April 17 by MediaOCU

THE“CAMPUS

April 17, 2019 – Volume 112 Issue 25

Officials conduct 'sexual respect' survey Emily Wollenberg

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

University officials are assessing sexual assault response and prevention on campus. Student affairs officials sent an email to the campus community April 1 with a link to a sexual respect survey and information about its purpose. The survey closes May 3. “April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and OCU is conducting an anonymous survey of our students to assess their experiences,” the email read. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, according to the email. Students who complete the survey may enter themselves in a drawing for a $100 OCU bookstore gift card. Officials have distributed the survey annually since 2014, said Joey Croslin, vice president for human resources and Title IX coordinator. “It’s a long-term effort to try to raise awareness of sexual assault,” she said. “It’s a community effort to try to eradicate those types of behaviors.” Officials want to ensure they are meeting students’ needs for sexual assault awareness, Croslin said. “We try to assess the prevalence of sexual assault on our campus in an effort to ensure that we’re providing appropriate prevention, programming and education,” she said. Croslin said the survey was made to be sensitive to those who may have experienced sexual assault. “We make sure to provide resources within the survey so that if people who are taking the survey need to connect with resources or make a report, they can do that,” she said. OCU’s survey was modeled off of a survey conducted by MIT, Croslin said. The results will be compared to previous years to determine trends and help update programming and training, Croslin said. “We look at that every year to make sure it’s still going to meet our needs,” she said. Students should take the survey to share their perspectives and experiences, Croslin said.

I hope it will make students aware of their own actions and make them a little more confident to stand up if they see something. Taylor Downey religion sophomore

“I hope that all students will participate, and not just students who have experienced some type of sexual assault, so that we can better assess what the climate is and what our students’ attitudes and behaviors are around these issues,” she said. Sabrina Bartley, psychology freshman, said the survey was thorough, covered a variety of situations students might face and was sensitive about the issue. “The trigger warnings were good and informative,” she said. Bartley said she supports that university officials are assessing the campus climate. “I think it’s very important that OCU is having a survey like this so that we can better understand the environment of our university and gauge how welcoming and understanding we are to survivors, as well as to gauge how educated we are on sexual assault and similar matters,” she said. Gabriela Bastidas, design and production freshman, said she was disappointed with the survey. “Instead of an interrogation, which was what the survey felt like, student affairs should have given more questions concerning how OKCU itself could improve its response to sexual assault,” she said. Bastidas said she appreciated the trigger warnings, but felt some sections were too in-depth. “I do feel that certain sections were unnecessarily detailed and invasive,” she said. “It also would have been more useful to focus on feedback regarding what the students feel the university

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is doing right and wrong.” Taylor Downey, religion sophomore and Title IX program coordinator, said the survey includes questions about an individual’s personal experience with assault or how an individual might react in a situation involving sexual assault. The questions also address how each gender would react to a situation and how alcohol impacts sexual assault, she said. “I hope it will make students aware of their own actions and make them a little more confident to stand up if they see something,” she said. Officials also will be able to add more sexual assault awareness and prevention programming because there is a new campus civil rights investigator, Downey said. “I’m looking forward to what’s to come next year,” she said. Kristi Pendleton was hired as the new civil rights investigator and filled in the Title IX investigator position after Remy Barnett resigned in February. Pendleton said her new position includes investigating all areas protected under the non-discrimination policy in addition to investigating Title IX cases. “It is more inclusive than just looking at the Title IX investigation piece,” Pendleton said. She said she wants students to feel safe at the university and take the non-discrimination policy seriously. “I want students to know who I am and know that I am approachable,” she said. The OCU community has a strong awareness of sexual assault but can always improve, Downey said. “The fact that we still have Title IX cases means there’s still work to be done and however good our community is now about standing out, speaking out against assault, we can always be better,” she said. Students with questions about the survey may email Kelly Williams, director for institutional research for the university, at kwilliams@okcu.edu.

Elina Moon Student Publications

Nice work if you can get it Left: Cole Cloutier, music theater senior, and Cami Benton, music theater junior, play “Bobby Child” and “Polly Baker” in Wanda L. Bass School of Music's final mainstage production of Crazy For You. The show is a romantic comedy with music by George and Ira Gershwin. It tells the story of a small town in Nevada that puts on a show to save a theater. Above: Cole Cloutier, music theater senior, and the follies girls perform I Can’t Be Bothered Now in the production Crazy For You. The musical had performances April 12-14 in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.

Fiji fraternity disbands due to low membership Emily Jones

AD DIRECTOR

Phi Gamma Delta members dissolved their OCU chapter earlier this month at the encouragement of their headquarters. Fiji members have considered closing the chapter since December 2018. Dexter Hudson, music and Fiji alumnus, said their headquarters requested a chapter review and recommended they dissolve the chapter. Fiji was established as a colony at OCU in 2010 and chartered in 2015. Hudson said he was at the April meeting where members voted to discontinue the chapter. He said the brothers agreed it was the best decision for the chapter and its members. “It’s our job to give them the fraternity experience,” Hudson said. “We don’t have the resources to provide that.” Carlos Sanchez, English senior and Fiji president, agreed that the stress of the decision affected members negatively. “Our graduate adviser suggested that we give it until Spring Break, see if we could recruit more guys, and, if we didn’t, we could have another meeting to discuss it more seriously,” he said. Fiji gained two new members this year through fall and spring

M MEDIAOCU.com

We're all brothers, and, even if we're not, we're still friends. We're still going to hang out.

Carlos Sanchez English senior

recruitments. Fiji had 10 members at the end of the fall semester, compared to Lambda Chi Alpha with 53 members and Kappa Sigma with 45. Hudson said Fiji served as a “niche fraternity” on campus. “They could just come and be themselves. They knew that from day one,” he said. When the members received the first suggestion from headquarters to review the chapter, their faculty adviser encouraged them to wait a semester to decide. Sanchez said despite losing their chapter, the brothers will not lose contact with each other.

“We’re all brothers, and, even if we’re not, we’re still friends. We’re still going to hang out,” he said. The members planned to host one last game night at the end of the semester, but there were too many conflicts with other events, Sanchez said. Despite Fiji’s inability to gain enough new members to sustain their chapter, Levi Harrel, director of student engagement, wants to bring in another Greek men’s organization to campus in Fall 2020. Harrel said the Interfraternity Council will vote about the matter and, if approved, Harrel will contact organizations to petition. Having a third organization on campus helps to temper the rivalry between Kappa Sigma and Lambda Chi Alpha, Harrel said. “I think a third organization balances out this community,” Harrel said. “We are a community of fraternity men, and, though our affiliations may be different, at the end of the day, we stand for the same values.”

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opinion Student input on sexual respect survey helpful to ensure proper response University officials are re-examining the way sexual assault is handled at OCU through a survey to the campus community about “sexual respect.” But, for the survey to bring any real change, students must respond to it. The survey was sent to the campus community via email April 1. It will be open until May 5. See Page 1 for more on the survey. Consent is the foundation of any relationship, but both partners need to understand what consent means. The Oklahoma Daily, the University of Oklahoma’s student newspaper, published a series of columns discussing healthy relationships, sex lives and consent. “Consent is the presence of a ‘yes,’ not the absence of a ‘no,’” a March 31 column read. This is a good perspective to have. Consent is a voluntary and enthusiastic expression, and it

also can be signaled through body language. While this may seem obvious to many, some students need to think more consciously about the decisions they make in sexual encounters. Sexual assault and rape are common at colleges and universities, and this is why the sexual respect survey needs to be taken seriously. It’s important that students take the survey to ensure officials have a diverse set of opinions about OCU’s perceptions of sexual respect. If students don’t voice their thoughts or opinions, the university can’t make changes to Title IX programming or training to benefit the campus community. Students must have a say in programming that could directly impact their lives. If a student experiences any form of assault, they shouldn’t have to experience neglect or refusal from higher-ups, be put in classes with their assaulter or

Talk Back “If you could give a TED talk, what would it be about?”

deal with grievances with the Title IX system on top of the trauma they experience from the assault itself. Sadly, these are fears that many, if not all, survivors of campus sexual assault live with. For students to receive the best care possible in these situations and get justice for what was done to them, they should communicate their thoughts through the survey and answer the questions honestly. Officials should use the information to continue updating programming and ensure students have the resources available to them in any traumatic situation. Students also should always be conscious of their actions and ensure consent is at the forefront of any physical contact.

"Getting up to go to brunch and the importance of that" Austin Gipson-Black political science senior

"Racism"

Kira Gotcher dance freshman

"Giving a TED talk"

"Climate change"

Nathan LeBlanc music theater freshman

Hailey Terrell psychology sophomore

"Helping the environment— we're not doing a lot right now"

"Dungeons and dragons, and narrative structure"

Ashton Denham cell and molecular biology junior

Carlos Sanchez English senior

Columnist reflects on music career of pop singer Harry Styles As the semester comes to a close, so does my time with Student Publications. I learned a lot in the two semesters that I spent writing news and opinion columns. It’s been an honor to share some of my pop culture opinions with the campus community, and, because of that, I’d like to dedicate my final column to my favorite topic of discussion—Harry Styles. I’m not the first person to write about Styles. Publications big and small have featured the artist in think-pieces and opinion columns that examine his influences on popular culture, the music industry and fandom. Styles has been interviewed by Paul McCartney and Cameron Crowe, he’s hosted The Late Late Show

with James Corden (yes, hosted), played a major role in hit movie Dunkirk, and toured the world on a multi-leg tour. Journalists are quick to comment on who he’s dating or what color he’s painting his nails, but Styles himself seems to focus on political and human rights issues, from the stickers on his guitar (pride flags, Black Lives Matter and End Gun Violence Now) to his charitable donations (a different organization for each city on his tour). But somehow, even though everyone seems to be talking about him, there’s always more to be said. Since 2010, Styles has been in the public eye as a member of One Direction, the pop music boy band that competed

Amanda Miller is an English senior from Kansas City. She likes pop culture, glitter and iced coffee.

on the UK’s X-Factor television contest. One Direction was a huge part of my life for the time that they were together (2010-15). My high school days were spent keeping up with the band members’ tweets in between classes and learning their mediocre choreography from videos and vlogs. Even at OCU, I spent most of my initial sorority recruitment talking about the music video for Drag Me Down with Mary McLain,

film senior, and the band’s final (and best) album, Made In the A.M., could be heard all throughout the third floor of Walker Hall dormitory thanks to Rachel Necessary, acting senior, and myself. Styles transitioned seamlessly from being the long-haired member of One Direction to a solo career where he was front and center at all times. Thanks to him, the last few years of my life were spent attending

multiple concerts, traveling on cross-country road trips, hosting birthday parties and Saturday Night Live viewings on his behalf, holding Twitter conversations with fans from across the world, and even getting themed tattoos. April 7 marked the two-year anniversary of Sign of the Times, the leading single from Stlyes’s selftitled album. Since then, I’ve finished two challenging years of college, worked multiple jobs and even studied abroad, but I could always come back to the album with the pink flowers on the cover. Styles’s magic is that he has created a community that spans across the world. His “Treat People With Kindness” logo can be seen on laptops, water bottles

and shirts across campus as well. Because of Styles, I’ve met so many people, seen so many new places and learned so many things about what matters most in life. I’m grateful that I get to be part of a movement that brings people together with a core value of just being a nice, kind person. So, what’s next? Styles is cohosting the Met Gala on May 6, and I have a feeling that the next few months will see the release of a new song or album from him. For me? I’ll graduate May 4, and I’ll start to figure out the real world, post-OCU. I have a feeling it will be challenging and rewarding in ways that I have yet to imagine, but I feel excited knowing that most things are possible. Thank you

Film critic discusses changed opinions of past reviewed films I’ve lampooned and worshipped a variety of movies on this page, but, for my final column with Student Publications, it’s time I took another look at some of these films in retrospect. Opinions change as the individual does, so let’s revisit some of the films I reviewed and have since changed my mind about. 1. mother! In my original review for this 2017 surreal psychological horror film, I praised it for its originality and allusions to all kinds of storytelling, specifically Gothic tales, Victorian romances, classical mythology, and the Bible. But, on second viewing, I was forced to reexamine this idea, and it didn’t

take long for me to see that it actually only pulls from one story, the Bible. The fact that it’s a horror film suggests there may be some Gothic overtones, and the main characters being a couple brings a hint of romance, of course, but by no means does this make it a story of those respective styles. In fact, the “horror” label is a meaningless genre-tag in this case because there’s no real emphasis on fear or any kind of horror tradition. It seems more like the filmmakers just didn’t know what else to call it. Meanwhile, mother! rides the biblical allegory so hard it’s painful to watch, and Director Darren Aronofsky beats you over the head with unsubtle “hints” as to what the hidden

Chandler White is an English senior from Meeker, Oklahoma. He likes Gothic horror and good hip-hop.

meaning is. Once you find the allegory, though, the film doesn’t really do anything beyond simply reenact Scripture, making mother! a one-step process. You find the allegory, you solve the one-dimensional riddle, then it’s over. All done. Everyone go home. Why Aronofsky didn’t take the same innovative approach in this movie as he did in his masterpiece Black Swan, I don’t know.

2. Halloween (1978) At the end of the day, I can’t be too hard on Halloween. In my original review, I tore this thing to shreds for its cardboard acting, its fauxnostalgic bad filmmaking and its way of embodying all the worst qualities of the slasher genre, which is second only to comedy horror in being my least favorite subgenre. But, I don’t think I gave the thematic content of Halloween

enough credit. The film pioneered American horror symbolism, perfect with a white picket fence backdrop, and it took the virginal innocence of Gothic maidens and turned it into your everyday American teenager. I ripped apart the same teenagers for their bad, awkward and just plain strange acting performances, but there are actually moments where it feels intentionally surreal, almost like a David Lynch movie, drawing the viewer into the eerie oddity of everyday life. Many technical elements, too, are worth considering. Forty years later, the iconic score is still timelessly chilling and smartly executed, speeding up with the rising level of fear in a scene like a heartbeat. All

the while the cinematography keeps the focus character constantly at the edge of the frame, so the viewer is completely powerless to see what will appear next. The score admittedly gives away the scare before it happens sometimes, but hell, it’s still suspenseful as all get out. I still roll my eyes at slasher films, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Halloween is no exception to that, but it did turn me on to the genre a little bit more, and there’s something to be said for that. But those sex scenes will always be terrible. 3. Pet Sematary It’s only been a week, but I somehow hate this movie even more.

Campus Calendar Calendar items must be received in the Newsroom or stupub@okcu.edu by noon Friday for inclusion in the following Wednesday issue.

TODAY World Voice Day Celebration from 2-4 p.m. in Medium Rehearsal Hall, the atrium and the vocal lab in Wanda L. Bass Music Center THURSDAY Chapel service at 1 p.m. in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

Guest Artist Recital: Dr. Vanessa Cunha from 5-6 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center OCU Brass Chamber Recital from 7:30-9 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center Weekly Play Club meeting at 7

p.m. in the Honors Lounge in Gold Star Memorial Building FRIDAY Good Friday - No classes after noon OCU 2019 Annual Easter Egg Hunt from 10:30 a.m. to noon on the Quad Lawn

Baseball vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State University at 6 p.m. in Jim Wade Stadium Softball vs. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma at 5 and 7 p.m. in Ann Lacy Stadium

OCU in Recital: The Five Star Wind Quintet from 6-7 p.m. in Small Rehearsal Hall in Wanda L. Bass Music Center

SATURDAY Baseball vs. Oklahoma Pan-

TUESDAY Softball vs. Bacone College at 2

THE CAMPUS

Web Editor: Jessica Vanek Staff Writers: Luke Barrett, MaKayla Baxter, Erik Hamilton, Francesca Iacovacci, Hope Melton, Dru Norton Columnists: Caroline Hawthorne, Amanda Miller Photographers: Carolann Stout, Kylie Sullivan, Hope Melton, Clara Foster

and 4 p.m. in Ann Lacy Stadium Music Assembly at 1 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center Wind Philharmonic Season Finale Concert at 7:30 p.m. in Petree Recital Hall in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

The Campus has served the Oklahoma City University community since 1907. It is published Wednesday during the academic year, with the exception of holidays and exam periods.

April 17, 2019, Volume 112, Issue 25

Editor-in-chief: Nicole Waltman Associate Editor: Emily Wollenberg Copy Editor: Chandler White Associate Copy Editor: Paul Dower Photo Editor: Elina Moon Community Manager: Maddie Bowes

handle State University at 1 and 3:30 p.m. in Jim Wade Stadium

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Videographer: Emily Haan Ad Director: Emily Jones Faculty Adviser: Kenna Griffin

ters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include the writer’s phone number, address, major, and classification. The staff reserves the right to edit all letters. The staff also reserves the right to refuse letters without explanation. Letters can be sent online at mediaocu.com, emailed to stupub@ okcu.edu or dropped off at the Newsroom in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences. Submitted items may appear on MediaOCU and in the print edition.

April 17, 2019

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news

Guest professor to teach honors program course Luke Barrett

STAFF WRITER

A guest professor is teaching an honors program course next semester. Dr. Philip M. Silverman is a retired research scientist and former program chairman of molecular and cell biology at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. He previously worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He retired in January 2010. Silverman will teach an honors junior-senior seminar titled “A Brief History of Science,” a play on Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Silverman said the history of science will include prehistory, the classical Greek thinkers, the Italian Renaissance, and the factors that mythology, religion and perception of the world have played in the creation of science and scientific theory through time. “I can’t imagine why anybody should consider himself or herself educated in the liberal arts without a knowledge of how we have come to perceive the world. By world, I mean the world of sensory phenomena, the objects and phenomena of the natural world, how we have come to view them the way that we have,” he said. Silverman said humanity’s way to view the world is its greatest achievement. Silverman said the idea for this course came from teaching a seminar about creativity at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. He began thinking about whether historical scientists were creative, which caused him to think about the history

I have worked with many outstanding scientists, and he is exceptional in his ability to communicate science. Dr. Helen Gaudin

associate dean/professor of biology Petree College of Arts and Sciences

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of science, he said. Silverman said he hopes students learn two ideas from the course: the unique status of humans as the only species to ask “why” and “how,” and the nature of humans to assert patterns and regularities on the world because we can’t stand chaos. “If these students don’t walk away with anything else, I hope they will walk away with the notion that we live in a knowable world, and most important of all, we live in a world that is worth knowing, and in part, it is because it is a world that is beautiful. I think that’s an underestimated motivation for scientific exploration,” he said. Dr. Helen Gaudin, associate dean of Petree College of Arts and Sciences and professor of biology, said she studied with Silverman at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and introduced him to Dr. Karen Youmans, director of the university honors program and associate professor of English. Gaudin said Silverman has been interested in teaching since 1990 and is passionate about explaining science to non-scientists,

which is beneficial since many scientists lack the skill. “I have worked with many outstanding scientists, and he is exceptional in his ability to communicate science. We are fortunate to have him,” she said. Silverman’s work as a scientific researcher and his interests in the subject make him a fit for the interdisciplinary goals of the honors program’s courses, Youmans said. “His experience in the field coupled with his broad commitment to the liberal arts makes him ideal for this class, so one thing he’ll be bringing to the students in the class is just his vast experience as a researcher,” Youmans said. Vladislav Izda, cell and molecular biology junior and member of the honors student council, said Silverman visited campus for an honors enrollment party and distributed copies of the course’s syllabus. Izda said he is excited to take the class because of Silverman’s experience. “It would be a great privilege to learn from somebody like him,” he said. “It’s what every scientist aspires to be someday.” All honors students are required to take a junior-senior seminar as a capstone course for the honors program. The history of science course is full, and will be taught 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the fall. While honors students have primary enrollment, non-honors students interested in an honors course may request to be admitted by enrolling on a waiting list if they have a GPA of 3.5 or more.

Theater students bring stage combat group back to campus Francesca Iacovacci

STAFF WRITER

Four theater students revived an organization to learn and practice stage combat skills. Fight Club was previously run by the School of Theatre and taught by Luke Eddy, movement and stage combat instructor. The club stopped meeting in January because of difficulties finding a time everyone could meet together, said Duke Bartholomae, acting sophomore. After a few months without the club, Bartholomae, Callie Dewees, acting senior, and Kylie Sullivan and Tessa Neeno, theatre and performance sophomores, took action. “We are now a student organization with Luke Eddy as our supervisor,” Bartholomae said. “This means we can meet more often, and it allows students to share what they know about stage combat in a big wealth of knowledge.” Hannah Hamel, acting sophomore, said, despite having a previous background of 10 years of martial arts experience, she

I look forward to getting experience, learning how to safely choreograph fights and going to The Boil. Hannah Hamel acting sophomore

is still learning new things in Fight Club. “I look forward to getting experience, learning how to safely choreograph fights and going to The Boil,” she said. The Boil is an annual stage combat workshop hosted by Tech Theatre Players at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. This year’s workshop will take place Friday and Saturday. Students attending the conference will travel by vans, Hamel said.

After attending the workshop last year, Bartholomae said he and his peers knew they wanted to continue Fight Club on campus. He said they plan to share what they learn at the conference with the student organization. “I’m excited about being able to have this organization potentially grow into something much bigger,” Bartholomae said. “Most shows have some aspect of stage combat, so understanding how it works is really important.” Fight Club is open to all students who want to learn more about stage combat. To stay updated, students may visit the “OCU Fight Club” page on Facebook for information regarding meetings and events. Editor’s Note: Kylie Sullivan is a photographer for Student Publications. She did not participate in the writing or editing of this story.

Professor works to bring law club back to campus in the fall Caroline Hawthorne

STAFF WRITER

A philosophy professor is working to revive the pre-law club. The club originally began in 1985, but ended in 2015, after Larry Eberhardt, former chairman of the political science department, retired. Dr. Nathan Ross, philosophy and rhetoric department chairman, is trying to get it started again. “The club might officially still exist, but it isn’t meeting,” Ross said. “I’ve been trying to remind students that this

would be a good idea, and I am happy to help, even though it is usually under the political science department.” Meetings for the pre-law club would be about preparing and informing students about law school. “There’s a variety of things we can do,” Ross said. “We could have law schools come here and recruit students. We could have events about how to prepare for the LSAT exam or how to write a cover letter.” Ross said the goal is to have the club start up again in the fall, as well as find students to initiate it. A faculty adviser has

There are all of these students who are wanting to apply for law school, and this would create more of a community. Dr. Nathan Ross

chairman philosophy and rhetoric department

not been chosen yet, and he is still looking for a student interested in being president. The club needs 20 members, as well as officers, in order to join the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. This also would mean students

would have to pay $40 to join, but Ross is trying to make the fee smaller. “We want to get the students to work with student government to get some kind of allotment,” he said. “There

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are all of these students who are wanting to apply for law school, and this would create more of a community where people could share information on what you need to do to get in.” Veruska Resto, political science/philosophy/economics freshman, said she would love a pre-law club, since it would help her connect with people who share her interests, as well as provide future connections. “I think it really fosters opportunities, not just for PPE majors, but for anyone interested in law,” she said. “It helps you get internships with big law firms and even employment. It

also helps to be around likeminded people who are also talking about the same things. Maybe you’re focused on one particular aspect of law, but someone is thinking about corporate law. You guys can get together and talk about the different ins and outs of what’s going on now, and I think that’s very helpful.” For more information on the pre-law club, email Nathan Ross at nross@okcu.edu, or call him at 405-208-5652.

Youth-operated TED event to be hosted on campus Hope Melton

STAFF WRITER

Hope Melton Student Publications

Go for it Freshman Pitcher Kylie Dodson throws the ball April 10 in Ann Lacy Stadium during a softball game against Southwestern Assemblies of God. The Stars beat SAGU, 9-0. Their next home games are 5 and 7 p.m. Friday in Ann Lacy Stadium.

April 17, 2019

A TEDxYouth event will be hosted at OCU. The event will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 27 in Kerr-McGee Auditorium in Meinders School of Business. The theme of TEDxYouth@OKC is “live your best life.” The event will feature performances, workshops and speeches. TEDx events are TED events that are independently organized, and TEDxYouth events are organized by, or geared toward young people. Twenty speakers are scheduled to give talks. Each speaker is a high school or college student from Oklahoma. The speeches will cover a wide variety of topics including mental illness, nutrition and climate change. The event also will include a variety of workshops over these topics. “I really want to go,” said Hailey Terrell, psychology sophomore. “I like watching TED talks on YouTube. They’re very informative.” Taylor Glaspie, psychology senior, said the event is good timing due to finals week. “It’s definitely something to take your mind away from studying. It’s a nice little break,” he said. High school students are organizing the event. Delaney Barghols is the licensee and head organizer. She is a junior at Crossings Christian School in Oklahoma City. She said she’s always been interested in TED talks. “Over the summer I was doing some research on them, and I realized that you could host your own event,” Barghols said. “I thought it would be a really cool chance for me to meet some other people in Oklahoma City with different ideas, and I thought it would just be really fun to plan so I went for it.” The young people presenting offer a unique perspective, Barghols said. “Teenagers and young adults in Oklahoma are the future and

It's definitely something to take your mind away from studying.

Taylor Glaspie psychology senior

they are the ones that going to be coming up and making decisions,” Barghols said. Brody Smith is the event’s video and production manager. He is a junior at Noble High School in Noble, Oklahoma. He said the coordinators hope to make this an annual event. “Right now we are looking for a student who is willing to take this on and be the licensee, and then we’ll try to do the same thing we did this year and take it from there,” Smith said. Maddie Dunn is an executive producer for the event. She is a senior at Yukon High School in Yukon, Oklahoma. She said local TEDx organizers were helpful in the planning process. “TEDxOKC even brought out a bunch of our executive team to their event to ask questions and to see how everything is run,” Dunn said. Tickets for TEDxYouth@OKC can be bought at eventbrite. com/e/tedxyouthokc-tickets-56655594408. General admission tickets are $15 and premium tickets are $30. Anyone interested in volunteering at TEDxYouth@OKC may sign up at tedxyouthokc.com/about/volunteers/. Contributing: Photo Editor Elina Moon

lifestyles SHINING STAR Language student joins United Nations job program Madelyn Parker, English/Spanish senior, will go from studying language to teaching it. Parker recently was accepted into the English Opens Doors Program, a job through the United Nations development program and the Chilean ministry of education, to teach English in Chile. She will teach from August to December. Parker said she won’t know where she will be located until she arrives in Chile. “It’s exciting, but also it’s one of those programs where you have no idea what’s going to happen,” she said. Parker said the program appealed to her because she didn’t have to be certified by the TESOL program. “I have recently just really wanted to be fluent in Spanish,” she said. “I’ve been losing my skill recently so I thought I needed to find some way to use my skills on a daily basis, and this ended up being that opportunity.” The interview process was unique, she said. “It was weirdly casual and intense at the same time,” she said. “They had a Google Doc as the application, which was kind of weird, but then they had a Skype interview. And after that it was just ‘get your visa and we will check up on you in a couple months.’” Parker started studying Spanish in high school. She picked up her double major after a study abroad trip to Spain in spring 2017.

“The funny thing is that when you’re learning from the book, you’re not actually learning how to communicate with it,” she said. “When I went to Spain, there was a two month learning curve for me to catch up with. It’s a lot like a muscle. If you’re not working that muscle every day, after a while you lose it.” Parker studied in Spain through the University Study Abroad Consortium. Her host university was Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (King Juan Carlos University). In addition to studying Spanish, Parker is also on the writing track in her English degree. Parker said the English department at OCU helped her build up her resume for after graduation. “There was a poet who came to campus, and the nice thing about being a senior is that the department asks you to do a lot of things, so I helped out with the interview process of Alberto Rios,” she said. “It’s something really amazing that the English department has given to me that I can put on my resume.” Parker also is working to publish her chapbook of poetry. “I’m in creative writing for editing and publishing, and I’m taking what I did for my capstone and preparing it for publication to send out to presses,” Parker said. Robert Roensch, associate professor of English, teaches Parker’s English class. “She has a beautiful, natural ability with language and she is an incredibly hard worker,” Roensch said. “Advice I’d give her? Just keep being who she is.”

Submitted

Madelyn Parker, English/Spanish senior, speaks at an open mic event April 5 at the Scissortail Writing Festival in Ada, Oklahoma.

Parker advised underclassmen not to worry so much about the college experience. “I remember being a freshman and being really afraid of being able to do what I wanted to do and making decisions for myself,” she said. “The truth is that you don’t really learn how to do that, you just kind of accept the fact that you don’t know what you’re doing and no one else really does either.” By Web Editor Jessica Vanek

Kylie Sullivan Student Publications

Art imitates life Right: Morgan Robinson, visiting artist in residence, shows a student around the Visceral Tendencies art exhibit. After the exhibit, Robinson will finish his term with OCU and work on a new commission, which will appear in Washington, D.C. Above: The newest art exhibit, Visceral Tendencies, had its opening reception from 5-7 p.m. Friday in the Nona Jean Hulsey Gallery in Norick Art Center. The exhibit features sculptures and pieces from Morgan Robinson's earlier work and is open until May 8.

Student committee honors lives lost in 1995 bombing MaKayla Baxter

STAFF WRITER

The Student Civic Engagement Committee is hosting a week-long memorial event in honor of the lives lost in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The event commemorates the 24th anniversary of the bombing, which killed 168 people. The event is taking place outside the caf during lunch and dinner this week. Students can paint “kindness rocks” with messages that are being placed at the base of the “Tree of Peace and Hope,” which was planted on the quad in honor of the bombing victims and victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Levi Harrel, director of student engagement, said he hopes students gain knowledge and understanding of the bombing, which occurred almost 24 years ago on April 19, 1995. “The vast majority of our undergraduate students weren’t alive when this tragedy happened, so there will be an educational aspect,” Harrel said. “We really want to spread and inspire hope and joy, and share an understanding of the resilience our city and state had in light of this incident. We get to be a part of that with this event in remembrance of the lives that were lost.” Lauren Leppke, theatre and performance freshman, said the

event also will spread awareness to students who are not from Oklahoma. “I know lots of students on campus who are from other states, and they had no clue about the bombing until they got here,” Leppke said. “I recently worked on a play that mentioned the bombing, and we had to have a talk about its history because nobody knew about it except the Oklahomans.” Harrel said this year’s event is different from previous memorials at OCU. “Last year we met around the sapling of the survivor tree, which is planted on the quad lawn, and tied yellow ribbons of remembrance to signify the lives that were lost,” he said. “This year we are changing that up a bit to integrate the understanding of the event a bit more fully and to have an opportunity to get more of the campus community involved.” Trae Trousdale, mass communications sophomore and Student Government Association president elect, said students should attend not just the campus event, but the city memorial as well. “I really encourage our students to head down to the memorial museum on Friday, the anniversary of the bombing,” Trousdale said. “Admission will be free that day, so I would definitely go down and take advantage of that.” The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through

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Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. It is located at 620 N. Harvey Ave. Leppke said she hopes to see students come together and grow from the experience. “Oklahoma really set the standard for love and support after tragedies like this,” Leppke said. “I think this event will be a great way to keep that standard going on our campus.” Harrel said he encourages students to stop by the event throughout the week as often as they wish. “It’s very easy to become involved,” Harrel said. “Come by as many times as you would like. Paint a rock. Paint two rocks, or even five rocks. Share those messages of inspiration, hope and joy with our campus community. Let’s come together and get them out there.” Students with questions may email Harrel at ljharrel@okcu. edu. Editor’s Note: Community Manager Maddie Bowes is program coordinator for the event. She did not participate in the writing or editing of this story.

Korean student organization to teach students about culture Erik Hamilton

STAFF WRITER

TESOL students are seeking other students to join the Korean Student Association on campus. The association has three student members and three faculty members. After forming last semester, the group had its first meeting, and members are looking for more Korean students to join. “Last semester, I met an American friend,” said Young Ju Lee, TESOL student and president of KSA. “She likes K-pop. That’s why she can speak Korean a little bit. At the time, I was surprised at that. I want to explain or introduce the Korean food and Korean culture to another student.” Lee said the student interest in facets of Korean culture inspired her to create the association. Yunji Park, TESOL student and vice president of KSA, gave a similar account. She also elaborated on why their organization has few members. “We couldn’t find a lot of Koreans here,” Park said. Park said this is because OCU doesn’t have sister schools in Korea like other universities, including the University of Central April 17, 2019

I thought it would be a good chance for me to branch out to my fellow Koreans.

Jinsu Kim

accounting graduate

Oklahoma in Edmond. Jinsu Kim, accounting graduate and KSA member, said Lee approached him personally and invited him to join. “When I was in the library, Young Ju came up to me and started speaking Korean. I was kind of surprised because I could be anyone, Chinese, Japanese. But I guess she kind of knew of me, maybe. And then she talked to me about the KSA and brought me into it,” Kim said. “At first, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m not particularly too interested

in it, to be honest. I’m just a grad school student. I did all of my involvement and stuff when I was undergrad. I thought it would be a good chance for me to branch out to my fellow Koreans.’” Kim said at this time the organization is a way for him to get to know other Korean students, rather than introducing Korean culture to Americans. “For instance, I’ve been in the states for much longer than they have, so I could give them advice about American culture, colleges, even visas and stuff. I thought I could help out, and I like helping people out. I quite enjoy it,” he said. He said they do not yet have enough members to focus on disseminating knowledge on Korean culture. KSA members said they would still like to teach the OCU community about Korean culture. Park also said she would like to volunteer to teach Korean to some native English speakers. Students interested in joining the organization may contact Lee at ylee4@my.okcu.edu.