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OU’S TWO HEISMAN FINALISTS • 6
Mixon video must be released Oklahoma Supreme Court rules surveillance tape as public record STAFF REPORTS
A surveillance video showing Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon punching a female student in the face is a public record, according to a ruling handed down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters sued for public access to the video after District Judge Thad Balkman said it was not a public record in February.
FOX 25 was the first to report this story. The incident involving Mixon and Amelia Molitor happened outside of Pickleman’s i n No r ma n i n July 2014. Media members were JOE MIXON p e r m i t t e d t o view the video, but copies were not made and the video was not released publicly. According to the office of Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman, the opinion
issued by the state supreme court will not go into effect until a mandate is issued. Balkman’s office says that will not happen until after a 20-day period in which the City of Norman can appeal the state supreme court’s ruling. With that timing, it is unlikely the video will be released before Oklahoma takes on Auburn in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2, 2017. Mixon has already been punished for striking Molitor, but the release of the video could have consequences for OU’s leadership. University President David Boren, Athletic Director Joe Castiglione and head coach Bob
Stoops all viewed the tape before allowing Mixon to remain on the football team following a one-year suspension from the program. Mixon entered an Alford plea in 2014, maintaining his innocence. He served 100 hours of community service and received a one-year suspension from the OU football program. In a statement to The Oklahoman on Nov. 22, Mixon apologized for the incident first time. “I apologize to Amelia Molitor and the friends who were with her that night,” he said in the statement. “I apologize to
Political science senior Rico Smith works on a presentation for a political science class in the Monnet Hall reading room Dec. 6.
my teammates, coaches, the University of Oklahoma, and its fans. I apologize to my family and friends. I realize I let a lot of people down. I apologize to all those I disappointed or hurt.” Mixon and Molitor are still involved in an active civil suit. In 24 games with the Sooners, Mixon has totaled 1,936 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. His 1,950 all-purpose yards in 2016 put him in fifth place in school history for a single season. Staff Reports
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GRADE EXPECTATIONS OU students find grade appeal process murky, lengthy
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hen Rico Smith learned he did not pass his spring 2016 capstone class, he was confused. He thought he earned a B, but now his grade would prevent the class from counting toward his graduation requirements. He spent the summer mulling it over, trying to decide what to do. Smith felt the professor, Cindy Rosenthal, graded his assignments by standards different than those outlined in the syllabus and applied penalties not previously stated. Smith is a political science senior scheduled to graduate this semester, and he needed to pass the capstone course. So after speaking with friends and political science department chair Keith Gaddie, he made the decision to appeal the grade. He re-enrolled in the class this fall with a different professor, in case the grade appeal board did not rule in his favor, but figured he would know the outcome by the drop deadline so that if he came out on top, he could withdraw from the current class. On Dec. 6, 14 weeks since filing the appeal and less than two weeks before Smith’s graduation, he finally got an answer. His appeal would not be moving on to a hearing because the appeal board could not find evidence of bias in Rosenthal’s grading. Smith is upset with the verdict and feels he would have had a
DAISY CREAGER • @DAISYCREAGER better chance to explain the verdict in front of the board. He said he feels the process has been “long, somewhat unfair and nontransparent,” and is now planning to appeal the board’s decision. “I wish that there was a more fair process somehow,” Smith said. “I don’t know what that process is, (but it) would allow students to quickly adjudicate those issues with their professors. And sometimes it does seem to be a very negative and hostile process, in a sense.” The appeal process is set by the Oklahoma Board of Regents but handled by the individual colleges where they are filed. Students must first try to work the problem out with the professor, then meet with the department chair. From there, they must submit paperwork, including a letter describing the situation. The professor is then given a chance to respond, which is sent, along with the documents submitted by the student, to a board made up of two faculty members and two students. If the board decides to hear the grade appeal, the professor and student must each present their cases in person. Students must be able to prove the professor was prejudiced against them, capriciously evaluated their work in the class or could not speak English well enough to teach the class effectively. OU associate provost Chris Walker said if a grade appeal board
rules in favor of the student, how the student is accommodated for the grade depends on the case. He also said professors are not reprimanded when a student wins an appeal. Smith submitted the paperwork for his appeal Aug. 26. Along with being frustrated about the length of the appeal, Smith said he felt in the dark on much of the process with what was going on and how much longer it would take.
“I wish that there was a more fair process somehow. I don’t know what that process is, but it would allow students to quickly ajudicate those issues with their professors. And sometimes it does seem to be a negative and hostile process, in a sense.” RICO SMITH, POLITICAL SCIENCE SENIOR
He said he feels the process is stacked against students, especially since the board has several faculty members who know and will continue to work with the professor whose grade is being appealed, while the students on the board do not know the student appealing.
“If it was something that was university-wide or the professors came from a different college, I would feel that the process would be a little more fair in that sense. I just really encourage all students to volunteer for these types of committees so we can ensure the same people are not being chosen,” Smith said. Rhonda Kyncl, the associate dean for students in the College of Arts and Sciences, which is the college handling Smith’s appeal, said appeals don’t happen often; she’s only seen four or five since she’s held her position. However, she said it is rare for an appeal to make it to the board hearing, and uncommon for students to win, as well, because professors “are fair to everyone and that they treat everyone the same.” “It is just very, extremely rare to see that, because in most cases, that doesn’t happen. Faculty evaluate everyone the same. They just simply are not prejudiced or capricious in their evaluation,” Kyncl said. Kyncl said if the appeal does make it to the board, the members of the appeal board do their best to consider both sides. “I do think both the faculty and the students on the committee are looking for that, and they are examining the issue to see if that has happened. I don’t think they favor one side or the other,” Kyncl said. In cases like Smith’s where the student is graduating, academic
advisers try to work with the student so they can still graduate on time, she said. She added that the process does not normally take long, but she can see how it would take a full semester in the fall, because some staff leave during the summer and are not available to work on the appeal until the fall semester begins. “It’s just a lot of paperwork, it’s a lot of documentation, you want to make sure every step is done in a way that’s fair and just. So I can see it,” she said. “I mean, time just flies, and we all get very busy. So we try to keep it moving as quickly as we can and as efficiently as we can, but yes, I can see there being delays in it.” Mechanical engineering senior Trevor Wilkinson had a similar situation in the spring of 2016 when he appealed a grade through the Gallogly College of Engineering for a class he took in the fall of 2015. He submitted his paperwork by the Feb. 15, 2016 deadline and did not find out the results until July 2016. Several students, including Wilkinson, simultaneously appealed associate professor Peter Attar for his class, Numerical Methods for Engineering Computation — which is required for many in the college to graduate — because they felt see GRADES page 2