February 16-19, 2017

W E E K E N D E D I T I O N | F E B R U A R Y 16 -19, 2 0 17 | T W I C E W E E K LY I N P R I N T | O U D A I LY. C O M

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WAITING GAME

NOOR EEMAAN/THE DAILY

At Goddard Health Center, limited staff and tight budgets mean long wait times for students seeking mental health care. When minutes and hours are crucial, students wait days and weeks — sometimes months.

EMMA KEITH • @SHAKEITHA _97 ason Cullen spent six weeks enduring worsening panic attacks and suicidal thoughts in fall 2016 before he was finally able to receive mental health care.

“Just being told that it would be six weeks, that on its own kind of made it worse — it made things feel just kind of worthless,” said Cullen, geology and math senior.

Although not all who seek mental health services through the

CALEB JOURDAN/THE DAILY

Mason Cullen, math and geology senior, describes his experience at Goddard Health Center and his wait time for an appointment on Nov. 28.

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES Goddard Health Center — University Counseling Center: Call 405-325-2911 to make an appointment with a Goddard counselor, or visit its website for more information.

OU Psychology Clinic: Call 405-325-2914 for more information. The OU Counseling Psychology Clinic offers counseling sessions conducted by OU counseling psychology doctoral students.

Norman Regional Hospital Behavioral Medicine Call: 405-307-5555 OU Behavior Intervention Team (BIT) Call 405-325-7700 or fill out an online form. By filing a BIT report, members of the OU community can document and provide help for someone exhibiting concerning or violent behavior.

24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255 or start an online chat. Trained responders answer 24/7.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves or someone else, call 911.

University Counseling Center endure extended wait times — measured from the day a patient calls the center to the day of the intake appointment — like those Cullen experienced, the counseling center still experiences severe understaffing and a lack of resources relative to OU’s student population.

Without access to the help he needed, Cullen felt his schoolwork slip, he said.

“I tend to have a pretty good grasp on school and going to class and stuff, but I definitely noticed that I kind of lost a lot of motivation to do stuff,” Cullen said. “I would deliberately just not care about whether I did a good job or not and kind of just do things to get them done.”

Scott Miller, director of the University Counseling Center, said in an email that in fall 2016 the center saw one-third of appointments within one to two days of the patient calling to schedule the intake appointment, and he said that the average wait time was only 9.6 days.

This ratio can mean that some students experience wait times far above the average Miller provided. Of the 72 students who completed The Daily’s questionnaire, 59 reported seeking mental health care at Goddard’s University Counseling Center, but only three students reported a wait time of one to six days. Six reported

waiting one to two weeks, 17 reported two to three weeks, 16 reported three weeks to one month, 13 reported one to two months, and four students said they waited more than two months to be seen at the counseling center.

Miller also said in the email that the counseling center currently employs 17 staff members — six Ph.D-certified psychologists, two psychiatrists, one licensed alcohol and drug counselor, four psychology interns, and four graduate students.

According to the International Association of Counseling Services Inc., campus mental health centers should maintain a ratio of one professional full-time staff member to every 1,000 to 1,500 students for overall campus well-being. This recommended number excludes temporary interns or trainees as well as psychiatrists, who primarily fulfill prescription needs rather than counseling needs. Well below these standards, the counseling center only employs seven full-time professional staffers to serve the Norman campus’ student population of 27,937.

This means OU’s Norman campus has one mental health professional per 3,991 students, a number more than twice the association’s recommended ratio.

Even if interns, graduate students and psychiatrists were included in those numbers, the ratio would be one mental health professional per every 1,643 students.

Miller said while three-to-fourweek wait times do not surprise him, he is unaware of cases in the two-month wait time range.

OU students are not the only university students experiencing these mental health professional ratios. The Texas Tribune reports that the University of Houston, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas-Austin, Texas State University, Texas Tech University and the University of North Texas are all understaffed by the International Association of Counseling Services Inc.’s standards as well.

According to the Texas Tribune, the University of Houston is furthest from the ideal ratio with one full-time professional staffer per 3,285 students, and all of these institutions report that a two-tothree-week wait time is normal at their campus counseling centers.

While he said he understands the counseling center’s staffing difficulties, Cullen said six weeks was a lot of waiting to endure.

“I’m sure that they see a lot of

people, but I think six weeks is kind of ridiculous,” Cullen said.

“And I think they need to do what they can to kind of bump those intake wait times down.”

A

fter Elaina Fees waited six weeks for a counseling appointment that she ended up canceling, she found herself urgently needing mental health care.

Fees, a public and nonprofit administration and women’s and gender studies freshman, said she called the University Counseling Center in fall 2016 for an emergency appointment around 10 a.m. and was asked if she could make it through the day without coming in. When she said no, she was scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. appointment.

Waiting through the day was a struggle for Fees, who said she skipped classes without a doctor’s note and spent the afternoon wrestling with her mind.

“I think that one was the hardest for me with my experiences with Goddard is like, I really needed somebody, I really did,” Fees said. “I consider myself a strong person — I consider myself able to move and shake and do all the things you need to do, but whenever you’re at war with yourself and it’s not a war you want to fight, it’s really difficult.”

Though she arrived at the counseling center at 3:15 p.m. for her appointment, Fees said she was not able to see anyone until 3:50 p.m. and could only stay for 25 to 30 minutes so she could make it to a 4:30 p.m. class.

HOW LONG STUDENTS WAIT

1day

In a crisis or emergency situation, students can see a mental health professional at the University Counseling Center the same day they call.

10 days Students wait an average of 9.6 days to see a mental health professional at the University Counseling Center.

60 days Some students have waited two or more months to see a mental health professional at the University Counseling Center.

Sources: University Counseling Center Director Scott Miller and an OU Daily questionnaire

see WAITING page 2

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

Elaina Fees, public and nonprofit administration and women’s and gender studies freshman, sits in Gaylord Hall Jan. 31. Fees spoke about her experience with mental illness and waiting for treatment.

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• February 16-19, 2017

NEWS WAITING: Continued from Page One

“I felt a little bit better just because I was able to unload, but it really just — you unpack all of it and then there’s nowhere for it to go,” Fees said. “You kind of need to, once you decompress a little bit, you kind of need to kind of put things back in and work it out. So I kind of threw out all my bad, and all my bad was still out there.”

But Fees had tried the center before her emergency appointment. Early in fall 2016, she called to make a counseling appointment and was given an appointment time of four to six weeks away, she said.

Fees waited from September to late October or November, she said, but ended up canceling the intake appointment the day it was supposed to occur.

“It was the day of, and I was laying in bed and I was like, ‘I can’t get out of bed — I’m not going to go see the counselor,’” Fees said. “Which is like, really self-defeating and makes absolutely no sense, but it was like, ‘You know what, this is swell, this is what you need to do right now to take care of your brain.’”

Her call to schedule an emergency appointment came one to two weeks after she canceled her initial appointment, Fees said. She said she is unlikely to return to the counseling center.

The University Counseling Center is often the cheapest option for students, and other mental health practices in the Norman area are not without major wait time issues, either.

Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

Communications senior Lilia Shahbandeh called Balance Women’s Health in Moore in August 2016 to schedule a psychiatric appointment so she could be prescribed ADHD medication. Her appointment was scheduled for the first available time — Nov. 4.

“My doctor was just like, ‘Well, since you’re starting school again, let’s get you on the right track before you get all these, like your final semester gets out of whack or anything like that,’ and now we’re here, mid-November, and I’m finally getting my ADHD medication that I probably could have used way back in August,” Shahbandeh said.

Shahbandeh said she was wary about Goddard’s effectiveness because of what she’d heard from friends, so she chose the only other place that would accept her insurance.

“The university is doing what it can — it’s just we started from a place of being behind, but we’re catching up as quick as we can.”

SCOTT MILLER, DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER

Just a month after she was able to begin the ADHD medication, she said she had seen an improvement in her eating and sleeping habits as well as her academic performance — moving her from receiving C’s and D’s to receiving A’s and B’s.

“I feel like my medication helped (my grades)

tremendously, but it’s just that the fact that I had to wait so long for that to happen was just a big barrier that just was like madness,” Shahbandeh said.

A

t the core of wait times at all of these facilities is a systemic undervaluing and underfunding of mental health care, Miller said. Miller said salaries for mental health professionals are some of the lowest for their levels of education, even with doctorate-level training.

“What that leads to are fewer people going into training programs to be trained as mental health counselors. Less funding causes smaller staff and less staff to see the people that need to be seen,” Miller said. “And then on top of that, you have a current generation of students who are willing to seek mental health care, value mental health care, want access to mental health care.

“So we have a group of students that see it as something that is appropriate and healthy to do, and so they’re coming in at goodsized numbers, which is a good thing, but we haven’t done a good job nationwide of funding mental health.”

OU has made attempts to improve situations that s t u d e n t s l i k e Fe e s a n d Cullen have experienced.

P re s i d e nt Dav i d B o re n authorized the hiring of a new psychiatrist at the University Counseling Center in November 2015.

While psychiatrists are not part of the International Association of Counseling Services Inc.’s recommended mental health professional numbers, Miller said OU’s psychiatrists have been helpful in many areas

of wait time.

“I’d be surprised if you ever heard a wait for more than a week or two for a psychiatric appointment,” Miller said. “Those are folks that we’re getting in quickly. The (additional) psychiatrist has made a world of difference in terms of wait time for medication. And our psychiatrists have even been fantastic to do additional intakes if we have students who are in need of quicker service.”

Miller said the counseling center has recently taken extra steps to work on wait times, including implementing next-day appointments, seeing several walkin appointments each day and using reminder phone calls to ensure that students make it in for their intakes.

“There’s just always a balancing act because you can get people in quicker, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re able to continue to follow them,” Miller said. “So we can only even take so many people in the front door and still provide quality care, which is the balance for us — we don’t ever want to get to a place where we’re not providing quality care.”

In the face of its efforts to work on wait times, OU has been hit with massive budget reductions since 2016 after Oklahoma public schools funding received a nearly $110 million cut in March 2016. Boren responded to OU’s $20.3 million budget reduction with faculty pay cuts, voluntary retirement packages and a 7 percent tuition increase in 2016 in order to cut the university’s costs and increase funding.

“The university is doing what it can — it’s just we started from a place of being

behind, but we’re catching up as quick as we can,” Miller said. “But you know right now the state and university is not seeing an excess of money, so it’s just kind of a systemic problem that isn’t any one person’s fault, but everyone’s trying to work on to see how we can fix it and what we can do.”

Despite persistent understaffing, the University Counseling Center’s budget has actually increased in the last year, Miller said in an email. While the center has cut $7,000 from its budget in the last year, the additional expense of the new psychiatrist’s salary has outweighed that reduction, Miller said.

Miller said he anticipates hiring at least one, if not two, new counselors for the fall 2017 semester.

While the counseling center may be unable to i n c re a s e i t s nu mb e r o f full-time professional staff members at the moment, Fees said there are other practical ways to make the counseling center more accessible, like creating a way for students to schedule appointments online rather than having to make a phone call.

“You know, it’s really difficult — I don’t want my experience to shroud the great work that the University Counseling Center does,” Fees said. “I really do appreciate — without, without those people in place and those like, metrics, and just all those things in place … there wouldn’t be the amount of people that are being helped. And so I do appreciate that, but it still just kind of sucks whenever you get shafted a little bit.”

The International Association of Counseling Services Inc. has set out guidelines for how many full-time professional staff members a campus mental health center should have.

It recommends one professional fulltime staff member per 1,000 to 1,500 students.

Here’s how OU stacks up compared to other similarly-sized schools: University of Oklahoma 7 full-time professional staff members Fall 2016 enrollment: 27,937 Ratio: 1 professional for every 3,991 students University of TexasAustin: 1 professional for every 1,818 students University of North Texas: 1 professional for every 2,655 students Texas A&M University: 1 professional for every 2,705 students University of Houston: 1 professional for every 3,285 students Source: University Counseling Center Director Scott Miller and reporting from The Texas Tribune

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February 16-19, 2017 •

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Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

New school’s vision grows Students, faculty advance biomedical engineering college ANNA BAUMAN @annabauman2

After welcoming its first class of undergraduate students last semester, the OU Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering is growing and improving thanks to collaboration between faculty and students.

Skyler Quine, biomedical engineering sophomore, said he and the other students have played an active role in shaping and guiding the program by giving feedback on courses, professors, teaching styles and other areas. Michael Detamore, founding director of the school, met with almost every sophomore last semester to discuss individual goals and concerns, which has led to improvements, Quine said.

“(Detamore) is really good at working with us and asking for feedback and things,” Quine said. “We are definitely having that role that I was excited about in guiding the program as well as being a part of it, which is really cool.”

The program currently has 75 students enrolled, 20 more than last semester, according to an email from Theresa Marks, assistant dean for academic student services.

Additionally, last semester, 27 percent of its students were

Freshman, senior value experiences from council race ANDREW CLARK @Clarky_Tweets

DAISY CREAGER @daisycreager

The OU students who ran for two Norman City Council wards lost their respective elections Tuesday, but they are still optimistic about their futures.

Victor Reyes, public relations senior and president of OU College Republicans, received 2.31 percent of the total votes cast for the Ward 1 election. Kate Bierman won

@oudaily

Two bills restricting abortion in Oklahoma have recently passed the State House of Representatives’ Public Health Committee.

One of the bills, House Bill 1441, prohibits abortions without the written consent of a fetus’ father and requires women seeking to abort their pregnancies to submit in writing the identity of the fetus’ father to the physician who would perform the abortion.

However, the bill would not apply in cases where the father of the fetus is deceased or if the pregnancy was a result of rape or incest.

The bill, by state Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, will now go to the Oklahoma House of Representatives floor. If the bill is passed, it would go into effect Nov. 1.

oudaily oudaily.com oudaily.com

VOL. 102, NO. 41

© 2017 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢

the Ward 1 election, receiving 53.96 percent of the vote, and incumbent Greg Heiple received the remaining 43.73 percent.

Traci Baker, political science freshman, ran for Ward 7, which encompasses a southeastern portion of the OU Norman campus, against incumbent Stephen Holman and also lost. Baker received 20.96 percent of the vote while Holman retained his seat with 79.04 percent.

While the results did not end in either Reyes’ or Baker’s favors, Reyes said he was happy to have the experience at 22 years old.

“Who am I to question the voters? They decided who

Committee passes two abortion bills STAFF REPORTS

oudaily

“That group of people have expectations that go far beyond what is typical,” Sikavitsas said. “So we’re trying to cater to their needs as much as possible, not only to the National Merit Scholars, to all the students, because we believe this is a group of people that have very special interests.”

Quine said there have been some minor setbacks because of how new the college is, such as the process of hiring new faculty members and unclear

degree requirements.

“Right now, obviously it’s still developing, so there are kinks that need to be worked out,” Quine said.

The school has six faculty members, including new hires and transfers from other departments. More faculty hires will be phased in with the goal of having a total of 12 faculty positions filled by fall 2018, said Roger Harrison, professor of biomedical engineering.

Harrison said he led the development of the school’s undergraduate curriculum after studying other schools’ examples and consulting with a committee of other OU faculty members. The committee opted for a broad-based curriculum with several distinguishable characteristics, like allowing juniors to choose four out of six core courses with lab components that focus on more narrow areas of interest.

Then, as seniors, the students will work in groups on an engineering design project in collaboration with physicians from the OU Health Sciences Center and others from the industry, Harrison

said.

“It’ll be something new — could be a new device, a new processor, something related to biomedical engineering,” Harrison said. “These will be real world problems, solving real world problems that will be real advances. It’ll be more than an academic exercise.”

Outside of the curriculum, Sikavitsas said undergraduates are encouraged to get involved in research with faculty and to pursue internships and cooperatives during the semester.

“Even better, doing that outside the U.S. in places like Europe or South America or Asia, where they can get exposed to different cultures and different research environments and ... spread the word out about the quality of undergraduates that we are producing,” Sikavitsas said.

“These are things we’re really promoting. We’re trying to create ties, provide opportunities to undergraduates by using our own contacts.”

Sikavitsas said there are overwhelming numbers of students interested in biomedical engineering across

the country because of the field’s appealing nature.

“It has a certain level of nobility,” Sikavitsas said. “You are trying to cure cancer, you are trying to develop devices that can identify diseases more efficiently, therapists using nanoparticles that can help in cardiovascular disease, in other diseases, in cancer. So, all these things demonstrate into the mind of high school kids, or even younger, a certain level of nobility — their work is going to really help people.”

Sikavitsas said the longterm goal is to double the school’s faculty in a decade and continue further growth in the college’s students, space and prestige.

“We need to be working really hard in being successful in the very first years so we can justify that growth,” Sikavitsas said. “I think the vision is really strong. We would like to be a dominant player in biomedical engineering education and research. That’s the long-term vision.”

Anna Bauman

anna.m.bauman-1@ou.edu

OU students lose Norman election

/oudaily

@theoudaily

National Merit Scholars, and 60 percent of its students were female, Marks said.

Professor of bioengineering and biomedical engineering Vassilios Sikavitsas said he thinks the quality of the school’s students is exceptionally high.

VASSILIOS SIKAVITSAS, PROFESSOR OF BIOENGINEERING AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

/oudaily

@theoklahomadaily

PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY

Students look at the board as their professor writes and explains an equation during class on Tuesday in Devon Energy Hall, room 270. The biomedical engineering program currently enrolls 75 students.

“We would like to be a dominant player in biomedical engineering education and research. That’s the long-term vision.”

Measures would require consent of father, create fines

@oudaily

3

The other abortion-related bill, House Bill 1549, states that no person can perform an abortion if they know the woman is seeking it solely because of genetic abnormalities. If a physician still performs the abortion, he or she will be held accountable for damages and may have his or her medical license revoked.

The woman seeking the abortion will be accountable for damages, as well, including paying fines 10 times the cost of the original abortion and being held criminally liable for the violation.

The author of HB 1549 is representative George Faught, R-Oklahoma City.

Humphrey, the author of HB 1441, also recently told The Intercept that he believes a woman is a “host” to a fetus during pregnancy and that men are often excluded from abortion decisions.

Staff Reports

dailynews@ou.edu

was the best candidate for the job, and they decided Kate Bierman was the best,” he said.

“I’m okay with the results. I’m still disappointed, but I do think this is just the process working itself out. I’m just happy to have been a part of it.”

Reyes said he is going to take some time to evaluate his experience during this election before deciding what his next career move will be.

“If nothing else, what this race did is it put me out there and it gave me a voice larger than even one on campus,” he said.

“I’m excited for that, and I’m excited to see where it takes me,” he said.

Baker said the experience of running was educational, and she plans on trying to join a committee or board in the Norman government. She will run for City Council again, but she has not decided when she will do so.

VICTOR REYES

TRACI BAKER

PROVIDED BY VICTOR REYES

SIANDHARA BONNET/THE DAILY

“I feel like I did fairly well given the circumstances, I’m pretty impressed with what happened last night. It was an educational and fun experience and I’m definitely going to build on that,” Baker said.

Baker had previously served as the Oklahoma state volunteer coordinator for former

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson. She is also the Libertarian Caucus chair for Oklahoma.

Andrew Clark

andrewclark@ou.edu

Daisy Creager

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4

• February 16-19, 2017

OPINION

Audra Brulc, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion

OU lacks in trans healthcare Neha Raghavan

Neha.q.Raghavan@gmail.com

As a trans woman of color, I admire the ways the University of Oklahoma has worked to accommodate all students. The Gender and Equality Center (which leads events such as the Queer Tour and provides resources for LGBTQ+ students), the Queer Student Association and the LGBTQ+ Lounge all help LGBTQ+ students find their community on campus. The LGBT Ally program and the required diversity training also train faculty and students to promote a culture of inclusion on campus. Rallies against police brutality, the immigration ban and ignorance have been held throughout my freshman year. OU President David Boren has also taken a stance for inclusion, speaking out against racism on

campus and the immigration ban. While I appreciate everything OU has done, an immediate need of the trans community has yet to be addressed: healthcare. The trans community has largely been neglected by medical professionals, with many doctors and nurses unaware of how to treat trans patients.

Unfortunately, OU isn’t much of an exception.

I made the choice to begin hormone replacement therapy recently. HRT is an important step for many trans people, helping align our gender identity and our secondary sex characteristics.

As a first step toward HRT, I made a counseling appointment at Goddard Health Services (a letter from a medical professional is required to begin HRT). As I was filling out the mental health intake form, I was already wary. The mental health intake form currently lists “transsexual� (an outdated term referring to a trans person who’s taken hormones or had surgery) as a sexuality. Not only does the term transsexual exclude trans individuals who either

haven’t or don’t want to medically transition, it also isn’t a sexual orientation. The form lists questions about menstruation under a section labeled “FOR WOMEN� (ignoring the reality of AFAB — “assigned female at birth� — trans people), and reeks of heterosexism by only referring to parents as a father and mother. This was, unfortunately, just the form.

While my appointments at Goddard have gone smoothly, with staff using my correct pronouns and name, avoiding invasive questions and largely respecting my identity as a trans woman, the services available for trans people are lacking, to say the least. Once I receive my letter confirming that I can begin HRT, there’s little else Goddard offers trans students. HRT can’t be started at Goddard, but despite the daunting name, HRT isn’t a difficult service to provide.

HRT consists of blood work (to check that trans patients won’t react adversely to hormones), followed by a monthly prescription of hormones in the form of pills,

patches or injections. While Goddard will fill prescriptions for hormones, since it doesn’t have an endocrinologist, trans students have to get bloodwork, testing and prescriptions outside of Goddard.

“

The trans community has largely been neglected by medical professionals, with many doctors and nurses unaware of how to treat patients.

Unfortunately, OU isn’t much of an exception.

NEHA RAGHAVAN PRE-MED WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES FRESHMAN

Even if Goddard can’t provide HRT, OU has done nothing to accommodate trans healthcare. There are very few clinics in Oklahoma that provide HRT, and Planned Parenthood is one of them.

The lack of HRT at Goddard wasn’t an issue while there was Planned Parenthood in Norman, but that branch has since closed. The closest clinic providing HRT is now the Planned Parenthood in central Oklahoma City. For trans students without access to transportation, this only makes the path toward HRT even more difficult. As such, many of my trans friends have taken to self-medicating. Hormones can be bought on the internet from the black market or overseas sellers, and for many trans people, this simplifies and lowers the cost of HRT. However, the dangers of self-medication should be obvious and the unintended side effects can include increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, depression, obesity, diabetes and more. If OU were to make HRT more accessible to trans students, fewer trans students would resort to self-medication. OU could provide or connect trans students with transportation, work directly with the Planned Parenthood clinic in Oklahoma City, cover transition-related costs

Taboo traps black mental health Taylor Wilson

taylornw098@gmail.com

Mental health in the black community continues to be a huge elephant in the room.

In fact, many of us are led to believe it is a white person’s problem. Black people are rarely allowed to show weakness or vulnerability. Two images immediately come to mind: the tough black man and the strong black woman.

Family, the media, economic status and even the church all play a role in how mental health is viewed in the black community.

From childhood, black children — especially boys — are often told to “stop crying all the time,� “stop being a punk� or “stop being sensitive.� This leaves them unsure of how to properly and freely express their emotions. We also mirror our parents — I know plenty of people who have never seen their parents shed a tear outside of times of mourning. This pressures them to refrain from showing their own vulnerability. Even when they do, they are “just having an attitude� or “just having one of those days.�

The church even tells you to pray to God about it, or that you just “have to go through it.� As most of us may know by now, mental illness simply cannot be prayed away.

In movies and television, black actors are often typecast into stereotypical roles:

the men as thugs or athletes and the women as loud or angry or as single mothers.

Rarely do these TV shows or films explore the realistic traumas and mental health issues these characters face.

However, shows like “Blackish� and “The Carmichael Show� are continuing the dialogue with episodes centered around mental illness and its stigma in the black community.

Fortunately, more black musicians are sharing their own bouts with mental illness. Beyonce, Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are just a few artists who have used their platforms to bring more awareness to mental illness. The response from listeners is generally one of positivity and empathy. If more black individuals with platforms speak about it, black listeners from various demographics may begin to see there is nothing wrong with suffering from mental illness, nor with seeking help.

But not everyone has the money to go see a counselor or psychiatrist. Insurance can also be picky when it comes to mental illnesses, and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services cut more than $22.8 million from its budget in early 2016. This may cause individuals to self-medicate using drugs, pills or alcohol.

Still, more often than not, black people with more education are the most hesitant to seek help.

The best thing that we can do is educate ourselves. That way, we will be able to recognize the signs in ourselves,

Previous Solution

Monday- Very Easy Tuesday-Easy Wednesday- Easy Thursday- Medium Friday - Hard

Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

under student health insurance or find other ways to make HRT more accessible to trans students.

The hurdles involved in beginning HRT at OU are not only an inconvenience, but they are also a mental and physical health failure. If our university wants to truly listen to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community, trans healthcare needs to be addressed.

Neha Raghavan is a premed women’s and gender studies freshman and guest columnist for The Daily.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Febuary 2017 edition of OU FORUM.

SUBMITTING A COLUMN The Daily welcomes letters to the editor and guest columns from the OU community.

To submit a letter or column, email dailyopinion@ou.edu.

Stay connected with The Daily

Follow @OUDaily for breaking news and campus info

CLASSIFIEDS J Housing Rentals DUPLEXES UNFURNISHED SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE

A screenshot from an episode of “The Carmichael Show� on racial profiling.

family members and children. Given that a lot of the older generation is pretty set in their ways of thinking, it is up to the younger generation to teach our children it is okay to show vulnerability and ask for help. This also means the media must continue to take steps toward eliminating the stereotypes perpetuating the opposite.

We need to see more black

men and women crying, and more realistic and relatable representations of what it is like to live with a mental illness. That way, this continuation of conversation eventually leads to action that heals the black community.

Taylor Wilson is a Russian freshman and columnist for The Daily.

By Eugenia Last

Copyright 2017, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

If you keep your emotions under control, everything else will fall into place this year. Carefully choose your targets as you navigate your way through business and personal situations. Make it your quest to come up with ideas and to bring about positive change. Romance is highlighted.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- A chance to make a financial move is best thought through carefully. DonĘźt let your emotions or romantic partner influence an important decision. You cannot buy love.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Your luck is changing, and good fortune is heading in your direction. Reconnect with someone you have enjoyed working or playing with in the past and see what happens.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Express your thoughts and offer suggestions.

You will capture interest and impress someone who can influence your future. Partnerships and contracts look promising, and can be formulated and signed.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- A business meeting or personal discussion will go well if you listen to whatĘźs being said. Once you grasp the magnitude of the conversation, add positive, unique suggestions. Your candor will be appreciated.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Put everything youĘźve got into getting ahead.

Use your intellect to draw attention to what you want to see unfold and you will have a captive audience. Romance looks inviting.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- YouĘźll be torn between professional and personal responsibilities. Look for a unique way to satisfy both yourself and the

PLACE A PAID AD Phone: 405-325-2521 E-mail: classifieds@ou.edu

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3 days prior Place line ad by 9:00 a.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

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people counting on you. Honesty and understanding will help you overcome challenges.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Stop contemplating and start engaging in the ventures that excite you. Personal gains, travel and physical indulgence look appealing as well as rewarding.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Try to stay on course. Falling behind will result in complaints from someone who can be demanding. Put your money in a safe place to avoid overspending.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Look for changes that will make your life better.

Evaluate your current situation as well as your relationships. Size things up, and figure out how you can attain the happiness you desire.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Problems with communication can be expected if you have revealed too much information to someone you thought you could trust. Damage control will be necessary and should be implemented in a candid manner.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Get out there and have fun today. Participate in any activity that will align you with like-minded people or valuable colleagues. Be a team player.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Stop in your tracks before you make a mistake.

DonĘźt follow the leader when you should be the leader. Making impulsive decisions or letting someone coerce you into an argument will set you back.

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Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy Parker February 16, 2017

ACROSS 1 Slow, to a conductor 6 Pitch easily 10 Part of Einstein’s famous equation 14 Sound that’s bullish 15 Tug but good 16 Opera highlight 17 Fancy way to resign 18 It can be about a foot 19 Scout abode 20 Perform a classic comedy reaction 23 Expire 25 Pale and sickly 26 Hurricane part 27 Live, as a batted ball 29 Mysterious Himalayan 31 Place to relax in mud 34 Norse capital 35 Moses’ sibling 36 Tilly or Ryan of Hollywood 37 Saloon feature 41 “Slippery� tree 42 Place for a lawbreaker’s monitor 43 Sap 44 Perceive 45 Mountain route

2/16

46 Snake’s percussion instrument?

48 Thing created by a seamstress 49 Subsidy, e.g.

50 “Give him an inch, ___ take a mile�

51 Quite the challenge 57 Lhasa ___ (Tibetan dog) 58 Easy sort of run 59 Taxonomic division 62 Judge or think 63 First residence 64 Unable to react, chemically 65 Generous hunk, as of pie 66 Opposite of “go ahead�

67 Strangely DOWN 1 Tabs that cause hallucinations y 2 67.5 degrees, in directions 3 Mark Twain, famously 4 Old King Cole’s fiddlers, collectively 5 Senators play for money here 6 Iron Mike of the ring 7 Pearl City locale

8 Pompous one 9 Anatomy class prop 10 A photo finish 11 Region or vicinity 12 Emulate the Titanic 13 Fill to the maximum 21 A great one can make your week 22 Taking a gander at 23 Tubes with electrodes 24 Step softener 28 Arced, soft throw 29 Two-masted ships 30 Port in the Keystone State 31 Eliminated rough edges 32 Humans

33 Saw eyeto-eye 35 Quizzes 38 Place for a tiny flag 39 Like teeth 40 Banned bug spray 46 Get ___ of (throw away) 47 Slowly, on sheet music 48 A nuclear weapon 49 Dealmaker in Hollywood 51 Fathers 52 Autobahn auto, sometimes 53 “You could ___ nice vacation�

54 Extinct flightless bird 55 Not closed 56 Split in two 60 Address to a webpage 61 Porky’s home

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

2/15 Š 2017 Andrews McMeel Syndication 2/13 Š 2017 www.upuzzles.com Andrews McMeel Syndication

TWIN DODO TRIPLETS By Timothy E. Parker

February 16-19, 2017 •

SPORTS

5

Spenser Davis, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

Woodard leaves lasting legacy Injured player has made his mark on basketball history DEREK PETERSON @DrPetey15

NOOR EEMAAN/THE DAILY

Senior Jordan Woodard takes possession of the ball and prepares to dribble it across the court during the Dec. 7 game against Oral Roberts University. Woodard will not play for the rest of the season after tearing his ACL.

Jordan Woodard, Oklahoma’s lone senior and its most important player this season, will be leaving quite the legacy.

Woodard will miss the remainder of the 201617 season after suffering a torn ACL in Saturday’s contest against Iowa State, closing out a four-year career that is as good as any in Sooners’ basketball history.

“He’ll go down as one of the all-time greats in O k l a h o m a b a s k e t b a l l ,” coach Lon Kruger said.

“When you look at the points scored, the assists, the steals, the free throw percentage, the wins ... three tournament teams, the Sweet Sixteen, the Final Four. That’s all pretty significant as a player, and he’ll go down as one of the most celebrated in all those areas.”

Woodard started every game he played dur ing his first three seasons. His 3,735 minutes played in an Oklahoma jersey ranks eighth all-time. He ranks fourth in assists (471), fifth in made free throws (440), eighth in free-throw percentage (81 percent) and No. 14 all-time in points scored (1,431). But when

you get into legacy, there’s only one place to start.

“It starts with team success,” Kruger said. “When you think about the wins while he’s been here, the tournament appearances and then the individual success behind that, it really speaks for itself when you think about all the categories that he’ll be mentioned in. It’s a pretty good legacy.”

Woodard is, and has always been, a team-first kind of guy. He’s never been loud, ne ver commanded the spotlight, but rather he’s embraced a worker’s mentality, something he said he learned from the guys before him, guys like Ryan Spangler, Buddy Hield and Isaiah Cousins — the core four, including Woodard, en route to a Final Four run last season.

“I appreciate all those guys, they meant so much t o m e ,” Wo o d a r d s a i d .

“Coming here as a young guy, those were my older guys that I looked up to.

They just always send me encouraging words and they never let me settle.

They never let me become complacent. I picked up a big part of my work ethic in the gym from those guys, my knowledge for the game from those guys.”

Woodard said he wouldn’t trade his time at Oklahoma for anything. He called the Final Four trip “one of the greatest moments” of his life and said this season has just been

a testament to how he and his teammates have been able to battle and stave off the urge to pack it in.

Perhaps Woodard’s biggest impact w ill be the things he’s able to leave behind with the youngest team in the Big 12. It will be hard for him at first to watch from the sidelines over the final six games of his career, but Woodard acknowledged it will be good for the team in the long run.

“The team’s going to grow,” he said.

“Future of this team is bright,” he said. “It can only go up from here. The guys are young, ever ybody’s going to be coming back next year, and I expect a lot of big things from them next year.”

A s f o r Wo o d a r d ? N o timetable has been set on surgery and with ACL tears comes a grueling road of recovery, but he said everything will be alright. After the injury initially occurred and Woodard went to the Oklahoma bench, he was seen with a smile on his face. The next day, after his diagnosis was announced, Woodard posted on Twitter and calle d the injur y a setup for a comeback.

“I just wanted my teammates to know that everything is going to be alright,” he said. “This is not the last of Jordan Woodard.”

Derek Peterson

Dr.Petey15@gmail.com

Injured star sets goal, gets momentum going Young players give Woodard credit for their performance JOHN WALKER @jtw2213

Don’t lose to Texas.

That message echoed throughout the night Tuesday. Oklahoma effectively responded with a 70-66 win over its rival to the south, breaking the Sooners’ seven-game losing streak.

The message was a shared belief, but it was made clearest by the players in warmups with signature Nike’s positioned near the end of the bench. “(Jordan) Woodard came up to me and said he didn’t w a nt t o l o s e t o Te x a s,” sophomore center Jamuni McNeace said.

McNeace gives partial credit to Woodard for his career outing.

The spry 6-foot-10-inch man spent the night cashing in on his patented hook shot, crashing the boards and making the hustle plays that earned him the

second-most minutes of his career. As a result, McNeace scored his first double-double as a Sooner w ith a 14-p oint, 14-rebound performance. “(McNeace) was great from the start,” coach Lon Kruger said. “He was engaged. He was active.”

It was a bit of a differe nt s t o r y f o r f re s h ma n guard Jordan Shepherd, who watched fellow point Darrion Strong-Moore receive the nod for the starting one-spot.

Shepherd finished with a modest seven points, but each point was made impactful in a fashion reminiscent of Woodard’s play during the second half for this season.

S h e p h e rd’s f i r s t three-pointer pushed the Sooners ahead 58-56 with 4:31 remaining. His second triple padded the Sooners’ second-half lead to six with PAXSON HAWS/THE DAILY under three minutes to Sophomore center Jamuni McNeace swats the ball aways go. Following Texas’s late- after a Texas player attempt to make a basket. The Sooners game surge in the closing defeated the Longhorns 80-76 Tuesday. minutes, Shepherd contributed the final point older than a freshman,” his predecessor.

“I talked to him all befrom the free-throw line to Shepherd said.

A n d t h r o u g h o u t t h e fore the game, I talked to ice the game.

“I felt like I was much night, he was by the side of him at halftime, I talked to

OU softball team takes hit in early national rankings After a slow start, previous champs drop in standing ABBY BITTERMAN @abby_bitterman

The Sooners fell to No. 4 in the latest USA Today/ NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and to No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll after their 2-2 start to the season in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

Oklahoma was previously ranked No. 1 by both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls to begin the season.

The Sooners lost to Auburn and Washington but beat BYU and Nebraska on their trip to Mexico. Missouri-transfer and left-handed pitcher Paige Lowary and freshman right-handed pitcher Mariah Lopez each started in the circle for the Sooners in addition to 2016 All-American Paige Parker.

The team will play In ca r nate Wo rd , O l e Miss and Houston in the Rawlings Classic i n Ho u s t o n F r i d ay a n d Saturday.

Abby Bitterman abbybitt@ou.edu

RAWLINGS CLASSIC Oklahoma’s opponents, times and channels this weekend in Houston, Texas: Friday: Oklahoma vs.

Incarnate Word at 9 a.m. on KEBC 1560 AM Oklahoma vs. Ole Miss at 2 p.m. on KEBC 1560 AM Saturday: Oklahoma vs. Houston at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on KEBC 1560 AM

NEXT GAME Opponent: Oklahoma State Channel: ESPNU Time: 7 p.m.

Date: Saturday Place: Stillwater, Oklahoma

BIG 12 STANDINGS 1. Kansas (11-2) 2. Baylor (9-4) 3. West Virginia (8-5) 4. Iowa State (7-5) 5. TCU (6-6) 6. Kansas State (5-7) 7. Oklahoma State (5-7) 8. Texas Tech (5-8) 9. Texas (4-9) 10. Oklahoma (3-10)

Source: soonersports.com

him when we back to the bench,” Shepherd said.

His message?

“Don’t lose to Texas.”

Oklahoma’s tumultuous season received a heavy dose of turbulence in the previous weeks. On Saturday, the team had to overcome its seventh consecutive loss, which was juxtaposed with the loss of its leading senior to an ACL tear.

Bu t sp i r i t s w e re ke p t high, an unsurprising result to the head coach.

“A win helps,” Kruger said. “Guys will think different thoughts. B etter

Source: big12sports.com

thoughts. Play with more energy. But the most impressive thing is they’ve done that without winning.”

Postseason aspirations are all but unobtainable at this point in the season.

The team will concentrate on developing its core and finding ways to finish as it tries to crawl its way to .500.

But the Sooners did achieve one goal — a goal set by its team leader.

They did not lose to Texas.

John Walker

john.t.walker-1@ou.edu

Adopt - An - Area Area ratings for this week Air Force ROTC Alpha Chi Omega Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Delta Phi Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society Alpha Omicron Pi Alpha Phi Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Sigma Kappa Alpha Tau Omega Beta Theta Pi Catholic Student Association Chi Omega Delta Delta Delta Delta Epsilon Psi Delta Gamma Delta Phi Omega Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Tau Delta Delta Upsilon Gamma Phi Beta Hispanic American Student Association International Leadership Class Iota Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Delta Chi Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Psi Lambda Chi Alpha National Society of Collegiate Scholars Omega Delta Phi Omega Psi Phi Our Earth Phi Beta Sigma Phi Delta Alpha Phi Delta Theta

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Sigma Pi Beta Phi Pi Kappa Phi Hj]ka\]fl k ;geemfalq K[`gdYjk Hj]ka\]fl k D]Y\]jk`ah ;dYkk Rotaract JM>'F=CK Dad Kak Sigma Chi Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Nu Sigma Phi Epsilon Sooner Jump Start Program Zeta Phi Beta Adams Center Cate Center Couch Center Walker Center

Way to go! Keep up the good work!

Source: soonersports.com The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution. For accommodations on the basis of disability, call 325-7869.

6

• February 16-19, 2017

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

The band Tacocat resting on a bed. The band will play at the Opolis at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Chloe Moores, a&e editor dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/a_and_e • Twitter: @OUDailyArts

PROVIDED BY TACOCAT, PHOTO BY MICHAEL LAVINE

Punk-pop vibe to tear up town Bassist discusses feminism, origins, palindromes, more MOLLY KRUSE @mollykruse98

Tacocat, a Seattle-based p o p p u n k q u a r t e t, w i l l play at Opolis at 9:30 p.m.

Thursday. The band is currently touring after the April 2016 release of its newest album, “Lost Time.” Bree McKenna, Tacocat’s bassist, answered questions about the band’s unique origins and sound.

WHO IS IN TACOCAT AND WHAT DO THEY PLAY? “Lelah (Maupin) plays drums and Emily (Nokes) sings and Eric (Randall) plays guitar.”

of Seattle, and they met in some sort of graphic design class. Me and Eric had been writing some songs, sort of bonding over liking some of the same bands and we knew Lelah had a drum kit but hadn’t quite started playing a lot yet. And none of us wanted to sing, really, we were just trying to figure out songs. And Lelah was like, ‘Oh, I met this girl Emily in my class and she sings along to Neil Diamond or something in the car and she sounds great,’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, perfect, sign her up.’”

HOW DID THE BAND GET STARTED? “It started about nine years ago. We just all became friends and wanted to play house parties around Seattle. There weren’t many HOW DID YOU GUYS ladies doing that at the time, so we sort of wanted MEET? to make our own scene, and “Emily and Lelah were we just kind of kept going. It going to the Art Institute was really fun.”

WHAT INSPIRED THE NAME TACOCAT? DID YOU CHOOSE IT BECAUSE IT’S SPELLED THE SAME WAY BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS?

we talk about are like street harassment or having your period. I think a lot of people are surprised we talk about women’s issues, but that’s a huge thing. Our period is a huge part of our lives. Being “The palindrome thing is yelled at in the street is part a plus, but mostly like I said of our lives. It ends up comwhen we started we thought ing out a lot.” we were just going to be a party band (and were think- WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST ing), ‘What’s a good party OR MOST FUN PLACE band name?’ And then we YO U ’ V E V I S I T E D O N had this shortlist of band TOUR? names we were kind of mulling over, and someone that “Well, we’ve gone on tour I worked with at the time so many weird places. ... was like, ‘Oh, Tacocat, that Geneva was pretty crazy besounds like something a cause we were there last year, 7-year-old girl would name and it was this huge venue her band.’ And I was like, that had a huge stage, and ‘Bingo, that’s the one.’” then a couple other stages in different parts of it.

And then a bar that had WHAT ARE SOME OF THE the oldest DJ in Geneva, who ISSUES YOUR SONGS was like 99 or something, TALK ABOUT? DJing. ... It was so funny be“A lot of our songs are sort cause he was DJing hits from of just about life experiences, his youth. It was really funny but a lot of that — since, you and cute. He was kind of know, the band is 75 percent rocking out playing stuff and women, a lot of the issues it was just amazing.”

W H O A R E S O M E I personally like playing ‘Hey O F Y O U R M U S I C A L Girl,’ which is our song about street harassment. People INFLUENCES? sing along if they know it, “We were originally very and it’s just really fun and inspired by ‘90s Olympia high energy.” bands and the riot grrrl scene, so there’s Bikini Kill HOW WOULD YOU DEand Bratmobile. When we SCRIBE THE BAND’S were coming up into playing music, those were real- SOUND? ly inspiring bands because “It’s really fun feminist pop they dealt with a lot of mi- punk.” sogyny and sang about it and were really open about Molly Kruse it, and coming out of your molly.kruse@ou.edu teen years listening to mainstream music and then hearing that — that felt really radical. So, that was inspiring, but we also built off it with Tacocat Tour our own personalities and Information spin on how we felt about the world today, I guess.”

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE SONGS TO PLAY LIVE? “I think everyone does have favorites, because ... a part that’s really fun for Lelah to play could be really kind of like whatever, boring for me.

For more information about Tacocat’s tour dates visit tacocatdotcom.com.

Tacocat’s latest album, “Lost Time,” is available on Spotify.

Coffee shop keeps cozy Campus Corner hangout provides freshly baked treats MADDIE ROPER @maddieroper4

Crimson & Whipped Cream, nestled cozily on Campus Corner, offers customers locally roasted coffee and delicious baked goods.

Crimson & Whipped Cream’s kitchen staff makes all the sweets from scratch.

The bakery is located in the store where customers can sneak a peak at cookies, cupcakes and bread in the oven.

“They have some pretty decadent stuff,” said Carlie Bunch, recent OU graduate and Crimson & Whipped Cream regular.

The kitchen opens every morning at 6 a.m., and the staff bakes throughout the day to make sure the cases stay full of fresh pastries, said Ashleigh Barnett, Crimson & Whipped Cream owner.

Barnett opened Crimson & Whipped Cream after moving to Norman from New York where she worked at a Brooklyn bakery. She wanted to create a place where she could use her family recipes.

Bunch appreciates Crimson & Whipped Cream because they offer vegan

and perhaps some of the board games Crimson & Whipped Cream provides.

“I really like the atmosphere, and their coffee has always been really quality,” said Haley Hampton, pre-communication disorders freshman.

Barnett hopes Crimson & Whipped Cream provides students with quality products and a great experience.

“It sounds cheesy, but I just really want to provide MADDIE ROPER/THE DAILY small, happy moments in One of Crimson and Whipped Cream’s cappuccino’s and people’s lives with food, vegan chocolate chip cookies. The coffee shop bakes all coffee, friendship and goods in the store from scratch. maybe a game of Uno,” options, such as the choco- caramel and cherries, said Barnett said. late chip cookie and her per- Nathaniel Harrell, music sonal favorite, the banana performance senior.

Maddie Roper nut bread.

Harrell began working at maddieroper4@ou.edu “If you cut it and dip it in Crimson & Whipped Cream your coffee, it is just the best almost a year ago after enthing ever,” Bunch said. joying the shop as a regular ABOUT THE C r i m s o n & W h i p p e d customer.

SERIES Cream accompanies its “I really just like working baked goods with made-to- with the coffee and making • This story is a part of a order French press coffee, the best product that I can series reviewing coffee shops around Norman.

Barnett said. French press for the customers,” Harrell is a method of brewing cof- said.

• Read about last week’s fee in which a barista allows The staff enjoys chatting Best Coffee of Norman coffee grinds to steep in hot with customers and getting pick, The Screen Door, at oudaily.com water before he or she then to know their drink orders. presses the grinds through If a customer has a drink Crimson & a filter. that he or she likes but is C r i m s o n & W h i p p e d not on the menu, Crimson Whipped Cream currently brews cof- & Whipped Cream baristas Cream fee from Fair Fellow Coffee, will recreate it, Harrell said. a roaster located in Tulsa, Harrell hopes students Location: 331 White St. Oklahoma. Fair Fellow’s can study hard at the bakery Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. “ E l s i e’s Bl e n d” i n f u s e s but also enjoy themselves subtle flavors of smoked with good conversation

PROVIDED BY SPOTIFY

The cover of Chance the Rapper’s thrid studio album ‘Coloring Book.’ The Grammy winner will perform in Tulsa on May 9.

Chance to hit Tulsa, Texas stages in May Grammy-winning rapper takes spring tour to Oklahoma STAFF REPORTS

Grammy award-winning artist Chance The Rapper’s tour will travel through Oklahoma and Texas this May. Chance’s “Spring Tour 2017” will come to Dallas Ma y 5 , A u s t i n Ma y 6 ,

Houston May 7 and Tulsa May 9. Tickets went on sale at 6 p.m. CST Feb. 14 at chanceraps.com.

The artist received seven Grammy nominations in 2017 and won Best Rap Album, Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance at the 59th annual Grammy Awards Sunday. Other scheduled appearances for the tour are available at chanceraps.com.

Staff Reports

dailynews@ou.edu

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February 16-19, 2017 •

ENGINEERS WEEK 2017

The 104th Engineers’ Week — Cheers to Our Engineers WEEK OF EVENTS

THE LAWYER RIVALRY The rivalry between engineers and lawyers is one of our most time-honored traditions. The beginning of the rivalry at OU can be traced back to 1915, when a group of engineers “confiscated” a cannon and fired it to honor St. Patrick. The firing destroyed every window in the Law Barn, and so began the rivalry.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 Rush Goldberg Project Noon-4 p.m. REPF Practice Bay Teams of up to five will have four hours to design a Rube Goldberg machine that uses at least three different steps to wave an OU flag for at least three seconds. Cash prizes awarded to the winning teams.

Chaired by Triangle Fraternity SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 Road Rallye Co-sponsored by BP and Valero Energy Corporation 2-4 p.m. DEH 270 An automobile-powered scavenger hunt that requires successful completion of engineering problems to find the next clue and win. Featuring a cookout at the final location.

Chaired by Society of Petroleum Engineers MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 Trivia Night Co-sponsored by Chickasaw Nation Industries 4-6 p.m. REPF 200 Students, faculty and staff form teams in this family feud-style competition covering knowledge of engineering concepts, history of the college and more. Winning teams receive cash prizes. Chaired by the American Indian Science & Engineering Society Games Tournament Sponsored by Phillips 66 7-9 p.m. Willoughby Lounge Two-person teams compete in pool, ping pong and foosball for cash prizes.

Chaired by Alpha Sigma Kappa TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Stress E-liminator Sponsored by ONEOK Noon-3 p.m. REPF 200 An afternoon for students, faculty and staff to put aside classes and relax. Chair massages, video games, puzzles and healthy snacks are available for stress relief.

Chaired by National Society of Black Engineers Engineers Got Talent Sponsored by Chevron 7-9 p.m. Robert S. Kerr Auditorium, Sam Noble Museum Students showcase their non-technical talents for a chance to win cash prizes.

Chaired by the Society of Women Engineers WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Blood Drive 10 a.m.-3 p.m. REPF 200 Give back to the community by donating to the Oklahoma Blood Institute. Opportunity to win raffle prizes, while food and drinks are provided.

Chaired by Tau Beta Pi Casino Night Sponsored by Shell 7-9 p.m. REPF Dunham Student Leadership Center Las Vegas style games that encourage strategic thinking to win various prizes.

Chaired by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Wise Saints Mixer Sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad 2-4 p.m. DEH Atrium Students, faculty and staff will have time to meet and greet each other on an informal basis and enjoy light hors d’oeuvres.

Chaired by American Society of Mechanical Engineers E-Olympics Co-sponsored by CP&Y and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company 6-8 p.m. TBD Five-person teams compete in dodgeball and relay races to win bragging rights and cash prizes.

Chaired by Sooners Without Borders FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 LKOT Fireout 5:22 p.m. Carson/Felgar Lawn Faculty, staff, students and alumni gather to see the College’s loyal servants revealed.

Fluid Dynamics Lab Sponsored by Williams 6:30-11 p.m. O’Connell’s on Campus Corner The study of the movement of low viscosity, green, effervescent fluid into human oral cavities. This faculty/ staff/student celebration of our Irish background includes a beard and hairy leg contest, and singing of our famous engineering songs.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25 E-Week Banquet Sponsored by Chevron, ONEOK and Shell 6-9 p.m. Great Hall, Sam Noble Museum Outstanding students, faculty, staff and corporate sponsors are recognized, coronation of Engineering Royalty commences and event winners are announced.

Although engineers have clearly shown their superiority through the years, lawyers have had their moments.

In 1919, a female law student gained entrance to the Engineering Banquet and managed to spike the coffee with a mixture containing pepper, castor oil and other assorted ingredients. The combination caused considerable gastric distress among the guests. Some guests caused an interruption due to their nausea-related exit.

LEGEND OF ST. PAT

In 1926, the owl on the Law Barn received the first of many future coats of green paint, which have continued to this day.

St. Patrick’s Day is drawing near, and it will once again be time for the engineers to pay homage to their patron saint, St. Patrick, who is revered through legend as the oldest engineer. In modern times, we do this by electing new E-Club officers, crowning the Engineering Queen and King and consuming healthy portions of green brew.

In 1980, engineers posing as construction workers poured a cement footing on the lawn of the new law center in broad daylight. Later that night, a large concrete tombstone was erected on the footing with the inscription, “IS THE RIVALRY DEAD?” Due to extremely cold temperatures, the tombstone was not fully cured and was found the next morning on the engineering lawn upside down with the words “HELL NO!” spray-painted on its face.

In the spring of 1903, the University of Missouri began construction of a new engineering building. While the construction crew was digging, a large stone with a faint inscription was unearthed. The stone told the adventures of St. Patrick and his ties to the engineering profession.

In 1982, a couple of fine engineering students attached a green dye injection system to the law center’s water supply.

Every time a fountain was turned on or a toilet flushed, green water “mysteriously” appeared. That E-Week the law center was ceremoniously decorated each night with green toilet paper.

Later that year, a geology instructor from Missouri brought a small piece of the stone to Oklahoma where OU engineers kept it. Each year thereafter, graduating seniors would survey their way into the woods, bury the stone, and leave their calculations for the next year’s seniors to locate and rebury the stone.

A few years later, a “Lawyer” mannequin was found buried face-down (with only his feet to be seen) on the engineering lawn. The epithet classically read:

From the ideals and values set forth by St. Patrick, each year a student is elected Knight of St. Pat. His or her fellow students acknowledge that student’s devotion to the engineering profession and to the Patron Saint of Engineering, St. Patrick.

Here lies the poor lawyer His legal work undone He mouthed off to an engineer When he should have run During the winter of 1985, a profuse growth of winter rye grass in the shape of a shamrock adorned the north-side lawn of the Law Barn. Accusations were made but what do engineers know about gardening?

ENGINEERS’ CLUB

In 1989, engineers were once again blamed for a law school computer malfunction that resulted in letters being sent to more than 500 law students informing them that their records had been lost due to computer error. Fearful that they would not graduate, they proceeded to call the 24hour hot-line listed on the letters; good thing it was the law dean’s home phone number.

Engineers’ Club was founded in 1910 and has grown to become the largest engineering program in the Sooner state. With more than 3,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate students, it is the largest student organization on the University of Oklahoma campus. E-Club’s purpose is to promote fellowship among engineering faculty and students and to help students develop leadership skills to supplement their technical expertise.

Rumor has it law students don’t have what it takes to play with engineers anymore. Don’t be disappointed; there’s always the business college …

There are several opportunities for students to become involved with Engineers’ Club. Annual events include the Fall Festival/New Engineers Welcome, Career Fair, Winter Ball, Engineers Week, Student Leadership Retreat and several philanthropy events throughout the year.

Additionally, E-Club’s members can be found in the Engineering Quad selling homemade burgers before every home football game.

ROYALTY CANDIDATES

Serving the engineers since 1910, E-Club’s purpose has surpassed even its most lofty goals. E-Club now serves as a hub for all engineering student organizations and competition teams, actively promoting the hands-on engineering and leadership experience that sets OU graduates apart from the competition.

Jordan Caton

Senior, Chemical Engineering

Engineers Week is celebrated nationally each spring as a time for students to escape the pressures of the classroom and have fun with fellow engineers. At OU, the tradition and history of St. Patrick and the spirit of engineering is showcased in grand display throughout the engineering campus during this week-long celebration. As evidenced

by Engineers Week and all of the many events throughout the year, the principles of dedication, perseverance and hard work, on which E-Club was founded, are still apparent today and guarantee its enduring future.

SALES bit.ly/eweek104sales

Hannah Cheeseman Katherine Johnston Junior, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Ethan Price

Junior, Industrial and Systems Engineering

Junior, Mechanical Engineering

Brock Trotter

Senior, Chemical Engineering

ELECTIONS bit.ly/eweek104vote

9 a.m.–3 p.m. Feb. 13-17, Devon Atrium Banquet tickets: $5, T-shirts: $15, Mugs: $10 Sales will also be available at all events until sold out.

GCoE and MPGE students login to OrgSync, join “Engineering Student Life” to vote on Royalty, Outstanding Faculty, Senior and Staff awards! Polls open Saturday, Feb. 18 at 12:00 a.m. and close Thursday, Feb. 23 at 11:59 p.m.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

For accommodations on the basis of disability, please contact (405) 325-3892. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo

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• February 16-19, 2017

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