Roosevelt’s grandson Kermit organized a coup d’etat with the help of the CIA and the BP Oil Company (Author’s Note: No, that last passage is not made up). This was the first time in American history that we waged a regime change war, and we would go on to do it again in Iraq in 2003. That, as you might know, was a disaster. So why then, would we risk provoking another disaster by killing a statesponsored military leader?

Do the people who plan these bogus kinds of wars think everything will magically work out in the end? The Iraq war killed 4,500 Americans and cost $2.4 trillion and counting. A war with Iran would probably cost even more. And over what? To kill a man who carried out extraterritorial, clandestine military operations? We literally had to carry out an extraterritorial, clandestine operation to kill Soleimani. Where is the high ground in that?

“... a war with Iran would be disastrous for America in every way possible.” and injured four others. Iran, however, sees Suleimani as a hero who helped fight extremist groups like IS in the region.

Suleimani was one of the most powerful and beloved figures in Iran, meaning that his killing couldn’t come without retaliation.

Iran recently struck back by firing missiles at U.S. bases in the region, though without American fatalities. It’s thought that Iran didn’t actually want to kill anybody with these strikes, since that in itself could give the U.S. and President Trump just cause for war.

Thankfully, tensions have since decreased, leading many to write this off as just another diplomatic incident. But with this being the second close call for a U.S.Iran war in the last year — the other being an incident caused by a U.S. drone that was shot down in the Strait of Hormuz — many are worried that it’s only a matter of time before one of the two countries crosses the line. That’s why it is now more important than ever that Americans support anti-interventionist policies in the federal government.

It goes without saying that a war with Iran would be disastrous for America in every way possible. Iran is not as mighty as Uncle Sam, but they are not a pushover either. They have the world’s eighth largest army based on active personnel, and they

I would like to play a game with you.

It’s called: “How would you feel if it were done to you?” Don’t wanna play this game?

Don’t worry, it’s really very easy. All you have to do is imagine that the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff was in Canada on Official state diplomacy, only to be killed by a bomb while at Toronto’s International Airport.

And while you’re at it, also imagine that the same country that killed your Chief of Staff also toppled the leader your country chose in the past, and appointed a different leader – who was more in tune with their economic interests – without asking you. Would you want revenge against this country for violating your sovereignty? Congratulations, you win the game! Your reward: an increased understanding of how Iranians must feel.

The United States should push for the adoption of non-interventionist foreign policies, policies that will prevent an international crisis such as this one from ever taking place before it can spark a war.

What better time is there to push for said policies than with a presidential election on the horizon? Hopefully one of the two candidates will be tangibly anti-war, and if they are, you should vote for them. Because the next $2.4 trillion that is spent on the Military Industrial Complex should instead be spent on you.

Variety

The Collegian: 10

21 January 2020

The Vintage Wildflowers bring elegance to their performances The three-woman band combines virtuostic singing and instrumentalism to every show.

Stasha Cole Student Writer On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Vintage Wildflowers graced Lorton Performance Center with a concert. I had never listened to any of their songs, and I wasn’t even sure what type of music they played, but the band name invoked images of pastures and bookstores, and I wanted to learn more. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed.

and Fitzgerald-Maher’s piano, echoing a gathering thunderstorm right before the rain.

After this set, McSperitt-Schmidt commented, “I know we’re in this fancy fancy concert hall, but it’s still just a party.” The performance was more of a midnight gathering to dance in a field under soft moonlight next to the warm glow of a dying fire.

Now that’s my kind of party.

The concert featured several more tune sets including “The Dancing Bear,” “The Rakes of Kildare” and “The Wildflower Set.” The first was an instrumental set that showcased the versatile musical talents of each of the musicians. If you closed your eyes, you could see the bear and dance with

“... a moving combination of songs about joy and loss ...”

The concert was an installment of TU’s Concerts With Commentary Series, and this particular performance marked 10 years since the band first played on campus for the same event.

Vintage Wildflowers consists of three extremely talented women. Abby Bozarth played fiddle and accordion and sang low harmonies. Audrey McSperitt-Schmidt was the lead singer and played guitar, flute and bodhran (a handheld Irish drum). Finally, TU’s own professor of classical piano, Dana Fitzgerald-Maher, demonstrated her mastery of the piano, as well as her skills on the Celtic harp, whistling and singing high harmonies.

The performance opened with a performance of “Colleen Mallone” that introduced McSperitt-Schmidt’s powerful vocals. Her wildflower dress not only reflected the band name but also accompanied the vivid imagery of meadows that the first song invoked.

The band played several tune sets over the course of the fourteen-song concert.

These consisted of several instrumental ditties that highlighted each performer. The first showcased Bozarth’s deft Celtic fiddleplaying, McSperitt-Schmidt’s soft guitar

him; it was fast-paced and thrilling. The second set transported me to a barn with firefly lights and the hum of a crowd teeming with excitement.

I felt like I should be swinging a partner on the packed dirt floor, boots kicking and smiles ablaze. Each set was perfectly balanced in instrumentation.When one section of the set highlighted one Bozarth’s precision with her fiddle or gentle accordion, the next contains McSperitt-Schmidt’s flute or soft, deliberate drumming or Fitzgerald-Maher’s bold piano or dreamy harp.

The “Wildflower Set” was written by Maher’s son, Quinn, who attends the University of Tulsa as a music and engineering double major. Maher joked that he wrote both this set and his “Irish Blessing” that they played following the set while he was procrastinating studying. The “Wildflower Set” included songs written about each of the members of the band. Bozarth’s “Daisy Jig” proved her joyfulness while accompanying Schmidt’s “Nightshade Heir” and Maher’s “Rose Reel.”

The loving atmosphere was interrupted by two songs with extremely dark lyrics. An audience member described “I Am Stretched on Your Grave” as “That really pitiful one.” The haunting lyrics were made more ominous by the lack of instruments.

The second song was called “False Lady,”

Abby Bozarth, Audrey McSperitt-Schmidt and Dana Fitzgerald-Maher perform together as the Vintage Wildflowers.

and though it sounds like your typical upbeat Irish jig, “by the third verse there has been a murder,” says Schmidt. It was the perfect combination of peppy and chipper and absolutely tragic. It would make a great accompaniment to a murder mystery chase scene.

The band played a few songs that will be released with their new, fourth album in early 2020. “Down in the Salley Garden” was inspired by a Yeats poem and makes even the most melancholic and slow sound beautiful. “Peg and Awl,” my favorite, is a workman’s lament outlining the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution that are often glossed over. The title describes a shoemaker’s tools and the song explores his loss of work in the early 1800s as machines replaced manpower.

The concert was a moving combination of songs about joy and loss, love and heartbreak, and I certainly will be looking forward to their new album. The audio elements combined with the charming anecdotal interjections between songs coalesced into an event that made you want to laugh, dance, sway, move to Ireland and look at vintage wildflowers.

photo by Stasha Cole

Erin Morgenstern promotes “The Starless Sea” in Tulsa Morgenstern gave a heartfelt talk about her career and personal life at Magic City Books.

Tori Gellman Student Writer On the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 15, Magic City Books partnered with IDL Ballroom for their first author event of 2020.

Erin Morgenstern has garnered quite the literary following, as evidenced by the fact that about a third of the crowd at the event had driven out of state for her talk. If the

Conversely, during the development of “The Night Circus,” she was lucky to have no publisher or deadline and therefore no real expectations for the book. Morgenstern confessed that during her writing of her newest novel, “The Starless Sea,” which came out last November, she had to sort of artificially recreate the environment she organically had during “The Night Circus” by turning off her phone and really isolating herself with her work. She further explained that this is a common dilemma for prolific writers who are encouraged to produce more work but are no longer afforded the luxury of virtual anonymity.

“... Morgenstern described a myth that involved time falling in love with fate.” evening was any indication of what’s to come this year, 2020 is sure to be magical and exciting.

Fans of Morgenstern’s No. 1 national bestseller, “The Night Circus,” had been expressing discontent over the last eight years at the fact that the author had not written another book and was less than forthcoming with information about anything being in the works. Morgenstern joked during the event that once you write something people like it’s much harder to work in peace because, with the advent of social media, fans and readers can bombard you all day long with questions and requests.

Morgenstern did try to reason with her fans by saying that she had posted flash stories on her website every Friday for five years-totaling in about 260 micro-stories.

She also explained that this had a dual purpose of keeping her constantly in the practice of creating with the written word.

A fan asked Morgenstern how she keeps all of her characters straight, seeing as how both “The Night Circus” and “The Starless Sea” have quite the ensemble cast and plots that span centuries. Morgenstern responded that she uses a writing program called Scrivener, in which she can create folders for each character and plot line so as not to get confused while constructing her books.

The author also informed the audience that she is an incredibly visual person, which prompted a conversation about what license Morgenstern has over the design of the physical book itself. She discussed how she is very insistent on certain colors being present on the jacket covers and how there are little details in the book design that she feels really adds to the overall “Erin Morgenstern aesthetic” that she’s trying to cultivate now that she has multiple novels under her belt.

The end of the evening involved some very earnest questions from the audience and equally genuine answers from the author. Morgenstern talked about how her husband had gotten her a kitten and a Nintendo Switch for her 40th birthday, “because he never wants me to get anything done ever again.” She then plugged her kitten’s Instagram account and joked that her “entire book tour is a ploy to get people to follow [her] cat on Instagram.”

When asked about how she came up with the concept for “The Starless Sea,” Morgenstern described a myth that involved time falling in love with fate. She then con-

fessed that when she read this she immediately stopped looking into the myth further so she would be able to construct her own take on the subject. She explained that with anything she writes, she always starts with the space-taking elements from worlds she’s enjoyed such as Wonderland and Narnia.

My favorite part of the evening was when Morgenstern described how honeybees insisted on being in her latest novel. She said that she had the image of the honeybee in her head but hadn’t written them into the book yet because she was unconvinced they belonged there. However, after her friend sent her a mystery stuffed animal and it was a giant plush bee and a week later a bee flew into the window of her study, she took the hint and added them into the book.

Morgenstern’s appreciation for childlike wonder and whimsy from an adult perspective made the evening have both a nostalgic and hopeful feel to it. I, like all the other event attendees, are not-so-patiently awaiting the next masterpiece from this singular voice in fiction.

Events next week in Tulsa Tuesday, Jan. 21

Pianist Hyunsoon Whang performs Chopin Preludes as well as a Spanish duet for two pianos with Roger Price. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. in LPC and is free and open to the public.

Friday, Jan. 24

Tulsa Symphony performs Fridays in the Loft II featuring compositions by Brahms and Mendelssohn. Tickets are $42, show starts at 7 p.m.

Circle Cinema screens “Flash Gordon” for Graveyard Shift.

Wednesday, Jan. 22 “Flash Gordon” centers on a group Lettuce performs with The Funky of friends that travels to the planet Knuckles at Cain’s Ballroom. Mongo to save Earth. Tickets are Tickets are $20 in advance or $26 $10, show starts at 10 p.m. Circle at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m., Cinema will also screen “Flash show starts at 8 p.m.

Gordon” at the same time and price on Saturday, Jan. 25.

courtesy Doubleday “The Starless Sea” centers on Zachary, a student in Vermont, as he navigates a mysterious world within books.

Variety

21 January 2020

The Collegian: 11

Films in 2019 striking but snubbed in award shows The top 10 films of 2019 prove memorable and innovative.

Emma Palmer Graphics Editor Every year, when considering my top ten list, I organize it based off of a theme.

Sometimes it’s the films I think are objectively the best of the year; sometimes it’s what I enjoyed the most. This year my list is organized around what has stuck with me the most. A good film, I think, stays with you after you’ve watched it. All of these have done that for me in some way.

This year was a good year for movies.

And a bad year for awards. Or maybe more of a mixed bag? As a balm to you after the atrocious “Joker” getting the most Oscar nominations, here is a list of movies. It’s a special list to me — my personal favorites of the year, but, art is subjective. There’s a high likelihood that they will not be your favorite movies of the year. Maybe you’ll like them anyways. Here I present, in reverse order, The Collegian’s Top Ten, listed.

Honorable Mentions: “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Ash is the Purest White,” “Fast Color,” “Paddleton,” “The Dead Don’t Die,” “The Farewell,” “The Kid Who Would Be King” Notably Missed: “Crawl,” “Her Smell,” “High Flying Bird,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” “Peanut Butter Falcon.” “Ready or Not,” “Synonyms” 10. “The Lighthouse,” dir. Robert Eggers Robert Eggers returns to the screen after his brilliant film “The Witch” with “The Lighthouse,” a film about two men stuck manning a lighthouse together in New Hampshire at the tail end of the 19th century. “The Lighthouse” is striking in its absurdity. It’s weird and horrifying and funny.

I’m not quite sure what the film means, but then again, that element of mystery might be why it made it to this list.

9. “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” dir. Joe Talbot The semi-autobiographical account of screenwriter and lead actor Jimmie Fails’s love affair with a house, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” follows a fictionalized Jimmie Fails as he navigates the rapid gentrification of San Francisco, his hometown. At times both tender and bitter, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” plays like a eulogy for what was once and never was.

8. “Uncut Gems,” dir. Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie Yeah, I know. “Adam Sandler, really?”

But to you, the skeptic, I say, Adam Sandler,

really! “Uncut Gems” is full of energy and it’s loud. All of the normal sounds that would be edited out in an other movies have been left in this one. The frenetic noise and pacing allows the audience to feel the turbulence that Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, experiences during the course of the film.

7. “Knives Out,” dir. Rian Johnson I like “Knives Out” because it’s clever and funny and has a terrific script with all reveals in the right places, but even without these things, I would like it. “Knives Out” has good politics. The whole film hinges on Ana de Armas’s Marta, a Latin-American nurse who has a kind heart, navigating both racial and class complications after the death of her employer. The marketing campaign for “Knives Out” led me to think that Jaime Lee Curtis and Daniel Craig would be the main characters of the film. I have not been more delightedly surprised by a film this year than when I realized Marta was our protagonist. “Knives Out” has cards up its sleeve and delights in the sleight of hand.

6. “Little Women,” dir. Greta Gerwig As a kid, I read a lot of books. A lot of them were old books, and most of the ones about little girls were boring. “Little Women” was different, though. “Little Women” had Jo. “Little Women” was bitter about how limited women were in their options.

“Little Women” had absurd religion and a family that felt cozy and biting winters and drafty lofts. Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation captures the spirit of the March family and gives humanity to each sister. You can tell Gerwig too, loved “Little Women.” While the film is true to the book, Gerwig makes the story her own through the interspersing of events. The whole cast is fantastic, and Florence Pugh in particular is sparkling as the oft-despised Amy, revealing the essence of the character to the screen.

5. “I Lost My Body,” dir. Jérémy Clapin This one is on Netflix — go watch it now!

“I Lost My Body” is a French animated film about a lonely young man and a lonely severed hand. The young man, Naoufel, is bad at talking to girls and still suffering from the trauma of losing his parents when he was very young. The hand once was a part of Naoufel but is now severed, and narrowly escaping dissection, the hand sets out on a quest to find the rest of its body. “I Lost My Body” is strange and seems to point to some deeper sense of meaning that I haven’t figured out yet. It crescendos; the ending rings in one’s ears for a long time after.

4. “Honey Boy,” dir. Alma Har’el “Honey Boy” could easily have been a bad movie. It could have naval-gazed or focused on the wrong things or lost itself in melodrama. It doesn’t, though, and instead

it’s a terribly good movie. The kind that will break you, if you let it. Shia LaBeouf wrote the first draft of “Honey Boy” in rehab and the rawness of the script serves as a testament to suffering and recovery of his childhood. As the film progresses, it moves past the literal and uses a more artistic, modernist approach to the ending, conveying emotion rather than plot. It’s a wonderful thing when a piece of art can reach another through the vague. Like WWI poets and authors, I think the experience LaBeouf is trying to convey has moved beyond verbal explanation into a part of the soul that can only be touched by the abstract.

3. “A Hidden Life,” dir. Terrance Mallick This was actually the first Terrance Mallick film I’ve ever seen — and it’s three hours long! Based off of the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer who refused to swear an oath to Hitler, “A Hidden Life” is deeply moving and deeply spiritual. Modern Evangelicals should see it. Many critics I respect have said far more, far better than

I could, but I have thought about “A Hidden Life” nearly every day since I have seen it.

2. “Parasite,” dir, Bong Joon Ho While a satire, “Parasite” does not hyperbolize. Always entertaining, Parasite sets itself up brilliantly. There’s a turn about 45 minutes into “Parasite” where the film switches genres and all of a sudden everything is different. It’s executed like an architect building a bridge, and, like a bridge, the best part is when it all crumbles.

1. “Pain and Glory,” dir. Pedro Almodóvar Months after I’ve seen this one, I still think about it. “Pain and Glory” follows a director well past his prime reflecting on his life and childhood and mother. The past and present mingle together, summed up in the ending shot, which changes the context of the entire film. It becomes cyclical, the film’s ending pointing to its beginning and around and around it goes, trying to reconcile what is and what was until it truly encompasses one man’s life within the span of two hours.

courtesy Sony Pictures “Pain and Glory” centers on the story of washed out director, Salvador Mallo, played by Antonio Banderas.

“Rocketman” unfairly overlooked at Oscars The film recounting Elton John’s life was more factually accurate than “Bohemian Rhapsody,” yet fared worse in award show nominations.

Madison Walters Student Writer Earlier this week, the nominations for the upcoming Oscars released to quite a bit of controversy. The film “Rocketman” only received a single nomination; the biopic was nominated for Best Original Song. “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” was co-written by both Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Despite winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, Taron Egerton (who plays John in “Rocketman”) did not receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

The film was also nominated for Best Picture: Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes, “Rocketman” also did not receive a comparable nomination at the Oscars.

During the 2019 Oscar’s, “Bohemian Rhapsody” came out on top, receiving the award for Best Actor and a nomination for Best Picture. The film also won three Oscars for sound mixing, sound editing and film editing.

These two films share quite a few things in common with one another. Dexter Fletcher directed both “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman.” They are also centered on two of the biggest music icons to exist, Queen and Elton John. The main characters also happen to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Despite these apparent similarities, though, “Rocketman” distinguished itself with a level of factual accuracy that was completely lost in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

As someone who has read multiple biographies over Freddie Mercury, including Jim Hutton’s (Freddie Mercury’s significant other) autobiography, I would estimate that only 40 percent of the film is factual.

One of the biggest examples of the inaccuracies shown in the film is Freddie Mer-

Taron Egerton starred as Elton John in “Rocketman,” a fantastical musical adaptation of John’s life.

cury’s diagnosis of AIDs. In the film, he is diagnosed in 1985, just weeks before the band’s Live Aid performance. However, in reality, he was diagnosed in 1987. The film monstrously uses his AIDs diagnosis as a plot point.

Another historical inaccuracy portrayed in the film is Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton’s relationship. According to Jim Hutton’s autobiography, he and Mercury met in 1983. In the film, they meet in 1985. There is a scene in the film where Mercury shows up to Hutton’s apartment, out of the blue, and invites him to the Live Aid performance. In reality, they had already been together for almost two years.

“Rocketman,” on the other hand, is based almost completely off of Elton John’s autobiography. The only difference is that it contains fantasy aspects that align it with the musical genre of the film. For example, in a scene, John is seen levitating in the air while playing the piano. Another example is that the characters randomly break out in song and choreography. Of course, these el-

ements are fictional, but the content of the film is historically factual according to Elton John’s autobiography, “Me.” Another difference between the two films is that in “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Rami Malek does not sing in the film. However, in “Rocketman,” Taron Egerton sings all 22 songs in the film. Both men are extraordinary actors in their craft, there is no denying that, but I just think Egerton deserves more praise from the Academy for his role since he took on the challenge of singing as Elton John.

Perhaps, the biggest reason why “Rocketman” did not receive any nominations is because Hollywood only wants to honor those who are deceased rather than those who are still alive today. It’s wonderful to memorialize those that have been lost, but at the same time, let’s not wait until those who are still alive today have passed away.

We should honor those that are still alive so they can feel the gratitude from those who admire them.

courtesy Paramount Pictures

The Collegian: 12

Variety

21 January 2020

Golden Globes awards make history in several categories Award recipients gave heartfelt and powerful speeches drawing attention to issues ranging from representation to climate change.

Madison Walters Student Writer The 77th annual Golden Globes awards aired on Sunday, Jan. 5 with Ricky Gervais hosting the show for the fifth time. This year he hypocritically told celebrities to not use their speeches as a platform to bring politics into the show. His speech helped to bring about the first meme of 2020, Tom Hanks being the physical embodiment of “yikes.”

Netflix had the greatest number of nominations across film and television, receiving 34 in total. “Marriage Story” received a total of six of those nominations and “The Irishman” received five nominations. Unfortunately for Netflix, “The Irishman” did not receive a single Golden Globe and “Marriage Story,” which was awarded for Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress.

Other highly nominated films include “Joker,” “1917,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “The Two Popes,” “Jojo Rabbit” and “Parasite.”

The awards started off with Best Actor in a Comedy TV Series. Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”) took home the Golden Globe, beating out the likes of Ben Platt (“The Politician”), Paul Rudd (“Living With Yourself”), Tulsa’s own Bill Hader (“Barry”), and Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method.”) During his speech, Youssef joked that he knew that no one in the audience has seen his show, “Ramy,” which tells the story of an Arab Muslim family who live in New Jersey. It can be streamed on Hulu.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series Comedy for her role in “Fleabag,” which also took home the award for Best Television Series Comedy. During her acceptance speech, creator and star Phoebe WallerBridge thanked former President Barack Obama for putting Fleabag on his list of favorite television shows for 2019. She continued with, “As some of you may know, he’s always been on mine,” referencing a particular scene from the first season of Fleabag.

The award for Best Foreign Language Film went to “Parasite.” Also nominated were “The Farewell,” “Les Miserables,” “Pain and Glory,” and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” During his speech, director Bong Joon-ho said, “Once you overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

“Parasite” was also nominated for Best Screenplay, but lost to “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” “Parasite” receiving this

nomination was significant because foreign films usually do not receive nominations for this category.

Perhaps one of the biggest upsets of the award show was the winner for Best Animated Feature. “Missing Link” took home the Golden Globe, beating “Frozen II,” “The Lion King,” “Toy Story 4,” and “How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World.”

“Missing Link” is a stop-motion animation film producer by Laika, who are responsible for films like “Kubo and the Two Strings” and “Coraline.” “Toy Story 4” was considered to have the Golden Globe in the bag due to its rating as Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Elton John and Bernie Taupin received the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

Both Elton John and Taron Egerton, who played John in the film “Rocketman,” recorded “I’m Gonna Love Me Again.” During his acceptance speech, Elton John said that this was a special moment for him because this is the first time in fifty-two years that he has ever won an award with Bernie Taupin. In fifty-two years, the pair has made thirty albums together and yet, had never received an award together. What makes this award all the more special is that the song they received it for is based on their friendship.

“Rocketman” also won in the category of Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, which Taron Egerton took home. During his acceptance speech, he thanked Elton John for all

that he has done for him. He said, “To Elton John, thank you for the music. Thank you for living a life less ordinary, and thank you for being my friend.”

Olivia Colman took home the Golden Globe for her performance in “The Crown.”

Last year, her portrayal of Queen Anne won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress. This year, for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II, she received another Golden Globe award. This makes the second year in a row she has won Golden Globes for her portrayal of different monarchs.

Hildur Guðnadóttir made history as being the first woman to solely win the award for Best Original Score. She composed the haunting score for “Joker.” Also nominated were the scores from “Motherless Brooklyn,” “Little Women,” “1917,” and “Marriage Story.”

Awkwafina also made history at the Golden Globes when she became the first Asian-American to win the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her performance in “The Farewell.” Her fellow nominees included Ana de Armas (“Knives Out”), Beanie Feldstein (“Booksmart”), Emma Thompson (“Late Night”), and Cate Blanchett (“Where’d You Go Bernadette”).

During her speech, she beautifully tributed her mother who passed away when she was only four years old.

The Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama went to Joaquin Phoenix for his performance in “Joker.” During his speech, he

“Parasite” is the first ever Korean film to win Best Foreign Film.

urged the audience that they must try and do something to combat climate change.

He said, “We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the weekend.” He also made a promise that he would try to do better himself; a promise he kept, as just days later he was arrested with Jane Fonda at a climate protest.

Ellen Degeneres also breached the topic of climate change when calling attention to the fires raging through Australia after being awarded the Carol Burnett Award. Before receiving this award, Kate Mckinnon heartfully thanked her for helping to pave the way for other LGBTQ+ individuals.

In Degeneras’ acceptance speech, she also said, “All I’ve ever wanted to do is make people feel good and laugh.”

Tom Hanks was the recipient of the Cecil B. Demille lifetime achievement award.

He teared up multiple times during his emotional speech where he gave the advice that one can always learn something from who they work with. He attributed his greatness to the advice he has received from his numerous co-stars.

The 77th Golden Globes kicked off the 2020 award season. The next big event during award season is the 92nd Oscars; it will be held on Feb. 9. Despite some surprises and upsets, this year’s Golden Globes were awarded to a diverse group of nominees.

courtesy CJ Entertainment

Adam Sandler delivers gripping performance in “Uncut Gems” Despite its intensity, the Safdie Brothers’ film was not nominated for any Academy Awards.

Justin Klopfer Student Writer The prospect of a new Adam Sandler movie is almost universally met with a chorus of groans, and for good reason. However, the Safdie Brothers’ new drama thriller “Uncut Gems” may finally break Sandler’s streak of gutterballs.

Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a slimy New York jeweler with a gambling problem who acquires an incredibly valuable opal from an African mine. Ratner navigates between aggressive debt collectors, a crumbling marriage and even NBA player Kevin Garnett to cash in on his valuable

of intense anxiety that practically never fades throughout the film. Even a simple scene involving characters being locked out of the jewelry store feels intense and stressful with these techniques.

Sandler’s performance is probably the greatest part of the film; the character of Ratner is primarily what creates such an original tone for the film. Sandler’s typical weasley schtick is plucked from its past sheerly comedic setting and placed into a world that demands to be taken seriously.

Ratner is simultaneously hilariously ridiculous in what he says (“This is some Middle Earth shit” in reference to the gem), and pitiful in the way he begs for the grace of others. He is the true “Uncut Gem”; his flaws and overconfidence hide the genuine and relatable man beneath. Ratner is hard to love, but he’s harder to hate.

“... his flaws and overconfidence hide the genuine and relatable man beneath.” gem. As the film progresses, Ratner comes closer to both success and failure, maintaining a tone of tension and triumph.

What makes “Uncut Gems” truly unique is that Ratner isn’t a typical cool-headed action hero. Unlike a Keanu Reeves or Liam Neeson, Sandler’s character seems always on the edge of disaster, with a real chance of devastation. We see him lying and worming his way through situations in real-time, and feel all the stress that he feels. This is precisely what gives the movie its edge; the stress is greatly created by his relentless conniving.

Throughout the film, characters are constantly talking over each other and the camera never stays still or backs away from close-ups during these conversations. The film frequently throws multiple threats and situations onto its characters simultaneously, such as Ratner receiving multiple phone calls and having belligerent customers inside of his pawn shop. This creates a mood

An amazing score from Daniel Lopatin, better known as Oneohtrix Point Never, also underlies the anxiety ridden tone of the film. It turns from spaced-out synthesizers to pulsing techno beats with an atmosphere that perfectly matches that of the film.

Overall, the film is exceedingly entertaining and grips the audience’s interest through its entire runtime. It has become A24’s highest grossing film to date and has a 92 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, the film was completely shut out from all nominations at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. This can’t help but feel like a slap in the face to the Safdie brothers, who had been crafting the film for about a decade, and said the script went through about 160 drafts. This kind of auteurism and respect for film sometimes feels greatly underrepresented in popular awards shows, but hopefully passionate audiences can continue to be relied on to admire it.

Sandler’s performance as Howard Ratner creates an air of tension and anxiety throughout the film.

courtesy A24

21 January 2020

The State-Run Media

Collins Fitness Center churns out charismatic co-eds

The Collegian: 13

See? You’d be charming too if you weren’t on your damn phone all day.

Michaela Bueche Resident Mystic

Victor Ruiz Phone bad, talk good The Collins Fitness Center staff here on TU campus are reporting increased levels of charisma after working entire shifts without access to their phones. Student Services revealed this inexplicable statistic after a recent survey of work-study students.

One gym staffer, who wished to remain anonymous, had this to say: “With the same songs on rotation every week, the only way to cope without my Twitter account has been to have long discussions with my coworkers, something completely out of my comfort zone.” The staff member lamented their inability to respond to snaps, but did note that the combined impact of two hours of missed notifications that they received at the end of their shift “made [them] feel a little bit better about [their] social life.”

However, in spite of their complaints, the staff member’s testimony did line up with Student Services’ findings: “By the third hour, I feel capable of talking about anything, and that confidence has stuck with me in my daily life.”

Fraternity gossip across campus suggests an increased presence of Collins Fitness Center hoodies at parties, marking a surprising deviation from popular fashion. One brother, who will remain unnamed, recalled that “at first, I thought it was pretty odd to see a sweatshirt at our jersey party, but the more I talked to the guy, the more I came to see why gym staffing could be competitive, and found myself wanting to talk with him more. The whole thing was so strange, but he told me he had just gotten off a four hour shift, and since I enjoyed talking to him so much I let it slide.” After our interview, the aforementioned brother did confide that he hoped to see the employee at another event.

Now that you’re a semester into the year and fresh off the high of failing all your finals, you’re probably wondering why you’re still in your major. We at The State Run Media have found a solution! Make smarter decisions in 2020 and choose a new major based on your zodiac sign.

Aries — Marketing is definitely your speed. You get to aggressively yell at people to buy your product and smile when it somehow actually works. If you need a side project, you can always start a profitable pyramid scheme and recruit random people from your high school that you never actually talked to.

Without their phones, gym employees are forced to make conversation.

Fitness center employees have reported the increased necessity of good conversation. A long time employee bemoaned the alternative: the dreaded “silent shift.” Much as the name implies, this happens when two employees cannot collectively come to conversation. For a minimum of an hour, before they rotate, employees have reported sitting in close proximity to each other, staring in utter silence. While some would liken this to cruel and unusual punishment, the fitness staff have, with amazing resilience, adapted to this simply by forcing themselves to be more outgoing.

Collins Fitness Center management, when asked about the device policy, told us

graphic by Emma Palmer

their rationale for banning phones. A lack of distractions, in their view, would allow employees to “perform life saving procedures” and “be vigilant in case of an accident,” but who knows their real reasons. Perhaps this subtle charisma training could be a complicated scheme to increase word of mouth staff recruitment? Or, more likely, Fitness Center management have made a hush-hush agreement with certain professors who detest cellular devices to slowly wean parts of the student body off of their phones. Wherever the truth may lay, one thing is for certain; their shifts aren’t getting any shorter.

Campus cats at record low popularity

Taurus -— You should get a law degree. Nevermind your pitiful debate skills; you’re too stubborn to let anyone beat you in an argument. This will come in handy big time in court.

Gemini — Because of your duality, we propose a double major in music and petroleum frackeneering. The music major will allow your creative side to bring “Joy To The World.” The petroleum frackeneering major will allow your inner asshole to revel in fucking up the economy and climate.

Cancer — Since your sign is named after a disease, your new major should be nursing. You get all the health and disease knowledge. I also heard somewhere that Cancers are empathetic or something, making it an even better fit.

Leo — We choose CEO for you.

It’s not really a major, but a way of life. Join the ranks of Corporate Assholes Inc. and become a billionaire off your trust fund. If you so happen to not be gifted with a trust fund, you are clearly no longer worthy of calling yourself a Leo. Virgo — You are often called tidy, organized or even a perfectionist. Put this to good use with your new major, organizational studies. It’ll be a febreeze.

Libra — This list is the most important for you because you are so indecisive. This is why we have opted out of picking a major for you. You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!

Scorpio — You get the sexiest of majors, environmental science.

You get to save the turtles (sksk) and enforce your plastic straw ban on the world. The only one getting choked from now on is you, amirite?

The TU campus cats are not happy with the negative publicity the movie “Cats” has brought them.

Some TU students just can’t seem to handle the sexiness of these cats.

Brennen Gray Jellicle boi The polls are in, and the results are harrowing.

For the first time in 70 years, the approval rating of TU’s campus cats has dropped below 33 percent. Given the outlier’s coincidence with the release of Disney’s “Cats,” theorists are attributing the drop in popularity to the off-putting sexiness of the film’s demonic CGI felines.

It makes sense; the movie was both a box-office and critical failure, although it did find massive success in certain regions of the internet that shall not be named. Not to mention that there does not seem to be many other cat-related cataclysms in public consciousness right now.

The last time the little denizens of TU were doing this poorly in the polls, it was 1950 and they had just failed at an attempted coup against the University’s administra-

tion. Ever since the uprising, cats and humans have lived in respectful harmony with one another. Until now.

A cat hailing from the McFarlin steps, Tom E. Cat, gave his opinion on the matter: “This is how those two missionaries that run around here probably felt when the ‘Book of Mormon’ musical was released.

It’s a little awkward to be a cat right now.”

He then went on to proclaim that this was an inaccurate portrayal of his kind.

“Does anyone else realize that those things have breasts? Human breasts?

What kind of hell-spawned cat has human breasts?” demanded Cat. A cat from Brown apartments, Cali Caux shared a similar opinion on the matter: “Does anyone else realize the cats in the film are wearing fur coats,” said Caux, “Do we make movies about humans wearing each other’s skins? No!” She went on to explain how the film’s misrepresentation elucidates everything that’s wrong with society today: “There’s just no appreciation in society anymore for cats. It’s really sad, but that’s just the way things are nowadays.”

But the sheer terror caused by the demon-

graphic by Emma Palmer

ic creatures in “Cats” has left students feeling threatened by sharing a campus with the little monsters. In response, SA has formed a coalition called the Defensive Operation for Good Students or D.O.G.S. Currently the group has played into the low popularity of the cats by hanging posters around TU with information on meeting times and how to join their operation.

But support for D.O.G.S. is not unanimous. Feeling threatened, a subgroup from the opposite side of things has now formed.

In defense of both campus cats and the film, some students have formed the Feline Underground Retribution and Reconciliation Initiative for Everyone’s Stability or F.U.R.R.I.E.S. This group has organized various activities that have mostly involved attempted imitation of the campus cats in order to better understand them and their point of view.

As tensions rise since the release of the opinion polls, a real hairball of a situation looms over the school. The infighting has grabbed TU by the whiskers and until the warring clans find a way to retract their claws, campus is going to be a real litter box.

Sagittarius — Because your life is so exciting, you need a dull ass major to balance it out. Accounting.

Capricorn — As you are essentially a heartless computer, you might as well pick the major of your people, computer science.

You’ll be constantly surrounded by other computers (I mean people) that speak your language.

Unless you only speak Fortran.

Sorry.

Aquarius — Because you are going through your rebellious phase this semester, (we know, “It’s not a phase”) we have decided to offer you the first position in the crypto marxist deconstruction art poetry program. We’re told it’s similar to the social justice warrior program, but that was cut last year.

Pisces — People say you are creative and emotional. Use these skills to write stories and call it creative writing. It’s a major.

Look it up.

graphics by Naomi Dunn

The State-Run Media

21 January 2020

the

State-Run media OwO? What’s this?

Meghan and Harry get the boot

graphic by Emma Palmer

You know she had to do it to ‘em.

A lavish event, Meghan and Harry leave the royal family in style.

Brennen Gray Megxit truther Since the world is still preoccupied with ridiculous privilege, obscene wealth and gluttonous excess, it is apparently necessary to once again talk about the British royal family..

England’s obsession over its ceremonial royal family is like a rash in your nether region; you can’t get rid of it, and you also have no idea where it all started, although your best guess is it came from some British guy.

This month’s edition of unearned relevancy comes courtesy of Duchess Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry.

On Jan. 8, during the royal family’s elaborate nose blowing ceremony, the Queen herself set down her golden handkerchief to receive some news: the media’s favorite young couple has decided to jump the royal ship.

This could only mean one thing: time for an egregiously unnecessary ceremony. And not just any ceremony: a £20 million lavish televised affair with gold and jewels and velvet pillows and Rolls-Royces.

To fund the affair, Queen quickly pooled together about £10 million leftover from the budgets of the last two royal weddings.

Halfway to her goal, she added some cash that British police had ripped out of the hands of starving Irish children that morning. The bobbies managed to snag the entire net worth of all the children in Ireland, bringing the total to £10,000,001.

Still short on cash, British Parliament tried to encourage Boris Johnson to sell his

soul to the Devil to make up the difference.

Considering the Prime Minister was reportedly bankrupt of that account, Parliament then put forward a motion to declare war on China again in order to sell them more opium. The majority of Parliament voted it down, claiming that would take too long.

As a last resort, the British robbed the rest of the money they needed from the Canadians, who promptly thanked them.

At long last, millions around the tuned in to watch the Queen roundhouse-kicking Meghan and Harry out of Buckingham Palace.

To begin the ceremony, the Queen processed onto the balcony of the palace with a 30-mile-long entourage behind her that wound out of the building, onto the street and across the island.

Then Harry and Meghan, both handcuffed, were led onto the same balcony. The pomp and circumstance was so beautiful

that the entire audience was moved to audible sobs. Even in the Americas, swaths of people were left speechless at the grandiose properness of high class on display.

At the climax of the ceremony, the Queen removed her royal slipper. Then, six servants, each one representing a continent England brutally imperialized, washed her foot off with a cup of Irish tears.

The Queen then put on her royal giant steel-toed boot and literally kicked the couple off the balcony and onto the concrete below.

The ex-royal pair were then loaded into wheelbarrows and carted off to the ports where they would be loaded onto a ship and banished to North America.

The Queen retreated back into her home, leaving the world in awe.

Not just kneecappings!

Five fun, DIY ways to dodge the draft DIY yourself out of having to die in a war you don’t agree with!

Hannah Robbins Pulled a Tonya for a friend With all that silly stuff with Iran coming up and bombs and other lovely explosions across the sea (who really cares?), the draft has reared its ugly head and reminded men that for some reason you still have to sign up in case the country goes to war (a real one Congress has a say in). I’m personally exempt, so I’m not that bothered by the mess that’s going on around me, but in case you aren’t feeling like pulling a Tonya Harding, I have a few fun ideas to get you out of actually going to war if your number comes up.

1. Time Turners So while some version of you might still deal with the draft (if I remember the “Harry Potter” universe’s version of time travel correctly), the actual you (you prime) could be 20 years in the past, rich as hell after writing down the winning lottery numbers on a beach in the Bahamas. Sounds much better than a war you might not agree with.

2. Catch Asthma As anyone who’s watched a Marvel movie (anyone) knows, Captain America was unable to join the war on his own due to his unfortunate asthmatic tendencies. However, just get yourself a doctor who can be influenced by some twenties, and suddenly, so do you! And unfortunately that will leave you unable to fight for your country, as you so obviously want to do.

3. Commit a Small Murder So you know how you’ve wanted to kill that one person for a long time? Now’s your chance! Just have a dramatic crime of passion without trying to cover it up, and now you have three free meals a day and you don’t have to fight (you just get thrown into them instead). Plus prison jumpsuits are all the rage in fashion right now.

4. Cold Hard Cash As anyone who’s seen a Bloomberg ad in the recent past would know, cash can get you almost anything; however, little did you know that cash itself actually makes a great hiding spot! Take your huge pallets full of cash and just simply hide yourself in them.

When the military comes knocking they won’t be able to find you. Literally. Plus if they even try, just tell them they can take some. That should prevent anyone from still having motivation to get you to join the army.

5. Catch Me If You Can The last one is pretty simple: if you never keep a permanent address, they can’t actually find you to harass you for not showing up for service. Some might call this “being homeless,” but what it really is a unique lifestyle that more people can get behind. Plus, if you head over to Europe they have these youth hostels that seem fun to visit.

That pretty much covers it! If you’re looking for a few simple ways of avoiding getting drafted into the largest military in the world (why do they need more soldiers, honestly?), you’re covered. Let us know which ones you like best at 1800draftwho@ gmail.com.

Watch out for paper cuts!

graphic by Emma Palmer