Aug. 19, 2020 by MediaOCU

THE CAMPUS

August 19, 2020 – Volume 114 Issue 1

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Stephen Jackson Student Publications

Welcoming a new class, facing a new normal Above: Students sit in a circle and discuss diversity and inclusion at the Black/African American Affinity Space in the Watson Lounge of the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel. Left: Students sit outside the Sarkeys Science and Math Center while waiting for their New Student Orien-

Stephen Jackson Student Publications

tation groups.

University COVID-19 guidelines affect classes Luke Barrett

MANAGING EDITOR

Officials from each school at OCU have adjusted the classroom experience to accommodate for new COVID-19 policies. George Sims, interim provost, said an emergency operations council created by Martha Burger has been making policy proposals to create a safe campus environment since March. For more information on campus-wide policies, see below. “We’ve had all summer now to plan and prepare, and, of course, the basis of that is the safety standards that the university has adopted. And for classes that means social distancing in the classrooms, and that means having masks; everybody has to have masks. And then some of the classrooms, depending on what they’re doing, have some plexiglass shields that are put up, and we’ve rearranged furniture so there are fewer desks and seats,” he said. Housekeeping will also be increased to twice a day, and cleaning supplies will be provided for students and faculty, so they can sanitize the classrooms when entering or

leaving a space. Buildings such as the Clara E. Jones Administration Building have signs indicating proper flow of foot traffic to help maintain social distancing. Some buildings, such as Goldstar Memorial Building and the Kramer School of Nursing, also have ultraviolet lights installed in the ventilation system to help sanitize the air. Amy Cataldi, dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences, said the classrooms used for Petree programs have been adjusted to allow for social distancing. Cataldi said there are currently no curriculum or degree requirement changes occurring due to the new policies. “Some degree tracks require internships, and by working with the internships and the students to find a comfortable middle ground, if we can do it in a safe way, we will; if we can’t we will postpone it or find a replacement for that. We’re just not going to put our students, or our faculty or our community partners in danger,” Cataldi said. Cataldi said the university administration’s preference is for classes to be held in-person, but there are avenues

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for faculty and students to participate in remote learning. “My feel for it is that maybe it’s about 15% of folks are in situations where they really have important reasons why they can’t teach in person, but we’ve gone into it with the whole idea that because we have invited the students to come back to campus, the faculty members really need to be here. And so, we’re trying to be flexible and to make allowances for good reasons, but we really are expecting the faculty members to be here, unless there’s a good reason for them not to,” Sims said. Gardner Roby, political science sophomore, said most of his courses haven’t changed, and he thinks courses will go smoothly with the health and safety guidelines and the technology available to professors to use services like Zoom. “It definitely helps being in person because I think everybody knows being able to be in person and have the conversations, they feel a little bit more real, and I think it’s easier to collect information that way,” he said. Lois Salmeron, dean of the Kramer School of Nursing, said in addition to implementing sanitation policies,

We’re just not going to put our or our faculty or our community partners in danger.

Dr. Amy Cataldi

dean Petree College of Arts and Sciences

socially-distanced classroom settings and signs to indicate flow of traffic, the school has adjusted each of its programs to require minimal in-person coursework. The master’s program is high-flexibility, Salmeron said, meaning much of the course can be completed via Zoom. Their Ph.D. program students only come in-person for intensives. The greatest changes have been made in the undergraduate tracks requiring students to gain field experience. “There are some virtual clinical experiences that our Oklahoma Board of Nursing controls. They don’t do the conducting of that, but they allow us to do a very minimal percent of clinical virtually,” Salmeron said. She said the school’s Meinders simulation lab features 10 mannequins pro-

grammed by faculty to simulate a series of experiences in a clinical setting, and hours spent there count as credit hours. “It doesn’t take away the quantity amount that you have to take care of real people. The hospitals are in a position now that any student that goes in, or undergraduate students that go there, that we have them in the units that are not the units that have any kind of COVID in it,” she said. “They’re not in any of the quarantine-type units. Yes, our students do go into intensive-care units, but not the quarantine. And the students have to follow all the procedures that the nurses do there.” Blake Bulger, nursing junior, said aspects of their program do not work as well in a digital format. He said

half of his clinicals this semester are in person and half are online. “I know last semester was my first semester, and we had to do online clinicals, which is really weird for a nursing major because that clinical experience is really crucial to applying what you’ve learned in the lab,” he said. “Doing online clinicals, I think, probably really hindered some of those tactical skills, but I don’t really think it inhibited critical thinking skills of managing patients and things like that.” Students who test positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 may be required by the clinic to refrain from attending classes. Students with health conditions will also have the ability to seek remote study through the clinic as well. Students with other reasons can seek remote learning accommodations through Student Affairs, Sims said, or the OCU website. To see more in-depth reporting on the changes in other schools, go to MediaOCU.com.

University guidelines for COVID-19 updated by EOC Paul Dower

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Emergency Operations Committee put together guidelines for students, staff and faculty to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Toni Pratt-Reid, director and owner of the Family Health Clinic and co-leader of the EOC, said the committee put together a response team over the summer to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are the Emergency Operations Committee that looks at any kind of significant events that may occur or happen on campus,” Pratt-Reid said. “Certainly when COVID came out, we formulated the team to make sure that OCU was best prepared, that we had all of the most up-to-date facts and that we had OCU in the best possible situation to continue operations and bring the students back on campus.” The EOC meets every

M MEDIAOCU.com

We look and assess every single week and as necessary.

Toni Pratt-Reid

director of the Family Health Clinic

week to discuss any discoveries in COVID-19 research or updates with the disease in the surrounding area. “In the EOC, which is a wide group of individuals that come from every aspect of the campus, from academic to facilities management, administration, health care, that sort of thing, we look and assess every single week and as necessary,” Pratt-Reid said. “If there is somebody that’s positive, what does that building look like? Who was in that building? Is there anything we need to do further than identify that we have a positive case?”

The EOC formats its guidelines around the alert level the school is on at the time. There are four alert levels: green, yellow, orange, and red. The green alert level is the lowest and least restrictive alert level. The university will be under this alert level when there is a vaccine, or highly effective treatment, and low circulation of COVID-19 on campus and in the surrounding area. The green alert level, dubbed on the OCU website as the “new normal,” will see classes go to near full capacity, little to no restrictions on gatherings, sports and other activities, and easing social

distancing protocols. The yellow alert level is the moderate alert level and the one the campus is under currently. The university is under this alert level when there is spread in the surrounding community, and there is no vaccine or effective treatment. This alert level makes use of remote and in-person classes and enforces strict mask and social distancing rules. The orange alert level is the most restrictive level where students, staff and faculty remain on campus. In this alert level, OCU is still open, but there are strict limits on meeting sizes and high precautions for highrisk people. Almost all classes will be remote, and classes that cannot go remote will be restricted to 10 people or less, including the instructor. The red alert level will enforce stay-at-home orders. OCU will close, and students, staff and faculty will be expected by the university to

self-isolate. Pratt-Reid said the EOC will judge the alert levels for the campus on several factors. “We look at what the surrounding area looks like as far as the health of the communities around us, the health of the communities of the OCU campus,” Pratt-Reid said. “There’s a multitude of factors that go into our guidelines. Whether we have testing capabilities, whether there’s outbreaks in certain areas, whether the surrounding areas have adequate health care and hospitalization and bed capacity, and so our guidelines look into all of that.” Pr a t t - Re i d s a i d a n y updates to the guidelines will be put on the website and sent through a weekly email. Any urgent updates made in regard to the COVID-19 guidelines, such as a change in the alert level, will be sent through the blue alert system. According to the website, there is one active case of

COVID-19 that had indirect contact, defined as developing symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 after two or more days off of campus, in the university. “From the date of their symptoms, we look to see where they were. Were they on campus? Were they off campus? Who were they around?” Pratt-Reid said. “We do a very deliberate contact tracing to make sure we have included any potential cases that may have come in contact with that individual.” For more information on the EOC’s guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on campus, go to www.okcu. edu/main/coronavirus/. For more in-depth reporting and student opinion on the guidelines, go to MediaOCU. com.

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opinion

Fellow students: We can do this if we try Readers may notice a running theme throughout our first issue for this academic year. We now live in a country radically changed due to its efforts and failures to address the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Many of this week’s stories touch on the guidelines now in place campus-wide to help promote health and safety as we live through this pandemic and its ongoing impact on society at large. The editors want to stress the importance of following these guidelines, especially the mandates for wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. As much as it should not be the responsibility of the public at large to help mitigate disasters of this scale, the members of the populace at OCU, in Oklahoma, and in America have an obligation to mitigate the spread of this disease. The administrative EOC has worked tirelessly to create rules and guidelines designed to keep campus running while minimizing the spread and potential impact of COVID-19. As members of this community, our first priority should be supporting and following those mandates. This should be done not out of simple compliance for authority, but out of a humanistic compassion for our fellow people on campus. Everyone must realize they present a possible point of transmission to the people around them and take efforts to mitigate any

Talk Back “What are you most excited about this semester?”

spread they may cause. This does, unfortunately, involve some personal sacrifice. This year will be characterized by socializing from afar and even limiting contact with friends outside of class settings. This does not mean we cannot adapt. Students can wear their masks around the friends and faculty they care about in order to help keep them safe. We can meet and socialize in open spaces, instead of small rooms where distancing is difficult and transmission is easier. Students and faculty may feel pessimistic about the odds of remaining on-campus. These worries are based in a beliefs that our peers cannot be trusted to follow protocols and that perhaps if a small group of people stop following protocols, everyone will. It is scary to rely on everyone else in order to maintain a sense of security, but we practice this every day whether we know it or not, simply by being around others and trusting them all to be good people. The new rules on campus are guidelines for being good people, and if we all commit to following them, we may be able to prolong our time on campus this semester and still create a memorable, unique and exciting college experience.

“To be back at OCU and perform”

“Being on campus and getting back to college life”

Brianna Sadofsky music theater junior

Megan Poole acting senior

“Finding my own identity and meeting new people”

“I'm excited to start performing and get back into the swing of things”

Lauren Moore biochemistry freshman

Kathryne Pham piano/vocal performance junior

“In-person classes"

“I’ll be in my room a lot, so I’m looking forward to devoting more time to studying”

Grace Jackson double performance junior

Jo Cooper criminal justice junior

Editor-in-Chief introduces himself to campus Holy $#^%. T h o s e t w o w o rd s , I believe, sum up what a lot of us are feeling going into this fall semester. I know I have felt apprehensive coming back to school in the midst of a global pandemic, a nationwide movement and presidential elections all colliding into one year that will be the headache of high school students in their history classes in the future. It feels cathartic writing those words on the page, even though I censored one of them. It relieves me. Hello everyone and welcome back! My name is Paul Dower, and I am this year’s Editor-in-Chief for Student Publications. I am a BFA

Film junior. I am a huge fan of Superman, I like squishies, and strawberries are my favorite food. I started at Student Publications at the beginning of my freshman year. I started on the Editorial Board the second semester of my freshman year as Associate Copy Editor, moved up into Copy Editor starting my sophomore year and then graduated into EIC. I have several goals that I am aiming for this year. First and foremost, I am wanting to focus more on sports stories. In the past, Student Publications has not been the best at reporting on events happening in our sports programs, and there are a lot of students, staff

Paul Dower is a film production junior from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He likes squishy toys, hoodies and Stanley Kubrick.

and faculty that work really hard to make that program run as well as it does. Our sports Stars deserve some recognition for their achievements that they worked for tirelessly. Another one of my goals is to create more video content for our website. I know that I enjoy watching videos to get my information, and I believe that putting more effort into going to events

and getting concise coverage of those events. Last, but not least, I would like to improve our social media presence. Most people, myself included, find most of their information from links through various social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. I want to post links to our stories from our website onto those social media websites, as well as interact with all of you on

a more day-to-day basis. Over the summer, there have been significant changes to the Editorial Board to both personnel and positions themselves. We have added and changed a lot of our positions to prioritize these goals. Our editorial staff is now as follows: Editor-inChief, Paul Dower; Managing Editor, Luke Barrett; Photo Editor, Stephen Jackson; News Editor, Francesca Iacovacci; Video Editor Shelby O’Brien; Lifestyle Editor, Jessica Vanek; Arts & Entertainment Editor, Troy Freeman; and Sports Editor, MaKayla Baxter. Our job as student media is to keep the campus informed. If anyone needs to

get in contact with us, our email is stupub@okcu.edu. My school email is pmdower@my.okcu.edu if anyone wants to get in contact with me personally. We are here to inform and serve you. As The Washington Post slogan goes, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” I really hope everyone can find some form of comfort and solace this year. It is easy to get lost in all the social and political change going on in our nation and around the world, but keep your head up and fight for what is right. This year has been a rough one so far, but it is never too late to make it a better year.

Swipe right on our brand-new editorial board!

Luke Barrett, Managing Editor

Stephen, Photo Editor

Oklahoma City University

Likes: MMORPGs, Jack White, and a good climate change debate. Dislikes: a good climate change debate, dry sandwiches, and Jim Carrey movies.

This geek enjoys long walks in the forest, collecting the bones of ancient creatures, and editing copy. To ﬁnd them, search under toppled piles of books in otherwise empty rooms. When they are not editing, or managing editing, they are probably rehearsing for a show or blasting music into their poor, poor eardrums.

MaKayla, Sports editor Oklahoma City University

MaKayla is a Gemini and enjoys long walks on the beach, mostly just to look for sharks because she is obsessed with them. Her favorite Beatle is Paul, and she genuinely believes she will be cursed if she doesn’t see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway every time she is in New York.

Let it Be- The Beatles Sugar In My Coffee - Eden Disorder The Narcissist Cookbook

THE CAMPUS

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

August 19, 2020, Volume 114, Issue 1

Editor-in-chief: Paul Dower Managing Editor: Luke Barrett Photo Editor: Stephen Jackson News Editor: Francesca Iacovacci Lifestyle Editor: Jessica Vanek Arts & Entertainment Editor: Troy Freeman Sports Editor: MaKayla Baxter

Video Editor: Shelby O'Brien Assistant Photo Editor: Josh Eliot Assistant Sports Editor: Hannah Prentice Columnists: Paul Dower Francesca Iacovacci Troy Freeman

Photographers: Jessica Casebeer Stephen Jackson Josh Eliot

The Student Publications staff welcomes unsolicited material and letters 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 Suite 112 of Walker Center for Arts and Sciences. Submitted items may appear on MediaOCU and in the print edition. The first issue of The Campus is free. Each additional issue costs 25 cents. Contents copyright © Student Publications 2020. All rights reserved.

August 19, 2020

a&e

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Josh Eliot

Student Publications

Left: Trayvon Kaminski, dance freshman, demonstrates his tap dance skills for the Class of 2024 at Open Mic Night during student orientation. Above: Members of the incoming Class of 2024 sing along at Open Mic Night.

Performing arts seasons to adapt due to COVID-19 Troy Freeman ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

To comply with social distancing requirements, the schools of theatre, dance and music are altering their seasons to allow for increased social distancing and online performance opportunities. In a newsletter sent on July 8, the School of Theatre announced their plan to supplement their two mainstage productions – “Woe is Me” by Euripides, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Racine and Aeschylus, and “Love and Information” by Caryl Churchill – with a series of additional in-class performances. Lance Marsh, professor of acting and head of performance, said the additional projects will contribute to satisfying the pedagogical needs of the students while keeping them safe. “Getting them up on their feet and doing and having full processes is really important,” Marsh said. “What we ended up deciding to do was change the season, at least the fall season, to reflect lots of safe opportunities for students to do things that were very similar to what we had originally planned.” Marsh said the original mainstage season, consisting of “The Trojan Women” by Euripides and “Sense and Sensibility” by Kate Hamill, needed to change to fit The Burg Theater's max capacity of 4 performers. “I was tasked to come up with something that did exactly what ‘Trojan Women’ did, or something like what ‘Trojan Women’ did for a lot of people. And so, I figured what was safe was monologues,” Marsh said. “Woe is Me” will be directed by Lance Marsh and adjunct professor Hal Kohlman and consists of 34 monologues by various authors. The production will feature no more than three actors on stage at a time. “Love and Information” is replacing “Sense and Sensibility”and will be directed by Rena Cook, theatrical director and former president of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.

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I hope that this is a successful endeavor - that this is something that is good for our students in general, and not just when a pandemic is going on. Nasir Panjwani

music theater/vocal performance junior

The School of Theatre newsletter said all performance students will be cast this semester, either through Stage II, mainstage or class performance productions. All performances will be streamed or recorded, depending on their licensing requirements. “Woe is Me” will open Sept. 18-19, and “Love and Information” will open Nov. 13-14. The Stage II productions “Women of Lockerbie” by Deborah Brevoort, and “Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom” by Jennifer Haley will be performed Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24, respectively. The Ann Lacy School of Dance and Entertainment, on the other hand, has suspended all in-person performances. In an email, Dean Bedford wrote that social distancing requirements for dancers exceed the standard 6 feet. “For slow-moving dancers, the social distance is minimally 16.25 feet, and for a fast-moving dancer, the social distance increases to minimally 32.5 feet,” Bedford said. Instead, Bedford wrote in an email that Jo Rowan, head of dance, is creating a virtual Christmas show along with the dance faculty. “Rehearsals will be remote, and for performance, the dancers will be combined electronically into a performing cast,” Bedford wrote. “All students in the Ann Lacy School of

American Dance and Entertainment will be invited to participate in the virtual Christmas show with no audition required.” Bedford wrote that more details will be released in the coming weeks. In “The Broken Leg,” the official OCU opera and music theater newsletter, the School of Music announced their mainstage season, “Monty Python’s Spamalot: A Socially Distant Concert-ish Version,” by Eric Idle, “Così Fan Tutte,” by Mozart, and a series of 10 performance projects spanning several nights. All productions will be livestreamed or recorded, depending on their licensing requirements. Dr. David Herendeen, director of opera and musical theatre, said the COVID-19 distancing requirements provide an opportunity for artists on campus to think creatively. “The COVID-19 cover allows us to ask different questions, to think about the art that we have differently, and for me to really push my students to talk about things,” Herendeen said. Herendeen said all students will have the option to participate in productions face-to-face or digitally, but he will reserve the right to make any face-to-face performance digital. Like the School of Theatre, all voice students will be cast in either a mainstage production or performance project. Nasir Panjwani, music theater/vocal performance junior, said he is excited for every student to have a performance outlet. He said he hopes the new opportunities to perform continue after the pandemic. “I hope that this is a successful endeavor – that this is something that is good for our students in general, and not just when a pandemic is going on,” Panjwani said. “Spamalot” will stream Oct. 9-10, and “Cosi Fan Tutte” will stream Oct. 30-31. The first performance project will stream Sept. 25-26.

Athletic officials to determine sports season in coming weeks

We’ve got something to crow about.

MaKayla Baxter

Jim Abbott director athletics

THIS NEWSPAPER IS AN AWARD WINNER! Our newspaper received honors in the Oklahoma Press Association’s 2019 Better Newspaper Contest. For the next year, our newspaper will proudly display the 2019 awardwinning emblem, which signifies continued excellence and

service to our community. We want to thank all our readers for choosing this newspaper to keep them

PRES S ASSO

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informed.

2019

PRES S ASSO

Oklahoma Press Association, Better Newspaper Contest awards: T First Place, News Writing: Paul Dower First Place, Column Writing: Paul Dower Second Place, Editorial Writing: The Campus Third Place, Column Writing: Hope Melton Society of Professional Journalists, Oklahoma Pro Chapter awards: Second Place, Newspaper B, Diversity Coverage: Emily Wollenberg 3 COLUMN 2019 Waltman Third Place, Science-Tech-Health-Environmental Reporting: Nicole LA

Selzer said the university has been accommodating toward student athletes as they prepare to begin their seasons. “They’ve been very understanding,” Selzer said. “This is something we have never been through, and they really want us to be able to practice. For me and my teammates, we aren’t afraid, and we want to play.” Abbott said many details surrounding adjustments to the season are yet to be finalized, but will be announced in the coming weeks. “This is still evolving, so there isn’t an easy answer regarding what comes next,” Abbott said. “Our student athletes love to compete and play sports, and we have a voice at our university. I just want people to know that we aren’t going to play if we don’t think it’s within our school’s best interest.” For spor ts-related COVID-19 updates, visit the OCUSports website.

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definitely possible to have socially distanced groups in the stands,” Abbott said. “It will all depend on how things are standing with the health of our community.” Abbott said livestreams will be available for some games and competitions. “Depending on what we decide to do concerning fans, we may be able to offer more options,” Abbott said. Abbott said students and faculty who have been exposed, show symptoms or test positive for the virus will follow the university’s COVID-19 policies and procedures. “We are doing everything in our power to ensure that safety is the top priority,” Abbott said. “We’re not going to anything that could jeopardize our students or university.” Abigail Selzer, criminal justice junior and basketball center, said she looks forward to getting back on the court. “Last year, we had to end the season right before our championship, and it was really hard on us,” Selzer said. “We just want to participate in our sport this semester while also, of course, making sure everyone stays healthy.”

August 19, 2020

Once we can start, our plan is to play, but it just depends on how things go from now until then.

OCU Athletics will make adjustments to the fall 2020 sports season due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. Athletic officials will monitor conditions over the next few weeks, and ultimately determine specific details regarding possible game delays and cancellations, as well as policies relating to in-person spectators and alternative viewing experiences. Athletic Director Jim Abbott said practices and team activities will not take place until after the first two weeks of the semester. “Once we can start, our plan is to play, but it just depends on how things go from now until then,” Abbott said. “We are also discouraging athletes from being part of social activities for now.” Abbott said teams will follow COVID-19 safety guidelines when practices are cleared to begin. “We are going to start off in smaller groups in the beginning, so if someone is affected, it won’t affect the whole team,” Abbott said. “Everyone will have their temperature checked every day, and for indoor practices, they’ll have to sanitize and wear masks until they walk on the court to play.” Abbott said officials have not yet decided whether or not spectators will be allowed to attend games. “We would love to have fans at our games, and it’s

SPORTS EDITOR

lifestyles Stars Week offered online Josh Eliot ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Freshman orientation looked a little different this year. University officials adapted Stars Week and Greek Life formal recruitment this semester to accommodate for COVID-19 protocol and safety regulations. Laura Tapia, theatre and performance/psychology sophomore, served as a New Student Orientation leader this year. “ We just show them around campus, help them get to know the place, get to know the people, and answer any and all questions that they may have and facilitate the making-friends process,” Tapia said. Levi Harrel, dean of students, said while many of the events were done virtually this year, he was impressed with the success of Stars Week and Greek Life formal recruitment. “I was pleasantly surprised this week that it went so well,” Harrel said. Tapia said NSO leaders met with groups of new students called Stars Groups. “We meet to discuss various topics, from diversity and inclusion, to how to be a leader on campus, and we just have a lot of fun,” Tapia said. Meredith England, acting

junior, also served as an NSO leader this year. England said students were allowed to attend Stars Groups virtually. “Our content hasn’t really changed. Everyone just has to be spaced out and in a bigger room,” England said. “If multiple people in your group are not comfortable meeting in person, you can just hold your meetings over zoom.” England said one annual Stars Week event was cancelled this year. “We have this event that we do every year called First Year Follies, which is where we go into the gym and we just play a bunch of really fun ice breaker games, and we had to cut that this year, which is so sad,” England said. Tapia said the Traditions Rally, an annual event honoring the history of OCU, was changed to a TikTok challenge. “Traditionally, we would make a sketch or a skit talking about their legacy and making it fun and pretty interactive, and then we would go and perform them in Petree, but this year we’re making one-minute TikToks about our legacy that we’re going to share with each other,” Tapia said. Harrel said events for Greek Life were also adapted this year. “All of IFC and Panhellenic Council formal recruitment

was virtual,” Harrel said. Ian McEntire, economics/ political science freshman, said it was difficult getting to know people during virtual formal recruitment. “It was all virtual this year, which was smart, but it was hard to kind of form the connection with my peers who I’d never met in person,” McEntire said. Harrel said he understands the importance of in-person interaction. “ Those face-to-face, human-to-human interactions are important to create points of connection, a sense of belonging,” Harrel said. Harrel said Greek Life organizations are being encouraged to conduct events online for the rest of the year. “Chapters are encouraged to conduct chapter meetings and official meetings virtually just for the health and well-being of the organizations themselves,” Harrel said. M c E n t i r e s a i d h e ’s impressed with the flexibility of OCU’s student body. “One of the main things that I’ve taken from my time on campus is seeing how adaptable the students and the leaders of the school are,” McEntire said.

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Students Make Connections Above: Students decorate masks during Stars Week. OCU provided free masks and decorations for every student on campus. Right: Students gather on the quad at the Religious Affinity Space event during Stars Week.

Stephen Jackson Student Publications

Housing officials uphold student health, safety Jessica Vanek

LIFESTYLES EDITOR

Housing staff are working to maintain a safe environment for students living on campus. Casey Kreger, director of housing and student life, said housekeeping in shared spaces has increased. “In the past, housekeeping would have gone through a lobby once a day, but now you will see them in the building two or three times a day to clean those spaces and do a deep cleaning,” Kreger said. “You’ll also see them doing hot spots once an hour: elevator buttons, door handles or any of those really high tough areas like stairwells or railings. The laundry rooms are the same way.” In addition to more frequent cleanings, Kreger said the university has invested in new tools to help keep shared spaces clean. “During the term, you will see different equipment that housekeeping will be using. More than just sanitation spray and things like that, but they will be using different products and equipment that was purchased to be able to add a new degree of cleaning that we haven’t done before,” Kreger said. Students are also responsible for keeping shared spaces sanitized, Kreger said. “There will also be cleaning supplies in those spaces as well to give students the opportunity to wipe down those machines with disinfectant spray and paper towels before and after use, and making sure they’re being responsible citizens as well,” he said. Masks are required on campus and in shared spaces at all times. Housing officials encourage students to social distance in highly populated areas, in addition to taking the stairs rather than elevators if they are able. Kreger said residence halls with shared air systems have received new filtration systems. These spaces will have higher Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values ratings, which measure an air filtration system’s efficiency. “You have Banning, Methodist and Cokesbury. All of those specific student units have their own filtration system

At this time, our measures are really serious, and we want our students to follow that, especially mask ordinances. Casey Kreger

director housing and student life

within their own unit, so they don’t have a system where they are re-circulating that air,” he said. “When you see Methodist hallways or Walker hall, those areas will receive higher MERV ratings, and as you go up in level, they catch different viruses and bacteria. Those spaces will have the higher-level category of filters to catch those viruses.” Kreger said housing will also utilize ultraviolet lighting to help kill bacteria. Olivia White, acting senior and Methodist Hall RA, said to avoid over-exposure, resident assistants in Methodist will conduct just two room checks this semester. “When we do room checks, the resident doesn’t have to be present, or if they are, we will both be masked,” White said. “In addition, if they want to be the one to personally touch their fridge and cabinets when we open them, they can do that.” Kreger said students must do their part and hold each other accountable. “Students in the community have to be responsible citizens during this period. One person’s actions do impact everyone in that area,” he said. “When it comes to the individual student units, have clear expectations with roommates. Talk about ‘who’s cleaning this’ or ‘what’s our cleaning schedule going to be’ and have that be a strict schedule within the space. Have those conversations and set those boundaries with each other.” Kreger said he encourages students to buy their own cleaning products and equipment and help remind others to stay safe. “When it comes to enforcing policies such as the visitation

policy or mask policy, if you approach someone who’s not wearing a mask say ‘hey, do you mind wearing a mask?’ he said. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, let housing know, and we can follow up with that to be able to educate that person on our policies.” Kreger said it is crucial for students to follow safety protocols. “At this time, our measures are really serious, and we want our students to follow that, especially mask ordinances,” he said. “It’s not just a university policy, that’s an actual Oklahoma City policy. Everyone needs to wear a mask.” Kreger said housing staff is hanging signs in residence halls and shared spaces to remind students of safety guidelines. “As much as we want to help support students and encourage students to follow our policies, we also just need to rely on our students to be aware of their surroundings and be willing to have those tough conversations with their peers, so we can help hold each other accountable in this time when our community needs to be the closest,” he said. Kaleigh Huser, music junior, is a new resident of Cokesbury Court Apartments. Huser said she is working to keep her interactions at a distance and her social circle small. “I’m just staying by myself, not interacting with people,” Huser said. “I live in a quad, but we only have three right now. We’re mostly staying in our bubbles and not going out. Mostly we just wipe things down and wash our hands.” Fabius Bascon, acting junior and Walker Hall RA, said housing is working overtime to make sure that they are doing all they can to keep the students safe. “I think at the end of the day, we need to remind people to follow the guidelines set in place to prevent outbreaks,” Bascon said. “Please talk to your RA if you are have feelings of isolation or loneliness. We truly are here to help the students in every way possible, and we want to give them the resources to succeed. For questions, students can contact housing and residence life at 405-208-6363 or residencelife@okcu.edu.

Josh Eliot

Student Publications

Come Together Above: The tables outside of the Market at Alvin’s in the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center marked to enforce social distancing. Left: Students participate in the PCAS Freshmen Orientation.

Stephen Jackson Student Publications

August 19, 2020