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CAMPUS
CAMPUS ELECTION PROFILES
MEET YOUR
BEAUTIFUL BY DAY AND NIGHT
INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES PAGE JONES NEWS REPORTER @PAGEOUSM
PAYNE PARKER
A
TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY
OU’s beautiful South Oval from between the Bizzell Memorial Library to Lindsey Street. With Molly Shi Boren’s passion for gardening, a hardworking facilities management department and $30,000, OU has been named one of the top 25 most beautiful college campuses.
Beauty takes hard work, money Generous endowment funds scenery JUSTINE ALEXANDER NEWS REPORTER @CAFFEINEJUSTINE
O
U’s campus is often named one of the most beautiful in the nation, thanks in part to its varied vegetation. The flowerbeds on the South Oval are filled with a kaleidoscope of floral colors, frequently rearranged in striking new patterns. But although these eye-catching flower arrangements may look expensive, they don’t cost students one cent. OU’s landscape director Allen King said that an endowment was created by the late OU alumnus Morris R. Pittman and his family for landscaping on the South Oval. “He gave us a certain amount of money and it goes into our fund at the foundation, and work off that interest every year,” King said. “We probably spend $30,000 a year [on the South Oval] … that’s strictly from the endowment — it pays for the labor, the materials — everything,” King said. King said that no student tuition money that he is aware of goes into groundskeeping, and that every flower seen on the South Oval is completely paid for. King said that although there isn’t a list of
plants at OU, he estimates the campus has over 50-60 varieties of trees and hundreds of varieties of shrubs and ground covers. The plants at OU are either native to Oklahoma or Oklahoma-proven — that is, proven to be able to survive in Oklahoma. The Chinese pistache tree is an example of an Oklahoma-proven plant on campus, he said. Some of the plants on campus may be surprisingly old. The shrub-lined sidewalks by Buchanan Hall (called the X Hedges), have likely been here at least fifty years, maintained by planting cuttings from the same plants, King said. Meanwhile, the arrangement of flowers on the South Oval is meticulously planned throughout the year. King said the flowers are changed to a red dianthus so that everything is red for commencement. After commencement, they go back to mum planting. “I sit down and draw it out. We know how many plants go in the beds.” He said he figures out a theme and comes up with the themes himself. SEE GROUNDS PAGE 2
BY THE NUMBERS South Oval landscaping
$30,000 Spent on South Oval groundskeeping per year
15,000 Mums used for the “Sooner Nation” theme this year
5,000
Little Joseph’s coat plants used for the “Sooner Nation” theme
50-60
Estimated varieties of trees on campus
dvertising junior Payne Parker is from Aledo, Texas. Parker is an active member of Alpha Tau Omega, serving as U-Sing chair last year and participating with his brothers in events like Soonerthon, the Big Event and homecoming, he said. Payne already has ties to the IFC, serving as Vice President of Public Affairs this year. His experience with the IFC is one of the reasons he wanted to run for president of the organization, Payne said. “My experience comes from seeing how processes work, how things go and the steps to make those things happen,” Parker said. During his time with the IFC, Parker learned a lot from observYA JIN/THE DAILY ing the actions of current IFC presPayne Parker, advertisident Jake Pasdach, Parker said. Parker cares about the IFC and ing junior what it does for the OU community and does not plan to make any changes to the council, except to improve its communication, he said. “I want to make sure there is clear communication and that all of our chapters’ needs are heard,” Parker said. “I want to be an advocate for all of our chapters.” Parker’s goal to improve communication for IFC includes improving the communication between the council and the university. “We hope that these things don’t happen, but if the IFC community is shed in a bad light, I want to be there to advocate that we are a positive organization,” Parker said.
RYLAN RUSSELL
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ylan Russell is a biology and pre-dental junior from Cordell, Oklahoma. Russell originally started at Oklahoma Baptist University playing football, but transferred to OU, which he felt offered him more opportunities. Russell is a member of Delta Upsilon, this year serving as Community Service Chair. His focus this year as Community Service Chair has been introducing longer-lasting charities to his fraternity, like Big Brothers Big Sisters, and community service that will make a difference. Russell helped with formal recruitment and was in charge of educating 66 students on the different houses available to them, a rewarding experience he says is part of why YA JIN/THE DAILY he wants to be IFC president. Russell said his motivation comes Rylan russell, biology from the fact that joining a fraternity junior had such a positive impact on him. Being a member of Delta Upsilon has given him such a positive experience that he wants to provide the same experience to incoming freshmen, he said. “Our goal as a fraternity is to become better men. That’s something I’m very passionate about, and I feel that my fraternity actually allowed me to do that,” Ryan said. “I wanted to reach back and provide that for freshmen.” If Russell is elected IFC president, he would like to see IFC chapters interact with each other more, even implementing a new kind of big-little program. The new program would see that an older member of a chapter is paired with a freshman member of a different SEE IFC PAGE 2
WOMEN’S OUTREACH CENTER
OU’s sexual misconduct ed program receives $10,000 Grant given by Verizon Foundation aids education through One Sooner MIKE BRESTOVANSKY Assistant News Editor @BrestovanskyM
The OU Women’s Outreach Center received a $10,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, Thursday. The center received the award after it submitted a proposal to enhance its One Sooner sexual misconduct education program, said Kathy Moxley, director of the Women’s Outreach Center. “One Sooner is a training program that targets campus leaders and teaches them about how to change dangerous gender norms about silence concerning sexual misconduct, assault and stalking,” Moxley said. Additionally, the program teaches students to spot signs WEATHER Sunny today with a high of 70, low of 46. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.
of unhealthy relationships, Moxley said. The Verizon Foundation has supported domestic violence prevention for almost 20 years, including providing a $20,000 grant to OU’s College of Nursing to educate workers about how to treat Native American victims, according to a press release. The Verizon Foundation prioritizes funding for programs that address issues like domestic violence education; healthcare for children, women and seniors; or children’s education, according to the foundation’s website. The Women’s Outreach Center piloted the One Sooner program last year, and 500 students became involved, Moxley said. Moxley hopes that the grant will allow the program to double its outreach this year, she said. Mike Brestovansky mcbrestov@gmail.com
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Women’s Outreach Center staff members pose with a $10,000 check from the Verizon Foundation.
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