11 March 2019

The Collegian: 2

News

11 March 2019

TU freshman starts first-gen student support club TU student Meagan Henningsen started Gen1TU, a club for firstgeneration college students, when she noticed a lack of resources.

Emma Palmer Variety Editor The road to success and a four-year degree can be a challenge for anyone, but it becomes exponentially more difficult when no one has paved the road for you. According to a 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Education, low-income first-generation college students are far less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in six years than their continuing generation peers. TU freshman Meagan Henningsen wants to change that, and she’s taking action in the form of a new organization on campus.

The club, which has been dubbed Gen1TU, came to life when Henningsen noticed that nothing like it existed on campus. “I know that a lot of other colleges have firstgeneration programs, and I realized that TU didn’t have one when I was talking with a professor. She gave me the idea to start up this club to connect with students who come from a similar background.”

Henningsen summed up Gen1TU’s primary mission statement as “to alleviate that stress, to make friends who are experiencing that same thing and to connect with people who support you.” She emphasized the importance of the last point, saying that “knowing you have people rooting for you is kind of what that’s all about.“ The goal of Gen1TU is to soften the initial blows that first-generation students face when beginning school. Right now, Gen1TU’s meetings mostly consist of the people gathering and “sharing our experiences,” Henningsen said. “We talk about some things that are unique for being in a college setting as a first-generation college student, and we talk about ways that we can alleviate the stress.”

Henningsen has hopes for the club to catch on with higher administration but is for now intent on keeping the focus on the best way to get help for struggling students.

She explained that one of the troubles faced by many is the access to coherent resources in an easily accessible place. “I’m hoping to pitch this to Dr. Clancy to establish something to how first-generation students can get access to these resources. That’s the overarching goal right now.”

According to statistics from The Chronicle of Higher Education, first-generation students are “more likely to finish their bachelor’s degrees in four years at a smaller private college than they are in six years at a public non-doctoral university.” This success rate was attributed to private schools because of “their small class sizes, involved faculty members and extracurricular activities.” This puts the University of Tulsa in an advantageous position to be able to help the large percentage of first-generation college students navigate both academics and financial aid.

A primary issue that Gen1TU will try to solve is obscurely-explained financial aid.

About 37 percent of first-generation college students end up taking out a loan; Henningsen recounted her own experience with enrollment and how she struggled with navigating the stress of loans. “A big obstacle for me was understanding how financial aid worked. It was confusing and I didn’t have that support system to explain it to me or to help me through it.”

One of the first hurdles faced by firstgeneration students is getting enrolled in the first place. A study from the 2017 Stats in Brief report from the U.S. Department of

courtesy Meagan Henningsen Henningsen founded Gen1TU in an effort to provide students with information they may not have had access to.

events the club has planned is intended to encourage high schoolers to go on to higher education. “We’re planning a FAFSA night.

We’re hoping to go to East Central High School and help them fill out their FAFSAs. A big reason a lot of kids don’t go to college would be financial aid, so something like this helps alleviate some of the stress of that.”

Another struggle, and what initially led Henningsen on to starting Gen1TU, is the

“‘[Financial aid] was confusing and I didn’t have that support system to explain it to me ...’”

Education found that people whose parents held postsecondary degrees were more than twice as likely to obtain a bachelors after high school compared to their first-generation peers.

Henningsen hopes that Gen1TU can address this issue, explaining that one of the

general misinformation shared by professors and peers alike who don’t understand the financial differences experience by a lot of first-generation students. “They just assume that you should be able to afford most things when you can’t. You could be having to work full time while going to school full time,” Henningsen explained.

Henningsen recalled one particular instance when a professor said, “I had a professor who was talking about Medicaid in class who said, ‘Oh, you don’t know anything about Medicaid since you all go here, so you’re rich.’” This was a shock to Henningsen, since she had grown up on Medicaid. “My mom was a single mom raising kids, and we had to be on Medicaid in order to be able to go to the doctor.”

While the club is still in its early stages of development, it has been well-received by both professors and students alike. Henningsen hopes to grow the club into a comprehensive resource for low-income and first-generation students. She’s hoping to recruit more members for Gen1TU. According to the National Center for Education, 30 percent of all incoming freshmen are first-generation college students, leaving Henningsen with a wide pool from which to draw.

For more info about meeting times and what Gen1TU is about, contact Meagan Henningsen at meagan.15394@roughers. net.

TU student embroiled in homophobic, racist controversy The alleged prejudiced correspondence was revealed in leaked screenshots from a GroupMe group message.

Justin Guglielmetti Editor-in-Chief Last week, several screenshots leaked that depicted racist and homophobic messages being shared from the GroupMe account of a prominent former member in TU’s College Republicans chapter.

We have chosen to keep the name of this student anonymous, as we have been unable to independently confirm that they were responsible for sending the messages.

The screenshots included two offensive memes sent by the student’s account, as well as a message where they used racial epithets.

One of the memes depicted a photoshopped image of Mike Pence on a YuGi-Oh playing card, which referenced the vice president’s supposed support of electroshock conversion therapy and included the game action, “Instantly kills all gays on flip.”

The matter is currently under investigation by members of TU’s administration.

We reached out to President Clancy and Dean of Students Mike Mills, as well as the student in question, but they could not answer specific questions at this time given the ongoing nature of the investigation.

We also contacted the office of Mayor G. T. Bynum, where the student interned. The office declined to comment.

These troubling screenshots were disseminated just a day after the University of Oklahoma’s student newspaper, OU Daily, broke a similar story concerning student members of College Republicans.

Leaked screenshots revealed several white members of the OU College Republicans GroupMe discussing a recent blackface incident on the Norman campus, denying that anything racist had occurred and insisting that they “live everyday where people say blatantly racist shit towards white people as if it’s normal and not racist.”

These individuals were removed from the group message after the outcry of some of its members, but they were subsequently added again, citing a “free marketplace of ideas.”

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News

11 March 2019

The Collegian: 3

March 3 12:00 a.m.

University of Tulsa Security Officers were dispatched to Kappa Alpha Fraternity in regards to an intoxicated student.

Officers determined the student was underage. Officers escorted the student back to their residence.

March 1 12:50 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa campus Security Officers found a vehicle with an invalid parking permit.

Officer made contact with the owner of the vehicle which was a student and officers confiscated the invalid permit.

6:30 p.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to University Square West Apartments on report of harassment through phone calls and knocks at a residence.

Officers interviewed and collected witness statements. The investigation is ongoing.

March 2 1:20 a.m.

University of Tulsa campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a possible Non Injury Hit and Run Motor Vehicle Accident in Mayo Village. Upon arrival Officers discovered that four parked vehicles had been involved in a hit and run. The vehicle that struck all the vehicle is unknown at this time and was last seen driving at high speed heading South Bound through 11th and Delaware.

6:00 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to John Mabee Hall to investigate a possible a fire alarm. Officers found two TU affiliates cooking which tripped the smoke alarm. The was no fire or damage to the building. The Tulsa Fire Department was cancelled and the officers reset the fire panel.

7:35 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a suspicious person loitering near the south side of Fisher Hall. Officers made contact with the subject and initiated a pedestrian check. Officers determined the subject was a TU affiliate. Officers did not issue a trespass warning.

1:40 a.m.

University of Tulsa Security Officers were dispatched to Kappa Alpha Fraternity in regards to an intoxicated student.

Officers determined the student was underage. Officers escorted the student back to a friends residence.

3:00 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a possible parking complaint at the Mabee East Lot. The complaint was in regard to a lot closure during the basketball game. The officer met with a TU affiliate and two non-TU affiliates.

11:30 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Mabee Legal Information Center in regards to an individual hiding in the Law Library. Officers were unable to locate anyone and left without further incident.

March 4 3:30 a.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to the Westby parking lot in regards to 2 vehicles driving recklessly in the snowy conditions. Upon arrival, officers made contact with both vehicles. The individuals were both given student misconducts and officers left without incident.

3:15 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to Norman Village Apartments to take a report on a suspected theft of a motor vehicle. A student reported their vehicle was parked outside their apartment and when they came out it was gone. The student stated that their vehicle was locked, but they had lost a key fob for the vehicle approximately one week earlier. The vehicle was later located in the parking lot across the street from where it had been parked.

11:15 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a possible noise complaint in the Mayo Village Apartments. Upon arrival, officers heard loud music coming from an apartment. Officers spoke with the

Chris Lierly Apprentice Editor Lindsey Prather Student Writer

Second patient free of HIV in London A global health milestone was replicated in London on Tuesday, March 5, as an adult man was functionally cured of HIV in an experimental research trial. This outcome is a result of a series of bone marrow transplants from an HIV-resistant donor, as well as rigorous stem cell treatments. This marked only the second time a patient has been deemed “functionally cured” of HIV. The first, an American man named Timothy Ray Brown, was declared in remission from HIV in Berlin in 2007, and is currently still living HIV-free.

Although there is hesitation to declare the man entirely cured, researchers have marked a three-week span in which the man has exhibited no evidence of the virus, giving hope that the treatment can be replicated for large scale distribution.

Huawei sues US over ban of its products The Chinese tech giant Huawei sued the United States Government on Thursday.

They claim that a law limiting the sale of its products in the U.S. is unconstitutional.

They had previously filed a complaint against Section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a federal court in Texas. NDAA prohibits federal agencies and contractors from purchasing goods and services provided by Huawei and was signed into law by President Trump last year.

The U.S. has barred Huawei sales on the grounds that they are a state-controlled company rather than a private entity, and this confrontation marks the most recent dispute between the U.S. and China following the trade war that began in 2018. Additionally, Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S. government after U.S. prosecutors claimed that her company posed a threat to national security.

US and UK bombs affect nearly 1,200 in Yemen The subject of arms sales recently sprung into the news as a University of Human Rights report noted substantial casualties in Yemen as a result of American and British weaponry sold to various players in the Arabian peninsula. According to the report, as many as 200 Yemeni civilians have been killed and well over 1,000 have been maimed or injured by the coalition led by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War, a conflict that has devolved into a proxy war that has enticed other regional powers such as Iran to become involved.

The U.S. and U.K. are now reevaluating the sale of arms in this region as the general public becomes more aware of the situation surrounding brutal airstrikes and other indiscriminate attacks that have led to this massive casualty rate. The lack of precise targeting has become a major issue for those in opposition to the arms sales, as there is no means to guarantee that American and British arms are only being employed against militants. There is now potential debate in favor of ceasing arms sales to the region until civilian safety is prioritized.

resident and they agreed to turn the music down. A housing contact card was created.

March 5 11:45 a.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers were dispatched to investigate a possible non injury motor vehicle accident in the parking lot of Lorton Performance Center.

Upon arrival Officers determined that one vehicle hit the driver’s side rear bumper of another vehicle while attempting to park.

1:21 p.m.

While on routine patrol University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers found a vehicle with an invalid permit. Officers made contact with the owner of the vehicle and confiscated an invalid permit from the University of Tulsa student’s vehicle.

March 6 3:40 a.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers stopped an individual seen trying to remove a bicycle from the bike rack on the south side of the Lorton Performance Center. The individual’s information was checked against any outstanding warrants. None were found. The suspect was trespass warned and given the information of the campus boundaries. The suspect was then escorted off property and a contact card was created.

10:00 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers took possession of a backpack that was left inside Tyrrell Hall after a student group function. The owner later came into Campus Security and collected their property. A found property form was completed for the transaction. The student reported that all their belongings were accounted for inside the backpack.

March 7 12:50 p.m.

University of Tulsa Campus Security Officers received a TU ID that had been found near the sorority houses. The owner was identified and informed that the ID was at the Security Office. The ID was impounded and placed into property locker number four for safe keeping.

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

Monday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

McFarlin Library, Student Study Discussion with Cosmopolitan Writer: Antoine Volodine Cosmopolitan writer and 2014 winner of the prestigious Medicis French Literary Award Antoine Volodine will discuss post-exoticism and its voices. The lecture is open to the public.

Monday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Lorton Performance Center, Gussman Hall 11th Annual Spring Film Festival TU’s annual Spring Film Festival features student films made throughout the past year will be screened with a distinguished panel of judges presenting awards for Best Film and Best Actor among others. We will also be presenting the 2019 Outstanding Senior Award.

Join the Film Studies Department for refreshments and cast your vote for the Audience Choice award! *This year’s festival will feature mature content, including brief nudity. Attendee/ viewer discretion is advised.

Wednesday, March 13 at 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Tyrrell Hall, Lecture Hall #adulting101 Series: Real Estate and Home Buying Buying a home or real estate can be nerve-racking, especially if you’re a first-time home buyer. Join us for this workshop as Alan Thompson, Mortgage Banker at Arvest Bank, shows you some tips that will help you navigate the process, save money and avoid common mistakes.

Thursday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

College of Law, Price & Turpen Courtroom 19th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture The University of Tulsa College of Law welcomes, César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Associate Professor of Law, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law for the19th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture. “Migrating to Prison: Immigration in the Age of Mass Incarceration” César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández is a tenured associate professor of law at the University of Denver. His academic interests center on crimmigration law, the convergence of criminal and immigration law. His first book, titled Crimmigration Law, was published by the American Bar Association in 2015. He is currently writing another book, Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants, to be published by The New Press in 2019. He has published op-eds in The New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek, and elsewhere.

César publishes crimmigration.com, an award-winning blog about the convergence of criminal and immigration law. In 2014, he received the Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Award by the Association of American Law Schools Section on Minority Groups, an honor issued to a “junior faculty member who, through activism, mentoring, colleagueship, teaching and scholarship, has made an extraordinary contribution to legal education, the legal system or social justice.” He has served as a scholar-in-residence at the University of California, Berkeley and Texas Southern University. During the spring of 2018 he was a Fulbright scholar in Slovenia where he was affiliated with the Institute of Criminology at the University of Ljubljana. He is currently a member of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration.

César makes frequent public appearances discussing crimmigration law. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Public Radio International, The Guardian, The Nation, La Opinión, and numerous other publications.

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

Contact us at news@tucollegian.org with events.

Commentary

The Collegian: 4

11 March 2019

Charter schools should be held to higher transparency standards

New House Bill 1395 would require charter schools to obey the same financial reporting requirements as public schools.

Nathan Hinkle Student Writer A new institution in Oklahoma, Epic Charter Schools, seeks to provide a better form of education to young students. Students can receive their education online or through a mix of online and in-person classes. The non-profit organization was started in 2012 by its founders, Ben Harris and David Cheney, as an online school. Epic Charter Schools works with for-profit company Epic Youth Services, LLC for the necessary services provided. While the two companies are not connected, both of its non-profit founders have stake in the company as major shareholders.

Recently Harris, Cheney and 13 other individuals associated with Epic donated around $180,000 in the 2018 elections to a variety of different politicians. This group includes State Superintendent of Public Affairs Joy Hofmeister, Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General Mike Hunter. However, the donations may not have been everything they initially seemed, as some of this money was earned through state aid for the production of Epic. While these individuals have a right to donate to political candidates they believe in, their companies should be open to reporting requirements due to their connection to the state government. New legislation, such as House Bill 1395, which

imposes similar financial reporting requirements as done by public education institutions, is necessary for full financial transparency.

Created by Representative Sheila Dills, HB 1395 requires new virtual schools to follow similar procedures as public schools while disclosing information. It also states that members of the company’s board must follow similar conflict of interest problems as public school boards and that these companies will be required to disclose financial details when the school contracts with an outside institution that assists in the process.

In addition to these other requirements, the bill requires that virtual education institutions follow education requirements set forward by the board of education. This bill forces virtual schools to follow a similar system to public school systems in an attempt to make sure an equal quality of education is given to all students whether in public or virtual schools. It requires that all forms of education follow a specific set of guidelines so that students in these virtual institutions are hopefully not taken advantage of by large corporations.

Virtual school transparency is not only important for the education of Oklahoma children but also Oklahoma taxpayers who help pay for places like Epic. To assist in the process of education, Epic will receive $72,123,680 in state aid this year, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. This is ostensibly due to rising enrollment at their different forms of education facilities.

graphic by Conner Maggio A group associated with Epic Charter Schools has donated money to several politicians, including Kevin Stitt.

that both Epic Charter Schools and Epic Youth Services are private corporations and

“Transparency is necessary ... because they receive state aid funds ...”

Such a large amount of money being given to Epic and other private institutions should be monitored heavily to see that the funds are not being wasted or used in an illegal or unethical manner. Some may argue

therefore should be not held to the same requirements as public institutions. However, their receiving of state aid should leave them open to investigation and special reporting requirements.

Transparency is necessary in financial contributions by Epic because they receive state aid funds from the board of education.

This should be done to prevent problems should Epic receives additional funds due to previously funding the campaigns of candidates who are now in power. Shining a light on the system will hopefully halt any potential corruption due to Epic’s connections to the state government. House Bill 1395 provides important measures that allow citizens and the government to truly know the inner workings of a corporation that receives so much state funding.

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s tweets criticizing Israel not antisemitic

Rep. Omar’s critique of unchecked aid to Israel has incurred bipartisan condemnation.

Andrew Noland Student Writer United States Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has had a rough first three months in office. The first Somali-American, and one of the first two Muslim women, elected to Congress, she has been considered one of the rising stars in the Democratic Party since her entrance to the House of Representatives in the “Blue Wave.”

However, a recent tweet, “All about the Benjamins,” referring to Israeli right-wing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the exorbitant amount of money the United States gives to Israel, has led to bipartisan condemnation of her action as antisemitic.

When Omar attempted to defend the comments as critiquing unconditional aid to Israel, she was blasted even further by both the left and right, leading to an eventual bipartisan resolution to condemn antisemitism and hate speech.

To be explicitly clear, the moderate Democratic Party and the Republican Party know

that Omar’s comments were not antisemitic.

However, Omar dared to question the policy of warrantless aid to Israel despite the nation’s apartheid practices, military aggression, continued illegal settlement of Palestinian territory and Netanyahu’s corruption.

First, critiquing the nation of Israel’s policies is not the same as being antisemitic.

Second, the attacks on Ilhan Omar are just another salvo in the ongoing civil war within the Democratic Party on the questions of foreign policy, race and religion.

Affairs Committee) is a powerful lobbying group in the United States, donating ludicrous amounts of money to pro-Israel think tanks and politicians. AIPAC is also notorious for their massive influence over the foreign policy sphere and academia.

This is outlined meticulously and more eloquently in “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” written by two of the greatest political scientists in American history, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. Both have been labeled by AIPAC as antisemitic

“... critiquing the nation of Israel’s policies is not the same as being antisemitic.”

To get the GOP out of the way, this is the same party that has continued to propose the expansion of gun access to perpetuate violence in communities of color; encouraged the era of mass incarceration; gerrymandered voting districts to rig elections; defended Donald Trump’s numerous racist comments concerning non-white nations and people; made bigoted comments themselves; supported anti-Islamic stereotypes including fabricating lies about America succumbing to Sharia law; supported Steve King until the very last moment; defended sexual abusers; slandered Anita Hill; held off on relief aid to Hurricane Katrina and Puerto Rico — all while pretending to be the “party of Lincoln.” They do not get take a stance on morality.

As for the Democratic Party, the condemnation of Ilhan Omar seems confusing.

However, AIPAC (American Israel Public

Congresswoman Omar’s recent tweet replying to Glenn Greenwald has sparked controversy.

and Holocaust deniers following the book’s publication.

The Democratic establishment has long been backed by large lobbying groups and has therefore supported warrantless American aid to Israel to continue their international war crimes. Making a great deal of money from the military-industrial complex, the center of the Democratic Party has benefitted from this area of foreign policy.

On the other hand, the progressive caucus within the legislative branch wants to reflect on unconditional support for Israel and reassess allies in the Middle East. This echoes President Obama’s actions when he moved further from growingly aggressive nations like Israel and Saudi Arabia and toward slowly liberalizing Iran and Turkey (before President Tayyip Erdogan effectively turned the latter into a dictatorship).

But there are still greater underlying issues, specifically that centrist Democrats are feeling left out of the enthusiasm. As the party grows more progressive, younger and more diverse, white DINOs (Democrat in Name Only) feel the need to lash back against criticism from the left for their years of consistent concessions to the Republican Party. Omar is an outspoken critic of Democratic appeasement and unfortunately finds herself at the center of the debate due to the color of her skin and her faith.

Members of Congress that represent people of different races, religions, orientations and genders like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Kyrsten Sinema and Ilhan Omar are thrust into the spotlight because they espouse and embody a future that DINOs do not want to usher in under the Democratic banner.

This is not to say that centrist Democrats are equally culpable on the issue of race as Republicans. It just means that there are stages of progressivism that some Democrats are not willing to stomach and thus are willing to hand the Republicans a victory due to these centrists’ own reservations on the party’s direction.

Whether Ilhan Omar is antisemitic is not really a question; it’s a second-order issue that masks the real struggle for identity within the Democratic Party. Omar’s critiques of American support of Israel have divided the Democratic Party already into a contest between progressivism neoliberalism. The conflict will likely not be resolved until the presidential election, and Ilhan Omar and her character are probably the first casualties in the coming fight for the Democratic Party’s soul.

graphic by Conner Maggio

Commentary

11 March 2019

The Collegian: 5

The Legislative Digest is your weekly look at the happenings of Oklahoma’s state legislature and the bills and politics you need to know.

Raven Fawcett Managing Editor State Congress reflects Oklahoma constituents for better or worse. This week we’re looking at a few good and a few terrible bills moving through the legislature just ahead of Spring Break, where we can forget for a short week about politics and the way a few people make vital decisions that will affect our daily lives.

SB870: County officers and sundry might, “[u]nder the direction of forest rangers and upon receipt of the landowner,” help prevent forest fires. Smokey Bear would be proud. SB 870 would allow them to do prevention work (like setting backfires or digging trenches, according to the bill) on “private lands without incurring liability to any person.” Sure, giving them the leeway to do this on private lands might raise some red flags, but if the land were already being taken care of, it wouldn’t need their prevention efforts. It’s already been passed by the Senate with 43 votes for and zero against and has moved on to the House.

HB622: I know we jest and we joke about how useless government can be, but this? This is laughable. It would make it legal for “[c]ities and towns … to adopt ordinances enabling the painting of blue lines on city streets and the posting of signage” to show their support of law enforcement. They pay the police for their work, what more do you want? No citizen is required to fawn over any institution. Cops don’t need this either. They clock in and out of their jobs just like the rest of us do. The police force is still less dangerous than many professions common in America, but I don’t see us painting green stripes on buildings to let loggers know that we support them. The bill wouldn’t bring joy to most people, it takes up legislators’ time and would take up cities’ and towns’ time as well.

SB446: Oklahoma teachers may soon have the resources to better help students under Senate Bill 446, which awaits approval or rejection in the House. It would include “information, training and resources to help school employees recognize and address the mental health needs of students.” It will further a holistic approach in ensuring that students achieve their full potential in school, even (or especially) when non-school problems arise. Plus, don’t our teachers deserve as many tools to succeed and help their students as they can get as well?

Democratic Party splitting ideologies for 2020 election

Progressives, centrists and those inbetween are vying for the top spot in the Democratic Party in 2020.

Chris Lierly Apprentice Editor The presidential election of 2016 was a disastrous moment for the Democratic Party, which is honestly the most objective thing I’ve ever written. It likely felt to older Democrats like the mishaps of George McGovern’s 1972 run at the White House or Al Gore’s near miss in 2000. One of the largest factors contributing to that sense of mayhem was the rift in the party between what came to be known as the Clinton and Sanders wings. But that rift is much bigger than any two individuals, and though it was only one in a thousand reasons that Donald Trump won the presidency, Democrats exited the election cycle with the future of the party in almost total flux. Well, it’s 2019 now, and the time for a choice has come along with (and I know this has been said every four years since 1788) the most important election in any of our lifetimes.

The 2020 Democratic Primary will basically last from now until early summer 2020. That means that over the next year and a few months, the candidates will rehash and redraw the fissures in the party that the 2016 primary brought into the limelight.

This might be a long, painful and often arbitrary process, but it is necessary. The Democrats need to know who they are before they enter the 2020 general election, and rehashing 2016 will have to be done for success in 2020 to become a realistic goal.

Let’s do this one last time. For all intents and purposes, the 2016 election featured two Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. As previously mentioned, the two politicians represent two contrasting strands of American liberalism.

Clinton embodies the Party’s pragmatic shift to the middle at the onset of the Reagan Revolution. Often branded a neoliberal, Clinton received criticism from Sanders on her watered down policies that often seemed

to merely placate the progressive wing of the party.

Sanders, on the other hand, is the leader of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing despite not being a Democrat. Sanders was and is willing to address structural economic inequality more than any candidate in 2016 or 2020, but his focus on this issue is so single-minded that he often fails to see the ways in which other factors like race play into economics (and all parts of American politics for that matter).

In 2020, every candidate will try to either inherit or co-opt the same ideological strains that Clinton rode to the nomination and Sanders used to gain prominence on a national scale. Due to this scramble, the major candidates in 2020 all roughly fit into three major groups: the centrists who see beating Trump as the paramount goal in 2020, progressives who want to recapture the public popularity of Bernie and those who want to try and walk the line between the two ends of the party.

The major centrists include Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand and Joe Biden (should he decide to run) and all have in their careers and early campaigns laid out a political philosophy smack dab in the middle of American politics. Klobuchar called Medicare for all an idea “that could work in the future” and has touted both her pragmatism and rural electability as reasons that voters should choose her in the primaries.

Gillibrand, though running from the centrist label, has held various conservative views in the past, especially on immigration. Biden, though yet to announce that he is running, is Clinton’s ideological successor in that he will attempt to remind Americans just how much they loved the Obama years as his primary strategy for unseating Trump. All of these candidates have major flaws, and though each might win over moderate voters who are unlikely to reelect Trump, they would also fail to energize progressive voters and ultimately lose without even standing for many left-of-center stances.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons Joe Biden will most likely use his connection to Obama to aid his anticipated 2020 campaign.

anyone other than Bernie could win over his supporters if he is in the primary, but the idea of alleged unelectability might finally catch up to him, especially if Elizabeth Warren runs an exciting campaign. Warren is the most bone fide progressive candidate in the primary, and her criticism of the Senate filibuster shows an awareness of both liberal policy goals and the means necessary to achieve them. The biggest roadblock for Warren in the general election is both the

“Well it’s 2019 now ... the most important election in any of our lifetimes.”

The progressive candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, though seemingly more genuine than the centrists, will also likely fail in a general election against the colluder-in-chief. For the most part, this group is just Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. It should seem counterintuitive that

The playing field for the Democratic Party is ideologically diverse and wide open.

misogyny of the American electorate as well as the racist attacks leveled at her already by the president.

The final group who will play a major role in the Democratic primary are the candidates who do not fit neatly into either a progressive or central camp. These candidates

might be the proof that there is some chance of mending the rift in the party. Candidates like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are the two best examples of this hybrid group.

Both have had ties to less than progressive groups in the past or backed policies that failed to address or worsened inequality, but both are far from the centrists in the party.

The fact that these two candidates are the Democratic party’s most prominent black politicians matters here as well. Their race and background give them a better perspective to understand many of the inequalities in our country, but any lurch toward the left would result in them being branded as radicals on race even when they aren’t (a lot like Obama). Where the other groups look doomed for failure, Harris or Booker could provide a way for the Democratic party to bridge both the ideological gap internally while still energizing the liberal base in time for the general election.

graphic by Conner Maggio

Sports

The Collegian: 6

11 March 2019

Golden Hurricane dissipates vs. Tigers

Tulsa Hurricane reports on the men’s basketball team’s 66-63 loss to Memphis in their final regular season game on Saturday.

Curran Scott led Tulsa with 13 points, but Memphis got 20 points from Jeremiah Martin and the Tigers escaped FedExForum with a 66-63 win over the Golden Hurricane in the regular-season finale for both teams late Saturday night

402 assists, he became just the fourth player in program history with at least 1,000 points and 400 assists in his career.

Tulsa can still claim the No. 7 seed in next week’s American Athletic Conference Champion-

basket late in the game, while Martin went 6-of-15 from the floor and had six assists.

Tulsa used a 7-0 run early in the second half to erase a fourpoint halftime deficit and knot the score at 38. But the Tigers heated

Taplin’s basket proved to be the last for the Hurricane until the closing seconds. TU stayed in the game at the free throw line and got within 58-57 before Harris’ steal and layup extended the cushion with 2:49 remaining.

four points by Igbanu. The Tigers would come back to take a 13-11 advantage on Martin’s dunk, but the Hurricane would go on a 15-5 run for a 26-18 lead.

Scott got TU going with a jumper before the Hurricane hit

“Lawson Korita also finished in double figures with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Golden Hurricane ...”

Lawson Korita also finished in double figures with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Golden Hurricane (18-13, 8-10), while Martins Igbanu neared a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

In addition, Sterling Taplin scored nine points and had five assists. Now with 1,025 points and

ship with a USF loss against SMU on Sunday. If USF beats SMU, the Bulls will be the 7-seed and Tulsa the 8-seed. The full tournament bracket will be released on Sunday night by the league office.

Meanwhile, Tyler Harris came off the bench to score 16 points for the Tigers (19-12, 11-7). The freshman had a crucial steal and

up again to take a 54-46 advantage with 7:29 to play.

However, the Hurricane stormed back with a 9-0 run to grab a 55-54 lead. DaQuan Jeffries had a pair of baskets inside before a bucket by Scott.

Taplin then finished off a threepoint play for the slim advantage with just 4:39 to play.

courtesy Jordan Korphage

From there, the Memphis lead never grew to more than five points, but TU could not get closer than 62-60 in the final minute.

Martin hit two free throws down the stretch to help seal the 63-66 final.

In the first half, Tulsa jumped out to a 10-4 lead thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Korita and

Curran Scott scans the defense.

three straight treys. Elijah Joiner had five points during the run and Scott polished off the spurt at the free-throw line with 7:39 left in the half.

However, Tulsa would be held without a basket the rest of the period as the Tigers went on a 13-1 run for a 31-27 lead at halftime.

courtesy Tulsa Hurricane

Zion should not need a year in college Editor-in-Chief Justin Guglielmetti discusses why the “one-and-done” rule needs to go in light of the Duke forward’s recent knee injury.

It’s been two weeks since The Busted Shoe Heard ’Round the World, and despite initial reports that the resulting knee injury was just a minor sprain, we have yet to see Zion Williamson return to action.

I don’t think this is some conspiracy intended to hide the fact

Zion throws down a dunk.

that the best college prospect in at least a decade is now damaged goods; it’s much more likely that Duke is taking the prudent course and progressing slowly so as not to aggravate the injury.

But this whole saga has thrown into stark relief a major problem with basketball that has been evi-

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

dent for a while now: if you are good enough to be in the NBA, you should be allowed to play in it.

DeMarcus Cousins said it best when he was asked about the one-and-done rule in an interview shortly after Shoegate: “Knowing what I know now, college basketball is bullshit.” Tell’em Boogie!

Cousins had a lot to say about the inequities present in the current NCAA model, some of which applied directly to top prospects like Zion and the rest to the thousands of student athletes who will never go pro in their respective sports.

His latter point is one brought up seemingly every few months by the sports media: players are essentially exploited by their schools. He’s right that institutions shouldn’t get to profit millions off the work of these hard-working athletes while calling an often extremely unsatisfactory, supposedly free education fair recompense.

But that debate, though certainly the more far reaching and important one, has been rehashed ad infinitum and is separate from the main issue in Zion’s case. I’d like to focus instead on the question of why someone like him should even be in college at all.

The NBA is a meritocracy, reserved for the very best 400-odd basketball players on Earth. Zion Williamson is a laughably obvious member of that exclusive group.

He’s 6’7” and listed at 285 pounds, with a vertical leap in excess of 40 inches, which means that at just 18 years old, he would already be the most imposing physical presence in the league.

Not merely an athletic freak of nature, Zion has exhibited a guard’s handle and far superior

passing and defensive instincts than his doubters projected coming out of high school.

If you plucked him off the Blue Devils and assigned him to an NBA roster right now (disregarding the injury of course), you’d be talking about a top-20 player in the league. And that’s to say nothing of his ultimate potential, which is a multi-time MVP and Hall of Famer.

Knowing all that, does it make any sense that Zion should be forced to wait a year coming out of high school to play basketball at the highest level? I honestly can’t think of a single benefit. “Honing his abilities” is a cop-out answer applied to many top prospects, especially given their NBA-ready talent and the backwards notion that it is better to learn the college game than the vastly superior pro one.

Tradition is a crap excuse, not only because doing things the way you’ve always done them is the definition of a bad argument, but because this “tradition” before the one-and-done era didn’t involve players jumping ship after a single season.

And while I can understand wanting to experience the fun and celebrity that would come with being a star at a big sports school, there would be even more of those things (and fewer restrictions) as a pro athlete. The only difference is he would be getting paid.

Herein lies the hypocrisy of talking heads going off about “love of the game” and decrying the idea that it would be better for Zion to sit out the rest of the season. It’s true that injuries are a part of sports, a risk that every athlete

knowingly assumes when he suits up. But when there are millions of dollars on the line — money that could ensure you and your family’s security for their entire lives — it simply does not make sense to take unnecessary risks.

In an ideal world, Zion wouldn’t have to make the choice between letting his teammates down and defying his hypercompetitive nature or putting his future on the line.

The fame and fortune that accompanies signing an NBA contract should already be his, if not for an arbitrary restriction designed only to benefit others.

You might be inclined to say “tough shit,” which means you’re also likely one of those curmudgeons who likes to espouse that art should be given away for free, that teachers and doctors and firefighters should be the celebrities, that actors, musicians and athletes are spoiled brats who should just be happy that they’re doing something fun for a living.

I get it. It’s hard to feel bad for a man who has it all, especially when in his case and in the overwhelming majority of others, things turn out fine.

I just ask that you think about this issue on principle. How would you feel if you had the ability and means become a multimillionaire, and meanwhile, some outside force that doesn’t care about your wellbeing decided to swoop in and make you their dancing monkey for a year?

Nothing is certain in life, especially not health and financial security.

Let’s give Zion Williamson and his like their due.

Sports

11 March 2019

The Collegian: 7

Murray skips drills at NFL combine

NFL expert Lindsey Prather covers how the 2019 Heisman winner’s lack of participation raises a debate about the limitations of professional football’s combine.

The 2019 NFL Scouting Combine kicked off on Feb. 26 and lasted until March 4, providing some tangible numbers to judge the talent heading into April’s NFL Draft.

A couple of storylines have surfaced following the conclusion of the combine, most notably surrounding Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, as well as the questionable utility of the combine for evaluating top-tier talent.

Murray had been a topic of much speculation as the combine drew closer; the question arose as to whether he would participate, in part due to questions surrounding his physique. Following the measurement portion, Murray measured a respectable 5’10” and 208 lbs.

This was a massive win for Murray, as some skeptical pundits maintained he was as short as 5’9” and under 200 lbs. — measurements that would irreparably jeopardize his draft stock. Hand size was another area of concern. Murray’s hands exceeded 9”, placing his stature and physique in line with Russell Wilson, a notoriously small yet exceedingly successful pro QB. Murray declined to run drills at the combine, instead opting to postpone them until the University of Oklahoma’s Pro Day. Nonetheless, Murray had raised his draft stock by easing concerns on his size, potentially vaulting himself from an anticipated mid-first rounder to the No. 1 overall pick.

Murray’s sitting forth has brought forth an old question: does the combine matter? A good argument in favor of the combine’s use is the ability to compare players in a controlled, equal environment.

The drills prevent outside factors from affecting the outcome. For example, a running

courtesy AZ Central

Murray looks on from the sideline during the combine.

back with an excellent offensive line will have a better chance to make game-changing plays than another, faster running back with a mediocre offensive line.

The combine places the onus on the individual player to put up admirable times and impress the scouts. However, the fact that these drills only measure raw athleticism is arguably their greatest weakness.

Drills in the NFL Combine have remained basically the same since the combine’s inaugural run in 1985. Football is a game that depends primarily on reflex; however, the physical tests in the combine have become “learned” drills.

The prospects practice their footwork for the agility drills, strive to perfect their form in the 40-yard-dash and they train to

increase their vertical jump and long jump.

These drills have limited predictive value regarding the prospect’s ability to play their position.

An infamous example of this is Tom Brady, an obviously top-tier talent who ran a 5.28 40-yard-dash and recorded a 24.5’’ vertical leap, the lowest of his draft class.

The NFL combine dismissed one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history due to arbitrary numbers that had little to no bearing on ability; the combine is useful in determining raw athleticism but falls short in predicting future success from prospects.

Kyler Murray earned a starting job at a blue-blood college football program and led his team to the College Football Playoff with ridiculous numbers.

This places him in a unique position — his skill and ability allow him to forgo the skills portion of the combine and merely use it to eliminate doubts about his size while simultaneously improving his draft stock.

Although Murray will run drills at the University of Oklahoma’s Pro Day, the question remains: does the combine really matter?

Establishing baseline numbers for athleticism is helpful, but the eye test can be deceiving.

It’s possible that going forward, high value prospects will opt instead to drill at University Pro Days for a home-field advantage, much like Kyler Murray.

UEFA to probe Man City for corruption Soccer expert Andrew Noland details the Financial Fair Play investigation into Sheikh Mansour’s illegal methods in funding the Premier League champions.

Last Thursday and Friday, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Premier League opened up a new case into Manchester City’s finances and potential breaches of Financial Fair Play rules. The investigation is the second probe in five years concerning the City Football Group-owned club with this one sparked by leaks published by Der Spiegel.

FIFA instituted Financial Fair Play rules after concerns arose from traditional giants of the sport that weaker clubs, like Paris San

success without growing any substantial fanbase.Manchester City’s rise to the elite of European football has been rapid. Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008 as a birthday gift to himself.

His personal worth is close to $17 billion, but his Abu Dhabi Group, and its parent trust the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, is worth about $1.1 trillion.

Most of his money comes from the exploitation and mistreatment of migrant workers in their cities, many of whom are

chester City’s willingness to drive up contract and transfer price tags.

When standard revenue did not match Manchester City’s spending, investigations and internal leaks revealed that the Manchester City board, with the day-to-day running of the club handled by Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak, had inflated the amount of money sponsorships were granting to the team to illegally smuggle Sheikh Mansour’s own money into the club. UEFA, at the same time cracking down on Paris San Germain,

Citizens to persist in their illicit practices.

What is different with the new investigation is that other powerful clubs are rumored to be backing UEFA in this run-around and Manchester City might not be able to get away with only a miniscule fine and a smaller Champions League squad.

These allegations include an illegal $200 million payout of youth star Jadon Sancho’s agent and even more inflated sponsorships.

UEFA’s chief FFP investigator Yves Leterme even contended that Manchester City

“... investigations and internal leaks revealed that the Manchester City board ... had inflated the amount of money that sponsorships were granting to the team ...”

Germain and Manchester City, pumped into their infrastructure to spark success.

FFP functions like a barometer for how much money a club can spend on their team’s salaries and transfer purchases. A team’s revenue, which can come from sponsorships, tickets, merchandising and TV deals, establishes a bar for the amount of money the club can use on their team.

This is meant to prevent billionaire owners or groups from putting unfair amounts of money into their clubs to artificially produce

beaten and worked to death in the desert heat to build the UAE’s extravagant skyscraping, futuristic cities and engineering projects.

Manchester City had perennially been the figurative little brother compared to the dominant and lustrous Manchester United.

However, Sheikh Mansour flooded his team with billions of dollars and training and data analysis facilities, and the youth academy turned into state-of-the-art marvels. By 2014, rivals simply could not match Man-

found severe resistance from Manchester City and the French giants. In email leaks, Mubarak threatened UEFA with drowning the union with legal appeals, injunctions and countersuits if the regulatory board punished Manchester City proportional to their transgressions. Backed by the Sheikh Mansour’s inexhaustible pool of money, Manchester City would simply outspend the European body.

UEFA issued slaps on the wrist onto Manchester City in 2014 which only allowed the

15

could face a Champions League ban, a punishment that would strip Manchester City of hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money and TV revenue.

The likelihood that Manchester City faces a substantive punishment is low, but if UEFA indeed has outside support, a ban on City would signal to clubs and billionaire owners that buying a Champions League is not an option.

Mar. 11 - Mar. 17

Monday

Tuesday 11

Wednesday 12

No Events No Events

13

Softball @ Arkansas 5 p.m.

M Tennis vs. OSU 5 p.m.

Thursday

Saturday

Friday

14

16

15

Sunday 17

M Tennis vs. Drake 10 a.m.

M Basketball @ AAC Championship

Softball @ Kansas 5:30 p.m.

Softball vs. Nebraska 11 a.m.

Softball @ Kansas 4 p.m.

Rowing @ Louisville Cardinal Invitational

Softball vs. Nebraska 11 a.m.

The Collegian: 8

Variety

11 March 2019

World class photographer comes to Tulsa In a lecture at the Tulsa Town Hall series, photographer Platon discussed his career of capturing people in power.

Piper Prolago Apprentice Editor

Tulsa Town Hall hosted a lecture by British photographer and human rights activist Platon on Friday, March 8. Platon has worked with some of the most influential political figures, actors and musicians in the world. His work has been featured in publications like Rolling Stone, Esquire and Time, where his portrait of Vladimir Putin for “Person of the Year” won first prize in the World Press Photo Contest. Platon started his chronicling of experiences by telling the audience “I’m going to take you on a journey of power as I have been privileged to see it.”

Platon got his big break photographing Bill Clinton for the cover of Esquire. “This was my first ever president, and some people say it should have been my last.” He recalled being told he was the fourth choice to shoot the president at the time, but all of the more qualified photographers were out of town.

Platon was given eight minutes to complete the portrait and told to avoid shooting in his characteristic style, from below and with a wide lens. However, in the last 30 seconds of the shoot, “to the horror of [his] assistants, [he] put on the wide lens.” He slipped the single photo he took in this style with the rest of the more traditional portraits, and it ended up making the cover.

Platon described first hearing which photo was chosen when it appeared a CNN news report where Larry King and Bob Woodward called the “sexualization” of the president “disgusting.” He recalled looking over at his wife in horror as she told him, “There goes your Green Card application.”

Later, Platon photographed Barack Obama for his first Time cover right after Obama announced his candidacy for president. After winning the 2008 election, Obama invited Platon to the White House to photograph Michelle as well. This portrait

The photo of Bill Clinton that ended up being printed in Esquire.

courtesy Platon

“Recently, Platon has moved to photographing people outside of these places of power and prestige.” now hangs in the Smithsonian. The photo, Platon felt, was not about politics, but rather represented a significant cultural moment in history as Michelle Obama was the first African-American first lady. He recalls embarrassing himself in front of her when they met, to which she reassured him, “when all is said and done, I’m just Michelle.”

Although Platon has also photographed several notable American politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, George W. and George H.W. Bush, it was his portrait of Vladimir Putin that won him the World Press Photo Contest. For this shoot, Platon had expected to visit the Kremlin,

but was instead brought to Putin’s private estate where he was led in at gunpoint.

When he met the Russian president, he asked him, to the confusion of the servicemen present, whether he liked the Beatles.

Putin admitted he “love[d] the Beatles” and that his favorite song of theirs was “Yesterday.” Through this humorous question, Platon was able to connect to the Russian president and create a shockingly intimate image of “the cold face of power in Russia.”

With the connections Platon made at the Kremlin, he was able to pursue a project to photograph Edward Snowden. After being invited to meet Snowden, Platon had to reach out to these contacts to get a Visa to

enter the country. When he met Snowden, he asked him a question that had been burning in the minds of many Americans at the time: “Are you a patriot or a traitor?”

Snowden responded, telling Platon to not get too bogged down with labels. Posing with an American flag that Platon took to many of his shoots for good luck, Snowden explained that he felt a moral duty to exercise his own and others’ rights to debate about the state of the American government.

Platon made a name for himself by photographing political leaders, even achieving a monumental photo project by making 49 portraits of world leaders during the United Nations General Assembly. He has also worked with several notable pop culture icons such as Adele, Muhammad Ali and David Beckham. He photographed Ali shortly before his death, capturing a moment where he punched at the camera defiantly in spite of his suffering from Parkinson’s.

Recently, Platon has moved to photographing people outside of these positions of power and prestige. “I am now dedicated to amplifying their voices,” he told Nancy Bizjack in an interview for the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

As part of this mission, Platon has photographed victims of sexual assault in the Democratic Republic of Congo and worked with recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace prize, Dr. Denis Mukwege, a doctor who treats these women. Platon described to the audience that rape was used in the Congo as a weapon of control by militia gangs.

These gangs often fought for control over the semi-precious stones that are exported and used to create smartphones. Platon aims to use photography as a means to establish empathy for the victims of this system, reminding to the audience, “We are all stakeholders in this story.”

Using an intimate portrait style, Platon aims to establish personal connections between his subjects and the viewer. By engaging with powerful leaders like Putin or Obama, Platon encourages viewers to reconsider the role of politics in justice and the place of the individual in systems that suppress justice.

Remake culture pulls classic “Leaving Neverland” brings Disney to the 21st century a new light to old questions While others find issue with the wide swath of Disney remakes, they prove a welcome return to childhood nostalgia.

Lizzy Young Student Writer For the past few years, it feels like Disney has inundated the movie theater with remakes of classics. This year alone, Disney is releasing a remake of “Dumbo,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.” The question to ask is, are these remakes just worse versions of favorite classic stories churned out with the sole purpose of making money, or are they reminders of why we loved the originals?

Personally, I enjoy remakes. Not to say that I like all of them or that they aren’t cheesy and sometimes poorly redone, but I love the experience of seeing a childhood favorite movie remade.

When Disney released the newest “Aladdin” trailer, a group of my girlfriends and I got together and gushed about the new trailer. We dissected how close it was to the original and how weird it was to see Will Smith as the Genie.

Remakes are not just about nostalgia but about connecting with others. I didn’t know this group of friends when I was younger, but we all have fond memories of “Aladdin” that we can discuss and compare. When “Aladdin” comes out later this year, we are going to see it together.

Remakes are also nostalgic. They remind us of our childhoods and allow us to relive

that came out in the early 2000s, was modeled after a ‘60s movie. The Clooney and Pitt version is almost indisputably considered better than the original.

As far as Disney classics that have been remade, I personally think the new “Cinderella” is better than the original. I still love the classic version, but the Prince and Cinderella’s love story is better developed in the one with Lily James. Plus, the Prince is named Kit as opposed to the original, in which he is referred to only as Prince Charming.

Naming the prince Kit humanizes him as opposed to him being merely a stereotypical archetype. This allows for a healthier relationship where the two people coming together have personalities and flaws rather than one of them just being a caricature.

Remakes also allow for a more diverse and inclusive cast. For example, the “Ghostbusters” remake that came out a few years ago featured all female leads. Although that movie was critically panned and not considered even close to the original, it shows that remakes have the freedom to keep up with the changing times.

The “Beauty and the Beast” that came out a couple of years ago definitely includes a more diverse and inclusive cast. It is another example of how remakes can reflect changing values without compromising on storytelling.

Additionally, remakes of Disney princess movies have been criticized in the past for having weak female protagonists. In their remakes, they have rectified past mistakes and modernized their princesses by making

“I enjoy seeing the new spins on the classic story and how they update it for the modern world.” them again in a new way. Watching our memories personified and dance across the screen again allows them to live on and see favorite characters come to life once more.

Even if I don’t like the remake as much, I enjoy watching it and comparing it to the original. I enjoy seeing the new spins on the classic story and how they update it for the modern world.

There is always the hope that a remake might improve on the source material. Most don’t even come close to the original, but some exceed expectations.

For example, “Ocean’s 11,” the heist movie with George Clooney and Brad Pitt

them stronger female leads. Rather than just having a girl fall for the prince and need to be rescued, the new female protagonists do not just wait around. The Disney princess remakes seem to be attempting to portray healthier relationships.

I know one of the main reasons Disney is remaking classics is for the money, but I honestly don’t mind. I love looking forward to seeing my favorite characters portrayed in a new way. I’ve loved Disney movies ever since I can remember, and I will continue to see their remakes as long as they keep making them.

The incendiary documentary examines Michael Jackson with a critical lens.

Chris Lierly Apprentice Editor HBO and UK Channel 4 recently released “Leaving Neverland,” a documentary detailing the stories of two men who claim that pop star Michael Jackson sexually abused them as children. Both Wade Robson and James Safechuck met Jackson while working with the singer on different projects, after which he became close with the boys’ families. Those connections gave Jackson a way to keep in contact with the boys and to eventually form sexual relationships with them.

An interesting side-note is that Johnnie Cochran, the primary defense attorney for OJ Simpson in his murder trial, acted as Jackson’s defense lawyer in the first case that leveled pedophilia claims against the singer, and fellow OJ Simpson defense team alum Alan Dershowitz worked on Epstein’s defense team for his criminal case centered around his inappropriate relationships with underage teens.

What “Leaving Neverland” forces us to do is not just reevaluate the actions of people like Jackson, but to also consider personal and public decisions about how much new revelations should bear on what we may view as successful careers. This kind of reevaluation has been a major talking point for the revelations that the #MeToo move-

“‘Leaving Neverland’ ... opens conversations about sexual assualt awareness.”

Jackson’s alleged pedophilia is obviously appalling and no one holds more blame than him, but these accusations have been public knowledge for quite some time. What the documentary does a good job of exploring is just how wrapped up the boys’ parents were in the whole charade as well. They willingly let their sons sleep in Jackson’s bed and spend long periods of unsupervised time with the man. Whether through an unfathomable sense of heteronormativity or a naivete in light of the superstar’s presence, these parents displayed neglect for their own children to an extent that, according to the accounts of multiple people interviewed in the film, enabled a serial pedophile to molest them for years.

The documentary is pertinent to the current cultural moment since the allegations against Jackson predate revelations about similar high-profile wrongdoings committed by Catholic priests, Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky and financier Jeffrey Epstein. Though those cases have all faced considerable skepticism, the campaign by Jackson’s fans to discredit and shame his accusers was nothing short of monstrous.

It is impossible to know whether the formal allegations against Jackson would have been received differently had they come out later, but as with Anita Hill to the #MeToo movement, it is likely that Jackson’s accusers paved the way for those who would later come forward with allegations against the aforementioned figures.

ment has brought to light, but often, it is a hard decision to make.

Everyone has to personally decide whether the heinous actions of individuals make watching or listening to the media they produced immoral as well. However, the effects these scandals have on the public sphere are not as easy to deal with since it is not subject to the whims of one person. Forcing everyone to stop listening to Michael Jackson’s music is not a possibility, but that does not mean action should not be taken.

“Leaving Neverland” gives the public a way to talk about these awful things that have happened, and opens conversations about sexual assault awareness. Though not a panacea to fixing the problem, “Leaving Neverland” can at least bring the topic further away from the shadows where it was allowed to hide for so many years. Additionally, sharing information about the documentary with others is a subtle yet active way to make sure people you know are informed about the most impactful musician since the Beatles.

We cannot make meaningful choices about how we view Jackson’s legacy until the populace really understands the things he did. The country as a whole will have to decide whether or not we believe Jackson’s accusers before any kind of change in perspective on the icon is possible, but HBO has done something great by starting thousands of little conversations across the world.

11 March 2019

Variety

The Collegian: 9

Feeling bored? Play a board game

Sometimes you just gotta sit down and play a board game. Here’s a helpful list of some favorites.

Lizzy Young Student Writer

Board games are a classic, fun activity that will never go out of style. I take the opportunity to play board games at every possible occasion. Because of this, I know there are board games for whatever mood you are in. I have compiled a list of my favorite board games that will serve for every occasion.

Classic, Nostalgia Board Games Otherwise known as the board games that are guaranteed to bring back childhood memories.

Monopoly — Can you have a list of board games without including this classic?

Who doesn’t remember making their friends or siblings cry when you drained their bank accounts by putting a hotel on Boardwalk?

This purely American capitalist game will never go out of style.

The Game of Life — Another timeless game that I played all the time as a kid. I would happily become a doctor, get married, have some kids, live in a $600,000 mansion and retire to Millionaire Estates in the space of half an hour. I recommend playing this game to reminisce about that time in childhood when you thought your life was going to be that simple and debt free.

Clue — The classic whodunnit murder mystery game where the answer changes every time. I used to play this with my dad and sister every Friday night as a kid. It still never gets old trying to figure out who did it. I say Mr. Green with the wrench in the drawing room!

Party Board Games If you are having a gathering with any large group of people, pull these out along with some snacks and drinks, and you are sure to have a blast.

Catch Phrase — The great thing about this game is that it is portable and you don’t need a table — just an even number of people. The more the merrier. You try to get your teammates to guess what word you have by giving them clues. Hilarity, frustration and arguments about how many skips

of quick thinking as well as how successful you are at arguing whether your answer fits the category.

Strategy Games If you are in the mood to really think about the game you are playing, these are for you.

courtesy The Daily Courier

and which team had the game when the buzzer went off will ensue.

Apples to Apples — As the name implies, this is a game about comparison. Who will be able to provide the thing that is closest to the adjective “efficacious”? Will it be bon-bons, ghosts or Jack Nicholson? One person decides who will win the round, and so people campaign for their cards and tailor cards to that particular person.

The Game of Things — What are things that you would use the Force on? Answer the question and then try to guess what other people wrote. It’s a game about memory and how good you are at reading people.

Scattergories — Roll the letter dice, get an R. Now write your list with things only beginning with R; a boy’s name, a type of sandwich, a pro sports team. But try to think outside of the box — you don’t want to answer the same as other people. It’s a game

Ticket to Ride — In this game, you are trying to get from one city in the U.S. to another by train. Collect the number of trains you need and cross your fingers hope that people don’t take your routes before you.

It’s a game of blocking others, picking your routes wisely and trying to get the longest train for the extra points.

Settlers of Catan — The landscape of this game changes with each game play because you build the land of Catan each time.

Then you battle the other players for resources, build your kingdom and strategize to outlast the others. It’s a game of alliances, utilizing resources and ruthlessness. Careful who you play with, for you may make some enemies with your cutthroat strategizing.

Azul — This is a game where you are trying to build your city out of mosaic tiles.

Build smartly to get the most points by paying attention to the number of tiles and try-

ing to force your opponent to get negative points. But mainly I play for the beautiful shapes on the tiles.

Unusual Games My personal favorite category. These games don’t really fit into the other categories but are really fun.

Cash ’n Guns — or as my friend refers to it as, “Guns and Roses.” In this game, the players are thieves who have just robbed a museum and are fighting about dividing up the loot. The goal of the game is to get the most plunder and not get killed by your opponents. Ready, on the count of three, holdup.

Werewolf – Werewolves are in the midst of villagers. The goal for the werewolves is to kill and not be killed, while the villagers try to catch the werewolves. Everyone draws a card to assign roles, and nobody knows who is who. Commence a round and let the lies, accusations and arguments begin.

Perfect Wedding — This is a game from the ’90s, and I have yet to meet someone else who has heard of it. This game is a little girl’s dream. The idea is to get all the items needed for a wedding like a wedding dress, venue, honeymoon, etc. and get down the aisle before the other players. It is a great game to play for girls night! Although you can’t find it in stores anymore, you can still get it on eBay. Who Will Win? — Who would win a dogsledding race between Batman or James Bond? This is an example of one of the ridiculous arguments you have to win in this game. Two players draw a celebrity and a challenge card, and then they try to convince the other players why their celebrity would beat the other one in the contest. As a result, you might argue that Barack Obama would be a better hairdresser than Wayne Gretzky because he styled Michelle Obama’s hair for all state occasions.

I hope this list inspires you to grab some friends and get a game night together.

graphic by Conner Maggio

Board games are good clean fun.

TU professor presents findings in anthropology lecture Dr. Lindstrom discussed his time living with the people of Tanna and his study of their language.

Piper Prolago Apprentice Editor TU’s National Collegiate Honors Society for Anthropology hosted a lecture by Dr. Lamont Lindstrom about sociolinguistics in Polynesia on Wednesday, March 6. The lecture, titled “Sociolinguistics on Tanna: Disputes, The Apocalypse and More,” encompassed Lindstrom’s specific research in Vanuatu and the applications of linguistic anthropology outside of academic settings.

Lindstrom started by defining the field of linguistic studies. A prominent anthropologist, Franz Boas, explored this idea in his research on North America. Studying the culture of various tribes of Native Americans, Boas set out to document languages that he believed would be wiped out by colonization. Beyond documenting endangered languages, though, linguistics provides a way to understand the human brain and a lens through which to view human culture.

Vanuatu is a nation in the South Pacific comprised of dozens of islands. The country is commonly studied by linguists because

learn Bislama. While he could ask people who lived there questions with a translator, he described that they often spoke differently to each other in their daily lives. The exchange of information here was what Lindstrom was more interested in. He described that “the eavesdropping capacity is what the anthropologist really wants.” To do this, he had to learn the language himself. After nine months, Lindstrom could understand Bislama, but he told the audience that it took two years for him to really be comfortable with the grammar.

Being able to understand languages spoken by the people of Tanna enabled Lindstrom to start researching. One idea he explored was that English and the presence of Christian missionaries had infected native languages. He recorded groups of people during conflict dispute meetings where they would code-switch, or move between multiple languages. Here, he found that a small percentage, only about four-to-eight percent, of the words chosen were Bislama.

Further, these words were often used in a euphemistic way. Speakers would choose a word like “bastard” to avoid saying mean things in the native language.

Another idea that Lindstrom discussed in his study of conflict disputes was the way that metaphors play in a person’s under-

“Speakers would choose a word like ‘bastard’ to avoid saying mean things in the native language.” of its wide variety of languages; around 130 are estimated to be spoken across the islands. Lindstrom studied on the island of Tanna specifically, where there are six different languages spoken. He focused on Bislama, a type of pidgin English that combines various native languages with English and some French.

When he moved to Tanna for his studies in anthropology, Lindstrom had to quickly

standing of arguments. In the United States, Lindstrom said, people use the metaphor of argument as a war. They describe claims as “indefensible” or opponents “attacking” each other. While these seem like reasonable ways to describe conflict, this is not the case in Tanna where they use metaphors of journeys and travel instead. Rather than clashing against each other, arguments were closed once the two opposing sides had rea-

Dr. Lamont Lindstrom.

soned their way to a resolution that suited both sides. This, Lindstrom taught, makes sense for people who don’t have a mediator.

There isn’t a judge to decide who is right, so any resolution has to be made with both parties satisfied.

In his discussion of metaphors in speech, Lindstrom brought up the role of linguistics in politics. George Lakoff, a left-leaning linguist, wrote about the verbiage used to describe family dynamics. Lakoff asserts that shifting diction could significantly alter reception of politicians’ ideas. This is something seen in naming of bills like the “Death Tax,” which actually deals with estate inheritance, that infuses a specific tone.

Similarly, the naming of movements like “Pro-Life” seem to imply the opposition would be “Pro-Death.” Linguistic decisions in politics continue to subtly sway public opinion and the reception of ideas.

Lindstrom also explored the effects that a translated Bible had on contemporary religious movements in Tanna. He draws simi-

courtesy University of Tulsa

larities in words and ideas between the Book of Revelation and the contemporary John Frum movement that is a dominant religion in Tanna today. For example, the Book of Revelation emphasizes tradition and nature.

The John Frum movement uses this idea but applies it to colonialism, admonishing the traditions of the white missionaries and advocating for a return to native values and traditions. Lindstrom discussed the way that linguistics, in a translation of the Bible to Bislama, played a pivotal role in the development of Tanna’s culture.

Lindstrom’s research on the sociolinguistics of Tanna sheds lights on notable facets of language that also function within American society. Linguistics provide a lens to understand politics and religion through history. By providing anthropological tools to study ourselves and others, Lindstrom delivered an informative and thought-provoking lecture about the applications of sociolinguistics.

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State-Run media Teacher shortage and institutional racism? What a drag.

“Ye Olde” racism absent from historical store People flock to this unique antique store that only sells progressive historical items.

Brennen Gray Racism Novice An antique store by the name of Ye Olde Shoppe in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been found to not carry a single racist product.

While many Americans won’t care, since it is acceptable for antique shops to have racist merchandise in this country, the anomaly of Ye Olde Shoppe is ground-breaking. This is the first time in American history where we’ve seen such a profound level of minority acceptance.

It all started when noted antique collector James C. Calhoun happened across the store when visiting his family in town.

“The store looked real quaint, like they sell expensive historical junk to wealthy white people. And since that means it can get away with racism, I felt like it was the place for me,” said Calhoun.

But after searching the store for over five hours, Calhoun noticed something was wrong. “I kept looking through the piles of old lamps, dilapidated furniture and other junk, and I came up with nothing,” he said.

“It was awful.”

Calhoun expressed his discontentment with the owner, Jonathan B. Goodman, who gave an official statement. “We will not disclose whether the omission of offensive merchandise was intentional for fear of losing some of our patrons. However, we would like to point out that we would have no reason to do so, considering no one seems to care either way.”

Regardless of what the store says, many were shocked at the lack of memorabilia that has been demeaning to black Americans in the country for years. The coin banks, propaganda posters and products with racially stereotyping advertisements were nowhere to be found.

Sales at Ye Olde Shoppe have actually been helped by the news. Young people from around the country have been flocking to the shop to enjoy the experience of buying ancient objects without having to see a caricature of a Japanese person during made WWII. The shop was also innocent of selling non-Native-made products that are used almost exclusively for tobacco consumption.

Local antique enthusiast Bill Antler gave a comment on this lack of racial slurs. “I didn’t know it was bad,” said Antler.

A large group of antique enthusiasts have organized a boycott to attempt to offset the business boom at Ye Olde Shoppe. The rea-

New advertising flaunts the store’s inclusive reputation.

son? Some worry that with the lack of racism in just one or two successful antique stores, the entire industry may suddenly be discouraged to sell objects that offend minorities in a myriad of heinous ways.

Racism expert Earl Stanton commented on the issue and what it means for the indus-

graphic by Conner Maggio

try. “At the end of the day, maybe it is just okay that people move on.”

Upon further inspection, a crowd of tourists accidently knocked down a fake wall, revealing all the racist memorabilia from the store safely hidden away. Even in antique stores, some things just don’t get old.

Drag race protest tries Teacher shortage solved by turning to students to sway campus minds After a controversial rule outlawed drag racing and engine revving, people switched to a new form of protest.

Hannah Robbins *Tongue Pop* Let’s face it — everyone on campus knew it was coming. Maybe no one was expecting this kind of drag race, but with all the frustration on campus, something was bound to happen. It all started when some of our favorite shadowy board of trustees members (strong-armed by Clancy, as usual) decided to finally put a stop to all the late night revving of engines. How did they do that, in their infinite wisdom? By outlawing drag racing, of course.

For some reason, this didn’t sit well with some students on campus. Jake Jones, a petroleum engineer from St. Louis, couldn’t stand it. “Look, honestly, it’s just a struggle to figure out what to do now to show that I have a fabulous car in the most obnoxious way possible. I just don’t know how to make sure everyone knows I’m not driving some wimpy Honda Accord or something.”

Jones’s frustration seemed to be a common concern, and herds of students decided they had to do something to protest this ridiculous decision from Clancy. It took them a while to decide (everyone started talking over each other and repeating ideas that others said to take credit), but eventually, they came up with an interesting solution. Since TU students couldn’t drag

race cars anymore, they decided to take a page from RuPaul and have another kind.

The night of the protest came, and after much squeezing into six-inch heels and tucking, the queens were ready.

The rules were simple: the queens had to race around the Old U twice, swing by the Norman Clubhouse, then hit up Kep (where they spend all their time), backtrack to Helmerich (their home), make a lap around Mabee Gym and finally run into the fountain

by Mayo. At specific points along the way, the queens also had to make noises that imitated the cars they could no longer rev.

The race was fierce, with Jones (going by Queen Bee in drag) leading the way for most of the race, but as he had to imitate his 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T, he struggled. Soon after, it was accounting and finance major John Smith III (who goes by Ms. Angel in drag) who pulled ahead. His sparkly heels seemed to be as comfortable as the loafers he wore every day, but as he reached the edge of the fountain, he tripped. In a surprise finish, it was a Pike computer science major James Harold (drag name: Royal Highness) who finished in first.

Speaking about his win, Harold said, “Look, I know that I look fabulous as hell here, but there is a point to my win.

Obviously, you should all come to Pike tonight, but also we stood up for what we believed in. Sure, you might see the heels and sexy dresses first, but more than anything, we are just a bunch of bros who want to be able to drag race. Surely Clancy can see that we’re right, right? There’s no way he won’t repeal the rule now!”

graphic by Conner Maggio Students in drag racing past McFarlin Library in the most fashionable protest on campus.

With teachers leaving the profession across the nation, local schools find an alternative way for students to get their education.

Thomas von Borstel Home Schooled Himself On Friday, March 9, the announcement was made to resounding applause. Oklahoma students are going to have the best student-to-teacher ratio in the nation: 1:0.

Dubbed an unprecedented, unconventional turn in the already sporadic timeline of Oklahoma education, students will be given the ultimate personal learning experience.

The state superintendent released a statement early Saturday morning, citing research conducted through a government funded agency dubbed the “protege effect.”

The implication of this study is that students will have a richer learning experience as teachers themselves.

As laid out in the recent documentation, students will neither be given any teacher

The student-directed approach is growing more and more popular in the United States.

Research has affirmed that students learn better when they take responsibilities for their own studies. Many times, one could walk into a classroom and see a teacher seated quietly on their phone while the students work.

The anticipation for this new style of education is that students will learn what they desire, motivating intensive, interactive learning. Schools are already posting footage of their students’ classroom lectures as evidence of their effectiveness.

One recently uploaded was titled “The Ultimate 360 No Scope: Victory Royale in the Millennia of the Storm.”

As the teacher shortage increases and budgets tighten, states everywhere are having to turn to the new employment opportunities that school-age children provide for the nation. One unnamed administrator stated, “For years, we have let these [redacted] run around willy-nilly, hiring people to yell at them — well, now the [redacted] can duke it out by themselves.”

“Along with this new legislation, a discreet clause was included providing a 100 percent increase in district and state administrative positions.” training nor direct instruction. Instead, schools will hire a single administrator known as the “arbitrator.” As students arrive at school, they will enter a full-body scanner. Students will be expected to fill any administrative or extracurricular roles the school needs to operate.

Following the bell, all classrooms will be locked behind the students. A camera will be installed in each room for security purposes, but the learning will be completely facilitated by the students themselves.

Students will need to elect roles amongst themselves as well as assign classroom time to different instructional practices amongst the learners themselves. The valedictorian system will be replaced with a system being dubbed the “Battle Royale” method, in which the last student standing in the classroom will be given the top honors in their class.

Many parents have expressed outrage on social media, beseeching the Oklahoma Department of Education to “not be irresponsible” or “outrageous.” One parent ranted, “SENDING MY KID TO PRIVATE SCHOOL.” State officials responded with a brief statement saying, “The research is strong.”

Students interviewed at local Tulsa schools praise the decision, with one stating, “No one takes attendance, so I never go to school! It’s lit.”

Along with this new legislation, a discreet clause was included, providing a 100 percent increase in district and state administrative positions. Additionally, an exclusive resort for state officials will be built using surplus funds in Oklahoma City as the new therapeutic branch of the Oklahoma Education Department.