Thursday, April 30, 2015

T H U R S D A Y, A P R I L 3 0 , 2 01 5

THE RACE ISSUE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

U.S. IMMIGRATION

RACISM IN AMERICA

Miss and Mr. International OU speak on the transition to OU from South Africa and India (Page B5)

For undocumented immigrants, getting an education can be a battle, but a non-profit makes it easier (Page B1)

Ugandan sophomore Darius Aruho was surprised to learn the value placed on race in the U.S. (Page A3)

TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY

Students hold up signs depicting the word “race” for The Daily’s race issue Wednesday evening on the South Oval.

Students call for more diversity in OU faculty Students, staff work to provide a more inclusive campus DANA BRANHAM Online Editor @danabranham

Line up OU’s full-time faculty, and you’ll see a pretty homogenous group.

In 2014, 1,531 people made up OU’s faculty. Of those people, 32 were black: 14 male and 18 female. In contrast, 1,023 were white.

Pu b l i c re l at i o n s p ro fessor Owen Kulemeka is one of those 32. He teaches in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and

— along with professor Meta Carstarphen — he is one of the only black faculty members in the college.

For Kulemeka, the importance of race representation in education faculty is twofold. Diversity in faculty is not only beneficial to students by giving them experience working with and learning from different types of people, but it is also owed to the people who support OU, as it is a public institution funded, even in a small way, by state money, Kulemeka said.

“This university should reflect the people of Oklahoma,” Kulemeka said.

“There’s a lot of people who pay for this institution who

would never get a chance to come in this institution, but we owe it to them to make sure that at least they are reflected.”

For Kulemeka, having a diverse faculty experience is part of ensuring a robust, well-rounded education for students.

“We cannot train the best of the future if they are not interacting with different types of people,” Kulemeka said. “We all bring our different experiences to the table. And we want our students to be exposed to the best knowledge, and the best knowledge comes from a diverse faculty, staff and student body.

The lack of race

representation in OU’s faculty was brought into the public e ye in Febr uar y when the student group Unheard formed. In one of its first moves as an organization, Unheard, an alliance of black students, issued a list of grievances regarding diversity and inclusion on campus and began distributing the letter on social media. Topping their list of grievances was the lack of black faculty outside of the African-American Studies department, which the letter stated led to “increased under-representation of marginalized students.”

Chelsea Davis, a health SEE CLASSROOM PAGE A4

Discrimination reaches beyond black students Other minority groups still feel unheard at OU ANDREW CLARK Staff Reporter @Clarky_Tweets

While OU Unheard and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon incident have shed light onto the prejudices that African American students have faced at the u n i ve rsi t y , o t h e r m i norities feel left out or forgotten.

Broadcast journalism sophomore and Hispanic American Student

Association member Pam Ortega said that although other minorities may not have faced discrimination as overt as what was demonstrated in the SAE incident, it is still there.

“It’s kind of under-the-rug discrimination,” she said.

Ortega said she first felt discrimination when she attended Camp Crimson her freshman year. She said her peers seemed to connect with each other while she was left out, and she started to consider not going to OU as a result.

“It reminded me of how SEE MINORITIES PAGE A2

ADDRESSING DIVERSITY AT OU THIS SEMESTER Jan. 14| After Unheard members led a protest march against the university, OU President Boren accepted their request to meet to discuss their grievances.

Feb. 13| The Asian American Student Association hosted the first-ever lunar new year event on the South Oval.

March 8 | An anonymous tip was sent to The Dailyʼs news email with a copy of the video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members chanting racist slurs.

JANUARY Jan. 21| Leaders of Unheard are confident in the future of minorities at OU after a private meeting with Boren and other university faculty.

WEATHER Sunny with a high of 77, low of 52.

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Feb. 17| The OU Muslim Student Association hosted a vigil in commemoration of three Muslim students who were murdered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

March 9 | After the SAE video surfaced, students and faculty, including Boren and Unheard, gathered early to demonstrate against the video.

Mar. 24 | Boren hosted a meeting at Catlett Music Center with all fraternity members in the Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Council.

March 31| OU alumnus and former state legislator Jabar Shumate was named OUʼs vice president for university community.

MAY Apr. 15| A candlelight vigil was held in the Unity Garden on the South Oval by an OU student organization to remember the victims of a recent shooting at Garissa University in Kenya.

OU DAILY OUDaily.com

Apr. 24| The NAACP is officially reforming its OU chapter with an approved constitution and recognition as a registered student organization.

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• Thursday, April 30, 2015

NEWS

Paris Burris, news editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

MINORITIES: SAE racist video shed light on discriminations, prejudices Continued from Page One our university is and how it’s a predominantly white institution,” she said. “It’s always been difficult to fit in here.”

Lillie Keener, interior design junior and president of the American Indian Student Association, said she believes the SAE incident has opened a lot of eyes to the issues minority students face.

“I think the video woke everybody up to realize that there are minority students on campus who feel that discrimination,” she said.

“I think it has brought our community together.”

Although she thinks people can see more clearly, she said that she still believes Native American students feel left out in this situation.

“A lot of the students and faculty think that all the Native Americans are just the statues around campus,” she said. “The reality is that we’re still here and we’re thriving, but we’re fighting to keep people aware of our culture.”

This feeling of alienation haunts minorities that are not only racial, however — biology education sophomore and Muslim Student Association member Areebah Anwar said Muslims feel discrimination because of their religion.

“There are times when people might say something or might act a certain way around you because of your faith,” she said.

Many racial minorities practice Islam, and because of this Anwar said the discrimination they face feels almost doubled.

“We’re minorities because

TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY

Students, faculty, news organizations and Norman community members gather outside of Evans Hall on March 9 for OU Unheard’s demonstration in response to SAE’s racist chant. A video of the chant was leaked online March 8.

“I think the video woke everybody up to realize that there are minority students on campus who feel that discrimination.”

LILLIE KEENER, INTERIOR DESIGN JUNIOR AND PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION

of our faith, but then also a lot of our parents are Arab or of Pakistani background,” she said. “It’s like we’re receiving it twice in a way.”

Ortega said the discussions of inclusion at OU seem to pertain to a solely

black and white issue without including the other minority races on campus.

Keener said that even though the discussion has made Native Americans feel left out, she does acknowledge that they may do it to

themselves, too.

“Maybe some of it is our fault — that we don’t feel included — because we tend to seclude ourselves just to maintain our cultural values, but I’m not totally sure,” she said. “We need to start branching out, maybe.”

Anwar said she is not sure if enough is being done to promote inclusion on campus.

“What attempts are we doing? The only thing that I have seen OU do is say that

certain colleges are listening now and have held town hall meetings and stuff,” she said.

“But is that enough to fix the problem? How do you fix racism? How do you change what someone innately believes?”

Anwar did say, however, that she believes the hiring of Jabar Shumate as the future Vice President of the University Community is a step in the right direction.

Keener said she believes that even though

Native Americans sometimes feel left out, the university is moving forward in its attempts to promote inclusion.

“You can just tell that people now are more aware that there are tons of different kinds of people on campus, and they’re becoming more inclusive,” Keener said. “I think now we’re just sort of catching up to other universities that take a more inclusive approach to everything.”

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Thursday, April 30, 2015 •

A3

U.S. racism surprises Ugandan International OU student discusses racial awareness

“You unconsciously have this feeling of watching your back.”

DARIUS ARUHO, SOPHOMORE

KATE BERGUM

Assistant News Editor @kateclaire_b

When he first came to the U.S., sophomore Darius Aruho was surprised by the importance of race.

Originally from Uganda, a country with a largely homogenous population, Aruho, who studies chemical engineering, was taken aback by the way that race seems to be an always prevalent issue in the U.S., he said.

For example, the fact he had to list his race when filling out applications and taking tests startled Aruho. In Uganda, he never had to do that, he said.

Before he left Uganda in 2011 to attend school at a United World College program, Aruho was aware of racial relations in the U.S. from what he had s een on TV. Additionally, at a pre-departure meeting, he was warned to be careful, Aruho said.

After all, black people were legally given civil rights only 50 years ago, a time that is disturbingly recent, Aruho said.

Aruho was aware that some people in America might have misconceptions

NAME NAME/ORGANIZATION

Chemical engineering sophomore Darius Aruho poses for a photo in the Beaird Lounge of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Aruho moved from uganda to the U.S. to study at OU

about him or stereotype him based on his skin color alone, he said.

Once in the U.S., at a UWC program in New Mexico, Aruho only saw maybe two black people other than other African students at his school, he said.

As a clearly visible minority, Aruho felt like everyone was watching him — even when he knew they were

not, he said.

“You unconsciously have this feeling of watching your back,” Aruho said.

Despite some discomfort, Aruho never experienced any tangible conflict because of his skin color in New Mexico or at OU, he said.

Aruho said he was as shocked as everyone else when he learned of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon racist chant scandal. He couldn’t believe that people who belonged to a community that treated him respectfully, people with whom he interacted daily, could be harboring such racism, he said.

“You just can’t see that in their eyes,” Aruho said.

Other students have told Aruho they were not shocked and that racism is

something they experience day to day, he said.

The difference between his surprise and other students’ expectations is probably due to the fact that he is not from America, Aruho said. While black students who were raised in the U.S. have dealt with racial tensions for 20 years, Aruho has not necessarily experienced these systems, he said.

The incident made Aruho question whether people who treat him with respect are actually hiding racist sentiments, he said.

“I’m wondering, are these my friends who do these things?” Aruho said. “Are they plastic? Are they hiding what they exactly feel?”

As he spends more time in America, Aruho thinks he will perhaps be able to better detect subtle racism, he said.

In the wake of the event, Aruho finds racism difficult to understand on a pragmatic level.

Whatever people’s ideas are about various minority groups, the world is getting more diverse, not less so, Aruho said.

Aruho hopes that students and other Americans will be able to learn to truly appreciate diversity’s beauty, he said.

“When you go to a flower garden, you don’t get fascinated when you see all the flowers are red,” Aruho said.

Kate Bergum kate.c.bergum-1@ou.edu

SGA accepts new NAACP chapter for OU Two students to run for president, executive director ANDREW CLARK News Reporter @Clarky_Tweets

The NAACP is officially reforming its OU chapter with an approved constitution and recognition as a registered student organization.

Communication and social justice junior Boston Williamson said that he was contacted by the Youth and College Division of the NAACP to revamp the organization at the university. “[The Youth and College Division] told me the situation that was going on here and that they’d like to get it chartered,” Williamson said.

“So I took on the task, and we’re now officially a registered student organization.”

Williamson said that the OU Student Government Association approved the organization’s constitution on April 23 and that it became a registered student organization the next day.

He said that he is currently serving as the interim president of the organization, as there is no solid hierarchy as yet.

Williamson plans to run for president of the organization and said that he has a

particular goal in mind.

“The goal is to unite students who are like-minded and want to push for equality,” Williamson said.

However, Williamson said that the organization’s goals expand to reaches beyond campus.

“We feel that we have a commitment, and we have the desire to be active in the community here,” Williamson said.

Williamson wants the organization to serve the public by registering people to vote, explaining how to voice opinions and beliefs and informing them on the importance of education and scholarships for low-income families, he said.

Wi l l i a m s o n s a i d t hat at first he didn’t think the NAACP would be a good place for him since he is white. He said he quickly learned, however, that it is a completely non-discriminatory organization.

“I was e ducate d ver y quickly that the previous president of the national office was white,” Williamson said. “It’s a non-discriminatory organization, and so anybody who has it in their heart to just make the world a better place is welcome.”

Chemistry and pre-dental major Austyn Williams said that he will run for executive director of the new NAACP chapter. He said that his goal

is to make sure the organization’s voice is heard.

“We’ll make sure that the stuff we do here is going to leave an impact,” Williams said. “Not necessarily when we’re here, but for years to come.”

Williams said that growing up as a minority was a struggle but that his experiences shaped his desire to take this social action.

“I grew up in a low-income family, and I’m from poor education,” Williams said. “I want to make sure that I come out here and I leave a stamp. I’m not coming here just to get a diploma but to make a difference in this world.”

Garland Pruitt, president of the Oklahoma City branch of the NAACP, said that he has high expectations for the newly formed organization.

“I hope the students will come together and create changes that need to be made on a campus level in response to the SAE drama,” Pruitt said.

Elections for the new NAACP at OU will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday in Zarrow Hall, room 240. Williamson said that anyone who pays the $10 member fee by noon Thursday is eligible to run and to vote for the leadership.

Andrew Clark Andrew.T.Clark-1@ou.edu

PHOTO PROVIDED

Chemistry and pre-dental junior Austyn Williams and communications and social justice junior Boston Williamson volunteer at election polls in Ferguson, Missouri. The two students are working to bring NAACP back to campus and plan to have leading roles within the organization during and after its return.

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NEWS

• Thursday, April 30, 2015

RACE BY THE NUMBERS

While OU is taking steps to increase diversity on campus, like hiring a new vice president of the university community, there are still issues with diversity and representation on campus. Of the 27,278 students enrolled at OU for the fall 2014 semester, 16,366 of those students were white. Similarly, of the 1,531 full-time faculty positions at OU, 1,023 positions are held by white people.

Faculty Race Breakdown e

Student Enrollment

by Race

f h i

i

h

d

f

c e

b

d c b

a a

ILLUSTRATION BY DANAa: BRANHAM White (16,366)

a: White (1,023) b: International a:(221) White (1,023) c: American Indian / Alaska Native (32) b: International (221) d: Asian (134) c: American American e: Black/African (32)Indian/Alaska Native f: Hispanic (41) d: Asian (134) g: Native Hawaiian (1) e: Black/African American (32) h: Two or more races (14) f: Hispanic (41) i: Not reported (33)

ILLUSTRATION BY DANA BRANHAM

b: International (1,998) c: American Indian / Alaska Native (1,078) d: Asian (1,352) White (16,366) e: Black/African American a: (1,432) f: Hispanic (2,197) b: International (1,998) g: Native Hawaiian (38) c: American Indian/Alaska h: Two or more races (1,732) d: Asian (1,352) i: Not reported (1,094)

(32)

Native (1,078)

e: Black/African American (1,432) f: Hispanic (2,197) g: Native Hawaiian (38) h: Two or more races (1,732) i: Not reported (1,094)

g: Native Hawaiian (1) h: Two or more races (14) i: Not reported (33)

total: 1,531

total: 27,278

Since 1952, there have been 25,415 faculty and staff at OU. white

american indian

asian

black

hispanic

other

19,449

1,537

1,830

1,371

832

395

CLASSROOM: Racial representation in education is critical for inclusivity Continued from Page One and exercise sciences sophomore who is part of Unheard’s nine-member executive board, said that for her, having more diverse faculty would mean being taught by professors and instructors that can relate to her.

“Sometimes, when you’re having conversations, having a relationship and having that understanding as a minority student is helpful; it’s heartwarming,” Davis said. “It’s just a different experience when you can look at someone who looks like you and can relate to you the injustices and the differences that you’re facing in the community. It’s a peace of mind.”

Davis said she had never

had a professor of color dur ing her time at O U. Rather, her professors have been mostly white men, she said.

“I’m not asking for a card or for a pass or anything like that, but it’s easier to have those conversations and that understanding when you understand the type of background that I come from,” Davis said. “It’s easier when someone understands the things that I face in society as opposed to a white, heterosexual man who may not understand those microaggressions and social injustices that we as minority students face on a day-to-day basis.”

Both Davis and Carstarphen, the director of graduate studies i n t h e Gay l o rd C o l l e g e of Journalism and Mass

Communication, agree that the solution to a more diverse faculty is not simply hiring a few faculty members of color and expecting them to solve the diversity issue. Carstarphen, who is currently on a research sabbatical, was the first and only African-American journalism professor to receive tenure in Gaylord.

“Diversity works best when there is a critical mass of difference within the academic setting. All too often, the academy will hire or engage with ‘one’ person representing racial diversity and expect that person to carry the weight of racial representation for all,” Carstarphen said in an email. “This is a challenging, and perhaps fearful, proposition for us, but making hard choices to broaden racial diversity is

worth pursuing.”

Since making its grievances public, Unheard has met with OU President David Boren and deans from various colleges and held several town hall events for students to discuss issues of diversity and inclusion, including faculty race representation.

In March, OU’s dialogue on race blew up when a video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members singing a racist chant surfaced on Twitter. The fraternity was disbanded and kicked off campus almost immediately, and in the days and weeks following the video’s emergence, many different campus groups met to hold discussions and demonstrations on race, unity and inclusivity on campus.

Chemical engineering junior Spencer Davis, another

member of Unheard’s executive board, said that the meetings and discussions have led to progress — such as the hiring of Jabar Shumate as the new vice president of the university community — but he emphasized that administrators should be more proactive in making such changes.

“I do believe that we’re making progress, but from what I’ve seen, it’s a reaction,” Spencer Davis said.

“The buzz has died down about SAE, but I think it’s still in people’s minds that it did happen at the University of Oklahoma. I would like to make sure that our university does not just hire Jabar Shumate and then settle it down. I think that we should still be making steps, and this is something that we still need to bring to people’s

The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum, the University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice and an entirely student-run publication.

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Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and must be fewer than 250 words, typed and signed by the author(s). Letters will be edited for accuracy, space and style. Students must list their major and classification. To submit letters, email dailyopinion@ou.edu.

Our View is the voice of the Editorial Board, which consists of nine student editors. The board meets at 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday in Copeland Hall, Room 160. Board meetings are open to the public.

attention.”

In spite of a difficult semester for the OU community, Kulemeka pushed students, faculty and staff to see the semester’s events as an opportunity and not a defeat.

“These incidents may not be pleasant, but they start the conversation. Race is something that everyone talks about, but no one really talks about,” Kulemeka said. “When black people get together, they say things together. When white people get together, they say things together. But this, this brings us to the table. And there is nothing but progress.”

Dana Branham branham.dana@gmail.com

Guest columns are accepted and printed at the editor’s discretion.

Columnists’ and cartoonists’ opinions are their own and not necessarily the views or opinions of The Oklahoma Daily Editorial Board.

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One free copy of The Daily is available to members of the OU community. Additional copies may be purchased for 25 cents by contacting The Daily business office at 405325-2522.

Thursday, April 30, 2015 •

OPINION

A5

Kaitlyn Underwood, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinion

Death penalty, abortion views must align Our view: We believe

it’s hypocritical to support the death penalty but not be prochoice.

Oklahoma has been in the news recently over two hot-button issues: abortion and the death penalty. That got us thinking about those two controversial issues and left us stumped by the peculiar hypocrisy displayed by those who are not prochoice but also prodeath penalty. We are not a moral authority to rule definitely for or against either the death penalty or abortion, but we do think it’s interesting some people denounce terminating a pregnancy while also supporting governmental execution of inmates.

Last week, Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Calvey proclaimed during Senate debate on a bill to give pay raises to Supreme Court justices that if he were not a Christian he would light himself on fire in front of the state Supreme Court to protest rulings he sees as diminishing efforts to restrict abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court also heard arguments Wednesday in a

case brought by three Oklahoma death row inmates challenging the state’s use of an untested mix of drugs to carry out lethal injections, including the botched execution of Clayton Lockett last year.

These two events prompted us to consider how the seemingly disparate issues of abortion and the Our View is the majority death opinion of penalty The Daily’s are relatnine-member ed. Both editorial board abortion and the death penalty involve control over a person’s body. We believe one of the core differences between the death penalty and abortion is who is allowed to make decisions about the body in question. Previous Supreme Court rulings have framed abortion as a privacy issue and granted women the choice over what to do with their bodies. The death penalty, on the other hand, is a societally endorsed punishment giving the government control over which inmates to execute.

The majority of legal abortion procedures take place early in

PHOTO PROVIDED

A room sits prepared for a convicted person to receive a lethal injection. Both the death penalty and abortion are hot topics in Oklahoma politics right now and there seems to be moral inconsistencies when the topics are juxtaposed with each other.

gestation; in fact, 91.4 percent of abortions performed in 2011 took place within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

At 12 weeks a fetus is about 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

We believe a person who finds it acceptable

to execute a fully formed human being found guilty of a capital crime should also find it acceptable to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester.

With that in mind, it seems to us a proponent of the death penalty should also be pro-choice. However,

politicking and partisanship have framed the two issues as being diametrically opposed.

We understand those who disagree with us will likely adopt a moral stance and argue abortion involves ending an innocent life while the death penalty metes out punishment to the

worst offenders in society. However, we believe debate on these two issues should be founded on a scientific and logical basis rather than an emotional one.

Comment on this at OUDaily.com

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• Thursday, April 30, 2015

Councils to build inclusivity Greek executive members’ plans to be finalized this summer AMBER FRIEND Staff Reporter @amberthefriend

In light of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon viral video scandal and the ensuing discussions of race issues on campus, OU greek organizations are making strides to build more inclusive communities within their members and on campus.

E xecutive members of the Panhellenic Association and International Fraternity Council saw a need for building more inclusive communities early in the semester. These executives held a meeting last January with all greek council presidents, as well as greek faculty adviser Jill Tran and Student Affairs vice president Clarke Stroud, said Panhellenic Association President Breanna Bober.

The meeting addressed what the council could do to foster more representation and tolerance within greek communities and focused on planning an event where greek chapter presidents could gather and recognize members of the community.

The release of a viral video of OU Sigma Alpha Epislon members chanting racial slurs and threats on a bus led to a setback in the organization’s plans as well as the chapter’s disbandment on OU’s campus. However, Bober said the unfortunate situation acted as a catalyst for plans the council already had in motion.

“There was a lot more excitement to put in place these ideas we had before.” Bober said. “There really was a need that needs to be met, and I think we realized the urgency it had behind it.”

The urgency was definitely apparent. Several weeks after the SAE video went viral, greek council members went forward with their plans and held a forum focusing on discussions of race, sexuality and

Fish Fry brings unity to students Friday event will include a live DJ, games and free food MATTHEW NELSON News Reporter

TONY RAGLE/ THE DAILY

Public relations junior and president of the Panhellenic Executive Council Breanna Bober poses in front of Evans Hall. Plans to discourage racism among large groups on campus have been implemented in the wake of the SAE incident.

social class, Bober said.

Haphuong Nguyen, vice president of external affairs for the OU Multicultural Greek Council, was glad that the other council members were making an effort to make diversity a priority. She said she felt that the Multicultural Greek Council had often been left out in activities such as Homecoming.

“I think it’s good that they’re more aware of it now so that they can […] be more aware of diversity on this campus,” Nguyen said of the other greek councils. “I think before [this] they didn’t really understand how we felt, but I think now with the SAE problem, they do, and they’re actually planning to do something about that.”

While the meeting sparked the councils’ conversation, a good portion of their plans will be finalized this summer. Several executive members are attending the Ncore summer conference in Washington, D.C., which will focus on how to best approach race and ethnicity in higher education,

Bober said.

“We hope to bring back […] a lot of great ideas on how to better our higher education system when it comes to race, ethnicity and other areas as well.” Bober said.

The Panhellenic Association and International Fraternity Council are also hoping to collaborate with groups on campus. Bober said both councils’ executives planned on working more directly with the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council so that the greek community is more familiar with each other.

Bober said greek organizations have also held meetings with several athletes this semester in order to create a better environment on campus. The councils also want to encourage better relationships between individual greek groups, so that the smaller and larger chapters are more familiar and comfortable with each other.

Nguyen saw this as an opportunity to build community throughout campus as a whole.

“A step towards [eliminating ignorance on campus] is to be more inclusive, not just within greek life but with all students on campus,” Bober said. “We haven’t really figured out how we can do that, but it’s definitely been a topic that’s been up in the air.”

While many of these plans are still developing, Bober is hopeful that they will be effective.

“I hope that [we will be able to] have open dialogue and make OU a safe place to talk about things, to make it a place where we are able to have those real and raw conversations with one another so that we can better learn and understand each other,” Bober said.

Greek council executives and chapter presidents will continue planning over the summer and begin putting their initiatives in motion this fall.

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Students will be able to come together to reflect on this year together over fried fish Friday evening before taking on their finals.

A Unity Fish Fry will be hosted

by Housing and Food Services to give students a chance to get together with other students and faculty members, said Chelsea Davis, a health and exercise science junior and a leader of the black student alliance OU Unheard.

The event, which will offer free food from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday on the Walker-Adams Mall, will give students a chance to meet new people and try to understand different groups on campus, Davis said.

Students will be able to listen to a live DJ and play dominoes and spades at the fish fry, said Amy Buchanan, assistant director of marketing and communications for Housing and Food Services.

The fish fry is intended to promote civility and unity within the community and will give students the opportunity to spend time together and reflect on the school year, said Davis.

Davis sees this event as a chance to come together with her fellow classmates, faculty and staff to help rebuild the community and ease the pain stemming from events earlier this semester, Davis said.

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Microbiology sophomore Zaira Estrada, an undocumented immigrant at OU, poses on the South Oval on Wednesday afternoon. Before coming to OU, Estrada faced financial hardships because of her immigration status. Estrada pays for school in part through Aspiring Americans scholarships.

Fighting for an education Aspiring Americans aids students

T

PAIGHTEN HARKINS • MANAGING EDITOR

here is a distinction between asking someone where he or she was born and where he or she is from.

For Zaira Estrada, microbiology sophomore at OU, she is from the U.S. — first Texas for a short time, then Enid, Oklahoma. But Estrada was born in Chihuahua, Mexico. That caveat has made all the difference in her life.

Her parents crossed a bridge from Mexico with a single change of clothes and another baby on the way when Estrada was just over a year old. Estrada doesn’t remember Mexico. However, the repercussions of her birthplace have followed her for her entire life, alienating her from her peers, and almost costing her an education.

Estrada is not alone in her struggle for higher education. In the U.S. there are approximately three million high-school aged undocumented immigrants.

From that pool, about 65,000 graduate

high school, and of that number only about 7.5 percent, or 4,875, make it to college, said Akash Patel, founder of the nonprofit Aspiring Americans. Financial struggles, lack of information and a

general sense of hopelessness and fear prevent the other 92.5 percent of undocumented immigrants from going to college, Patel said.

That’s why, for Estrada and other undocumented students, being asked where she’s from is difficult, not because she doesn’t know the answer, but because current immigration laws complicate their answer and, relatedly, their lives.

“It makes me sad because if someone asked me where’s your home, the United States is my home,” Estrada said. Then she began to cry. “This is my home,” she said, her voice cracking.

That is where Patel and Aspiring Americans come in.

Patel created Aspiring Americans as the logical conclusion to his honors research thesis at OU. The group aims to do a few main things: teach educators about the resources available to undocumented immigrants who are seeking higher education, give legal assistance to students seeking a deferred immigration status and help fund those students through grants and scholarships so they can go to college, Patel said.

The premise of Aspiring Americans is straightforward, Patel said. Students should be able to succeed.

In Oklahoma, there are about 100,000 undocumented immigrants, according

Need to Pick Up a Few Classes Over the Summer?

to a report by the Pew Hispanic Center.

If those people had access to education opportunities or work opportunities, the positive impact on the person is transferred to the community, Patel said.

“We only all win if these people are allowed to succeed,” Patel said.

While Patel knows he can’t lobby to change immigration policy, he said Aspiring Americans “solves one piece of a very big puzzle,” which is giving students and educators information about education opportunities.

In 2006, the United States Senate

POLITICAL GRIDLOCK passed a bill that would reform immigration to the United States through increasing border security and create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The United States House of Representatives didn’t take up that bill, and it died in the Senate.

In 2007, another comprehensive bill that was backed by then President George W. Bush and which had bipartisan support died during a Senate procedural vote. Soon after, the Senate declined to pass the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act as a standalone measure.

Since then, no bills have been taken SEE IMMIGRATION PAGE B4

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• Thursday, April 30,2015

SPORTS

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

The medium isn’t the message SPORTS COLUMNIST

backlash have been? Is the offense any worse? Because I thought the whole point of the post-SAE outrage was that racism and discrimination were wrong in all forms.

What about the homophobic slurs and threats Spenser Davis that Michael Sam received davis.spenser@ou.edu after he announced that he @Davis_Spenser was gay? Do you think any of those might have been People always say that from college students? Were words hurt the most, but I they expelled from their think that the events of the universities? past several months have It’s clear that a large porproven that’s no longer the tion of society only cares case. At the very least, they about discrimination and don’t have the most power. racism when it’s caught Visuals do. on tape, regardless of how In Feb. 2014, a video of damning other forms of Baltimore Ravens running proof may be. back Ray Rice came to light.

That’s proven every time The footage showed Rice someone tunes in to watch dragging his unconscious a Floyd Mayweather fight. fiancée out of an elevator.

Every time someone wears After a second video apand old Jason Kidd or Julio peared showing that he did, Lugo jersey. in fact, clock his fiancée, he And I’m not going to sit was sentenced to the end here and tell you not to of his career by the court of watch the fight this weekpublic opinion. end — more than likely, In March 2015, when you’ll find me at Buffalo a video surfaced showWild Wings as Mayweather ing Sigma Alpha Epsilon moves to 48-0. members leading a racist A silent protest doesn’t chant on a date party bus, fit in with a culture that’s the community was underobsessed with being heard. standably outraged. The If the public wants to be nation was hurt and angry heard, it needs to change. that something so thoughtIt’s time to wake up and reless and insensitive could be alize that we’re in the midst practiced in the year 2015 of a massive change in how JAYNE KAMIN-ONCEA/USA TODAY SPORTS (and on the 50th anniverwe view certain stories beSep 13, 2014; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Floyd Mayweather (green gloves) and Marcos Maidana (blue gloves) during their WBC & WBA Welterweight cause of social media. sary of the Selma marches, and WBC Superwelter Weight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. no less.)

It’s time we understand And this weekend, Floyd that how we react to certain Mayweather Jr. will fight released him because of the the damming evidence ap- Where are the protests? Why end of their primes waiting crimes, especially the most Manny Pacquiao in Las heinous ones, should not aren’t people upset that ath- for time to pass? incident, but he was quickly peared in print rather than Vegas in the most highly letes like this continued to If Parker Rice had drunk- be dependent on whether picked up by the Tampa Bay an audio file or a video? anticipated boxing match someone happened to be be admired and celebrated enly tweeted an excerpt Devil Rays where he played Should it really matter? in at least the last decade. while those caught on film from that chant rather than standing by with a smart Of course, there is an elin the final games of the Mayweather has a detailed phone. are forced to wait out the singing it, what would the ement of proof that comes season. list of domestic violence inwith a piece of film or a reDid you know that cidents against at least four Milwaukee Bucks head cording. But do Americans women. He even served a really just believe that coach Jason Kidd has an jail sentence as a result of Mayweather didn’t hit anyextensive history with docharges filed by his ex-girlbody? Or that Rice “probmestic violence and, as his friend in 2012, but he is still ex-wife puts it, “serial adul- ably didn’t hit his fiancée” The Office of Academic Integrity Programs would revered by the public and tery?” He pleaded guilty to a that hard? has never received any pun- charge in 2001, but went on How about domestic like to share the following announcements: ishment from any boxing violence cases that didn’t to have a lengthy NBA caagency in the way that Rice reer as a player and is in his even make it to trial because did from the NFL. the charges were dropped? second season as a coach.

Congratulations to the But what if I told you that He’ll be inducted into the James Harrison, Lance 2015 Apex Award Winners the words to the tune sung Stephenson, Santonio hall-of-fame in three years

by SAE appeared on Reddit time.

Holmes, Brandon Marshall Randy Garibay, Toby Baldwin and Mike Meade over a month before the and Hope Solo all make that Even on OU’s campus, incident and no one cared? running back Joe Mixon was list. for their support of the Integrity Council and Or that racism has been The precedent that the caught on tape knocking the Office of Academic Integrity Programs running rampant in fraout a fellow female student court of public opinion has ternities almost since their at Pickleman’s last summer. set for crimes committed inception? by athletes is a dangerous Mixon entered an Alford Sure, people noticed that plea and was sentenced one — no video, no outrage.

Congratulations to the newest it was a problem among How are victims of domestic to community service fraternities, but how many Integrity Council Members! violence or senseless racism and counseling. However, stories made international supposed to get justice if Mixon was very fortunate news because of it? they don’t have a video? that the video of the inciAbigail Scott • Ainsley Denoyelles • Alexi Smith • Baldwin Smith • And what if I told you that dent was never released.

But that’s not really what Braylon Warrior • Caleb Cole • Carlie D’Alessandro • Landon Wright • Ray Rice was far from the this is about. The benefit of Its exposure was fought Chelsea Bowman • Domonique Menser • Elizabeth Hadley • Ellarie first athlete to get in trouthe doubt is still something extensively and that ultible for domestic violence?

Burney • Grace Klumpp • Itumelang Mohlaba • Jacqueline Mee • Jaemin that should be present, mately may be the reason Did you know that former that Mixon will star this sea- so those who had charges Jang • Jared Zettl • Jared Bond • Jeremiah Cox • John Franken • Keith journeyman shortstop Julio son as a redshirt freshman dropped shouldn’t face Strasbaugh • Kelsey Russell • Lillian Trinh • Limayre Gramajo • Lindsey Lugo “slammed his wife’s rather than have his football punishment through the Tate • Mariana Stavnycha • Marie Mihara • Octavia Willey • Patrick head into a truck” in 2003? career held in purgatory by law. Mayweather and Kidd Doran • Patrick Leung • Riley Uhl • Sam Emswiler • Shaylin Daji • His wife went to the hospital the public. were both convicted and Somto Iromuanya • Trevor Berryman • Uday Kohli for medical treatment while From SAE/fraternity his- paid consequences. Lugo, Lugo played a game that day tory, to Rice, to Kidd, Mixon albeit temporarily, lost his for the Houston Astros. job. and Mayweather, why The Astros eventually But where is the outrage? didn’t society care when

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Jay Vinnedge • Connor Walters • Conor McBride • Benjamin Acker • Kevin Hadley • Brandon McCabe • Colleen Owen • Austyn Roberts • Sydney Abdallah • Cody Adams • Grace Aguilera • Hiba Baroud • Jordan Batchelor • Brian Bates • Elizabeth Bierhaus • Bryan Bodie • Emerson Burney • Emmanuelle Chiocca • Jack Dastugue • Emily Dudney • Colin Dunham • Garrett Durie • Kelly Goodson • Wesley Herron • Brandon Hoff • Maxwell Inmon • Brent Janss • Mark Keilbarth • Kelsey Kolbe • Manu Kumar • Michael Lutter • Bryan Lynch • Scott Mauldin • Q Nguyen • Rachel Nutt • Ricardo Palma Fraga • Daniel Pham • Jessica Prefume • Kellie Reidlinger • Justin Robbins • Rita Rush • Kristi Sanders • Paul Schaettle • Nate Sethman • Zai Shakir • Wassim Tabet • Salah Uweiti • Katie Vanchiere • Johannah Walker • Cait Walsh • Alec Watson • Cole Wayant • Eli Weathers • Berry Wen • Caleb Wood •RossWoodard

Thursday, April 30, 2015 •

OUDaily.com ››

SPORTS

B3

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

Mean Green matchup: Softball heads south to take on the University of North Texas.

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Nine OU players in draft 2015 NFL Draft to be held in Chicago, moved from NYC BRADY VARDEMAN

Assistant Sports Editor

The first round of the 2015 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday from the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and will continue through Sunday.

C o m m i s s i o n e r Ro g e r Goodell announced that the NFL Draft would be moved from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the draft’s usual venue, after the league began taking bids to host the event.

Nine Oklahoma players have received draft grades from the NFL, with defensive tackle Jordan Phillips clocking the highest at 5.9 out of

10. At the combine, Phillips completed the 40-yard dash in 5.17 seconds, managed to bench press 225 pounds 28 times and recorded a 30-inch vertical leap.

NFL Draft scouts project Phillips will be taken late in the first round or the second.

Additionally, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham is expected to be an early-round prospect. Although he has never played a down for the Sooners, Green-Beckham said at the Sooners’ Pro Day that he will say he is from Oklahoma in the NFL. “I’m going to say Oklahoma,� he said. “This is my last location, that’s where I’m at. I’m an Oklahoma Sooner, that’s it.�

At pro day, GreenBeckham did not work out for scouts and participated in

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just one drill. However, the prodigy with an embattled past proved to NFL scouts that yes, he is still tall. Yes, he is still strong. Yes, he can still snatch a ball midair.

Green-Beckham received a rating of 5.8.

Early-round prospects notwithstanding, tight end Blake Bell offers what could be the most interesting Oklahoma story line of the draft.

The former quarterback impressed scouts at the combine, posting the best numbers in three categories — the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.

Despite having just one year of positional experience under his belt, an anonymous NFL tight ends coach told NFL.com that he liked what he saw from Bell to

NFL DRAFT When: Begins Thursday at 7 p.m.

CT, continues through Sunday Where: Televised on ESPN

close the 2014 season. “I think he’ll be one of the three best tight ends to come out of this draft,� the coach said.

Among the other Oklahoma prospects are defensive end G eneo Grissom, fullback Aaron Ripkowski, cornerback Julian Wilson and offensive linemen Adam Shead, Tyrus Thompson and Daryl Williams.

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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.

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015

your time and do whatever it takes to get into fighting trim. A spontaneous trip to an out-ofthe-way location will give you the inspiration you are looking for.

You can make great strides this year if you are prepared to work hard. Changing your career, picking up more skills or finding a way to use your talents more diversely SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) will help you move in a positive, -- Let your creativity flow freely. progressive direction.

Put your workplace worries on the back burner and make a point to TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -surround yourself with people who Improving your financial position share your passion. should be a priority. Be proactive.

Formulate a realistic budget, call SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. in debts and pay off high-interest 21) -- Be prepared to experience loans. Selling unwanted or unused a power struggle. You are best items will help tide you over. off keeping your opinions under wraps for now. Look for an activity GEMINI (May 21-June 20) that will keep you out of trouble.

-- Don’t be too free with your personal information. You will end CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) up in a vulnerable position if your -- You will experience a revelation confidante has trouble keeping regarding a project. Continue your secrets. Avoid scandal by to fine-tune your plan until you keeping a tight lip. feel that you are ready to make a presentation. Money is coming CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You your way. are in charge of your destiny. It’s up to you to make changes if you AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) are dissatisfied with your position. -- Some people will judge you Personal and professional partner- harshly if your motives aren’t ships will suffer if you don’t shake clearly understood. You will help things up. a worthy cause if you offer your time and services.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Keep a close watch on your cash. OverPISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) spending will be your downfall.

-- Don’t try to get away with You won’t have any luck sticking something that you know is wrong. to a schedule, so lighten up and Exaggerating or embellishing your have some inexpensive fun. credentials will lead to disaster. Be up front and avoid embarrassment VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) or negative consequences.

-- Don’t give in to peer pressure.

Deception is imminent. Follow ARIES (March 21-April 19) your heart and be firm if someone -- This is a great time to further tries to take advantage of you. your education or learn on the Take control instead of following job. A position you are eyeing orders. is attainable if you update your resume. Don’t let self-doubt stand LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Bide in your way.

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Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 30, 2015

ACROSS 1 Electrical protectors 6 Flexible mineral 10 Ready to pick 14 Asinine 15 Heavy burden 16 Jealousy 17 What diplomats have to maintain 20 Showy ornament 21 Sonora shawls 22 NYC winter hours 23 Quiet “Hey there!�

24 “And there you are!�

28 Native American home of old (Var.) 30 Imitated the Cheshire Cat 32 Radius, for one 35 Low digit 36 Juries’ responsibilities 40 Cause of inflation?

41 A professor may give it 42 Sultry summer stretches 45 Least cooked 49 What a hungry baby may do?

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50 “Buddenbrooks� author 52 Born, in some bios 53 Order 56 Arab League member 57 Drawback of excessive drinking 61 Shakespeare’s waterway 62 Basilica area 63 “Saturday Night Fever� music 64 Sandwich spread, informally 65 Heavenly twinkler 66 Not this or that?

DOWN 1 Be antsy 2 Anxiety 3 Greeting to an officer 4 Novelist Bagnold 5 “Just a ____� (“Hold on�)

6 Dust particles 7 Unreactive 8 Havana’s home 9 “Fast!� on a memo 10 Justification 11 Room offerer 12 Plastic pipe material 13 CBS logo 18 School gathering

19 Big jeans maker 23 Gilpin of “Frasier�

25 Knowing, as a secret 26 Microscope parts 27 “Lemon� attachment 29 Chum 30 Itsy-bitsy biter 31 Word with “punt� or “kick�

33 Flower fanciers 34 Mythical monster 36 Christian name 37 “Cogito, ___ sum�

38 It was once Persia 39 “ ___ the ramparts ...�

40 Do a gradeschool lesson 43 “Blueberry Hill� singer Fats 44 Apple spray 46 Catch, as in a net 47 Medium gathering?

48 Body muscle 50 ABBA’s “___ Mia�

51 Essential oil from flowers 54 Penpoints 55 Song performed by two 56 Bypass 57 Aswan, for one 58 Mrs. Peron 59 Myrna of old Hollywood 60 Tokyo of old

PREVIOUS PUZZLEANSWER ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE

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SUB SHOP By Jill Pepper

B4

NEWS

• Thursday, April 30, 2015

2015 class gives tangible gift Associations reveal addition of Headington Park CHLOE MOORES Staff Reporter @chloemoores13

After a year of fundraising, various meetings and hard work, The Student Alumni Association and OU Alumni Association will officially reveal the 2015 class gift to the university.

A picnic will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Thursday on the patch of lawn on the south side of Headington Hall to celebrate the 2015 class gift, Headington Park.

Unlike previous class gifts, the 2015 class gift is a tangible place where OU students can continually build a community, said Amanda Tran, the tradition chairperson for the OU Student Alumni Association.

T h e a d d i t i o n o f p a rk benches, trees and a sign labeled “Headington Park” will make up the 2015 class gift, Tran said.

“Our class marks the 125th anniversary of the university,” Tran said. “We wanted to do something grand because over the next few years, the area around Headington Park will change drastically, but Headington Park will be a place that friends or family of alumni will always be able to use.”

The process of buying and implementing the 2015 class gift on campus began in

TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY

Graduating seniors of the class of 2014 walk to their seats in spring’s commencement ceremony in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium May 9.

October of 2014, Tran said.

“We created a class gift committee that is comprised of 20 people in leadership positions from different organizations on campus. We wanted people that were involved in all different things so we would have a variety of representation in the committee,” Tran said.

Once the committee was formed, they brainstormed

“I want everyone to be excited because the seniors have worked hard the past four or five years, and the class gift is a tradition that we can be proud of.”

Association sold OU Seed Sower sweatshirts and hats throughout the year to fundraise for the 2015 class gift, Tran said. Additionally, the Student Alumni Association set up a booth at graduation AMANDA TRAN, OU STUDENT ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CHAIRPERSON gear-up and allowed seniors to donate $20 and receive and presented their ideas Student Alumni Association free membership for their t o O U P re s i d e nt D av i d a n d t h e O U A l u m n i first year in the OU Alumni Boren and Molly Shi Boren Association, Tran said.

Association, Tran Said. under the advisement of the The Student Alumni “I want everyone to be

excited because the seniors have worked hard the past four or five years, and the class gift is a tradition that we can be proud of,” Tran said.

Chloe Moores margaret.c.moores-1@ou.edu

IMMIGRATION: Government reform solves only part of students’ issues Continued from Page One

Since then, no bills have been taken up in the House o r t h e S e nat e t o t a ck l e the issue of comprehensive immigration reform.

Acting on this inaction, White House officials said in an April press briefing, Obama introduced a series of initiatives through executive action to improve immigration.

How e v e r, s o m e Republican officials feel this was a step too far, including Rep. Tom Cole, R- O k l a h o ma, w h o s a i d O b a ma m ove d f o r wa rd against the advice of the then-incoming congressional leadership.

Cole said that while politicians on each side of the party line feel immigration reform is necessary, Obama’s decision to move forward unilaterally on the issue put it in contention with leaders because he politicized the immigration issue.

“As it is, he set off a political firestorm,” Cole said.

Another problem in passing comprehensive immigration reform is the sheer breadth of the issue, Cole said.

That’s part of the reason Cole thinks a step-by-step approach to immigration reform may be the best option, he said.

Regardless of what is holding immigration reform back, Patel said he doesn’t see politicians moving on the issue anytime soon. In the meantime, he’s going to work to fix the part of the problem he can: a lack of information and education about opportunities available to undocumented students.

Since Febr uar y when Aspiring Americans filed for 501c3 status, the group has raised over $100,000, which has been used to fund the nonprofit as well as grants and scholarships for individuals to attend college.

This year, the group gave away four scholarships to individuals out of a pool of about 50 applicants, some of which applied from outside of Oklahoma.

The group also awarded

JIANI WU/THE DAILY

Microbiology sophomore Zaira Estrada,an undocumented immigrant at OU, poses on the South Oval on Wednesday afternoon. Before coming to OU, Estrada faced financial hardships because of her immigration status. Estrada pays for school in part through Aspiring Americans scholarships.

“[Going to college] is posible, but you just have to be a fighter, and you can’t give up. If you give up, you don’t win.”

ZAIRA ESTRADA, MICROBIOLOGY SOPHOMORE

two discretionary scholarships for students who had their financial aid revoked because of their immigration status, Patel said. One of those recipients was Estrada, who is attending OU in part because of the scholarship.

Impacts of higher education on undocumented immigrants While Estrada finall y a r r i ve d at O U, ma ny

students in Estrada’s situation are weighed down by hopelessness or a lack of information.

“It feels like you’re going against the current for the longest time,” Estrada said.

Yet, if students can get past that, that makes a difference in not only their lives, but in their communities as well, Patel said.

In 2010, undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma paid about $70.7 million in state and local taxes, according to data from the Immigration Policy Center.

If all undocumented immigrants were taken out of Oklahoma, the state would lose $580.3 million in economic activity, $257.8 million in gross state product and over 4,500 jobs, according to the data.

If more undocumented

immigrants had access to education, or knew about educational opportunities, Patel said, they would contribute more to the economy through taxes, purchasing power and job creation.

“We want those investments and opportunities for the community because if these individuals are thriving, so is the community they live in,” Patel said.

Outside of education, in a 10-year potential economic impact report from the Center for American Progress, comprehensive immigration reform would increase the U.S.’s gross domestic product by $1.2 trillion.

While some people are worried about the negative economic impact of undocumented immigration, such as extra burdens on

schools and hospitals, the economic impacts, Cole said, are mostly positive.

A path to higher education Like many undocumented students, Estrada wasn’t sure what education opportunities she would have outside of high school, but she knew she had to try if she wanted to succeed.

During high school Estrada took as many advanced placement classes as she could on top of a concurrent class, which she had to pay non-resident tuition for, through the local university.

After that, she stayed in Enid for a year, taking classes at the community college, working the equivalent of a fulltime job on the weekends at a nursing

home to pay for it.

How’d she do it?

“No sleep,” she said.

Eventually Estrada, who was studying microbiology, out grew the community college and wanted to go someplace she could get a better education.

Thinking OU was too expensive, she sought other options, eventually landing on Oklahoma Christian University, where she was offered over $19,000 in financial aid. With that money, she knew she could go to college.

“So then August came a ro u n d ,” E s t r a d a s a i d , sighing.

That’s when school officials called her to say they’d made a mistake, that they couldn’t honor the $19,500 she’d been promised because she wasn’t a resident, despite her deferred status through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, one part of Obama’s executive action on immigration reform. “ I just cr ie d. I calle d my mom, and I just cried more,” she said.

After that, Estrada called hundreds of groups asking for donations and telling her story. Her family made hundreds of tamales every weekend and sold them to raise funds. In all, they raised over $10,000 to put Estrada through her first semester at Oklahoma Christian University. Soon though, Estrada realized that was unsustainable.

T h a t ’s w h e n s h e m e t Patel, who told her about OU and Aspiring Americans, and from there the rest is histor y. Now Estrada is a student at OU, studying microbiology and planning to research with professors in the coming semesters. “[G oing to college] is possible, but you just have to be a fighter, and you can’t give up. If you give up, you don’t win,” Estrada said.

Paighten Harkins harkinspd@gmail.com

LIFE&ARTS

Students show cultures Event honors Miss and Mr. International OU

Thursday, April 30, 2015 •

DNA tests analyze ethnic heritage Technology helps compile family tree, genealogy

ANDIE BEENE L&A Reporter @andie_beene

ANDIE BEENE L&A Reporter @andie_beene

Far away from home, two students were named the winners of an annual pageant featuring international members of the OU student body as they represent their countries and their cultures.

Nelisiwe Mtembu, an accounting sophomore from Johannesburg, South Africa, and Param Tripathi, an industrial engineering graduate student from Agra, India, were crowned Miss and Mr. International OU on Feb. 19 and were honored at the International Advisory Committee’s 45th Annual Eve of Nations event April 17.

Mtembu and Tripathi were chosen from 11 contestants at the annual pageant, which featured a cultural presentation, a talent show and a brief interview.

Eaton Baptiste, management information systems junior and president of the International Advisory Committee, said that the pageant began a few years ago when members of the committee realized that there were pageants for several international groups from a specific region, such as contests for Miss and Mr. Asian, Indian, Native American and Hispanic OU but not an overall contest.

“We decided that there were a lot of international students from regions where there weren’t any associations representing them, so we wanted to give some of the smaller international groups an opportunity to share some of their culture

JACQUELINE EBY/ THE DAILY

Nelisiwe Mtembu poses with her tiara and sash on the south oval. Nelisiwe Mtembu, an international student from Johannesburg, South Africa, was crowned Miss International OU Feb. 19.

and their talents with the rest of OU, and we created the pageant,” Baptiste said.

Mtembu said the diversity international students bring provides a unique opportunity for students to become more globally knowledgeable.

“It’s been amazing just learning about other countries […] and learning about people’s backgrounds and their willingness to leave their home country, their culture and come study here,” Mtembu said.

Tripathi said that because there are so many international students at OU, students are given the chance “to know a lot about the other cultures,” and Mtembu encouraged students to ask questions and learn more about different countries.

Both Mtembu and Tripathi represented their own cultures during the pageant, wearing traditional attire and speaking about

their countries during their interview.

For Tripathi’s interview, he was asked to say something about his country in three words, so he explained the three colors of India’s flag: orange representing sacrifice, white representing peace and green representing serenity.

During Mtembu’s interview, she was asked to speak about a stereotype about her country and how she would change it. She answered that South Africa shouldn’t just be known for its high crime rates.

“That’s our reality, but at the same time, I feel like the media just exaggerates the issue so much that people are discouraged from visiting South Africa,” Mtembu said. “Our history is sad yet beautiful, and I wish more people could experience that.”

Additionally, Mtembu presented parts of former

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South African president Thabo Mbeki’s speech, “I am an African,” during the talent section of the pageant.

Both Mtembu and Tripathi said they were very surprised to be crowned the winners.

“Honestly, I didn’t think that I would win it,” Tripathi said. “I was pretty happy.”

Baptiste said Miss and M r. I n t e r n a t i o n a l O U hold the title for a year and are honored at events throughout the year, such as Eve of Nations and the H o m e c o m i n g Pa r a d e, which Tripathi said he was most looking forward to.

“I heard that you get a convertible, and you get to ride it and wear your sash and wave to the crowd,” Tripathi said. “It’s going to be a big thing.”

Andie Beene Andrea.K.Beene-1@ou.edu

B5

People interested in learning more about their family tree can have their DNA tested to determine more about their ethnic heritage.

Companies such as Ancestry DNA, 23andMe and Family Tree DNA offer various tests that analyze DNA and compile results to provide a profile of a person’s ethnic background.

David Durica, an OU genetics professor, said DNA typing that discriminates between people has been around for about 30 or 40 years. This technology can be used to estimate an ethnic background.

“There are a whole variety of general markers that might be more common within one population than another population,” Durica said.

Sarah Olzawski, an academic counselor in the College of Arts and Sciences, had her DNA tested through Ancestry DNA last year. She said she had previously done research into her genealogy and family tree.

“Doing the DNA test helped confirm what I had found out, knowing that certain parts of my family were from Great Britain, and there were some Irish and Polish,” Olzawski said.

The Ancestry DNA process required Olzawski to send a test tube full of saliva in a provided package.

She said it then took about six to eight weeks to process before the company

sent her an email with her results.

These results, Olzawski said, are the averages of a series of tests, so ethnicity is calculated based on a spectrum.

“It’s not a hard, fast science,” Olzawski said. “These are broad strokes, and it’s important to not take it as literal truth about your DNA because it’s so very much an evolving, changing science.”

Olzawski encouraged others to look into their ethnic backgrounds, but she said that they should look into their own genealogy first.

“If you have any kind of knowledge of your own family history or your family tree, it’s going to be a lot more meaningful to know where different parts of your ethnicity come from on your tree,” Olzawski said.

O l z aw s k i s a i d t h a t i f someone was interested in researching their family tree, they could set up an account on Ancestry DNA or contact a professional researcher, and that the best place to start for college students is finding their grandparents on the 1940 U.S. Census and working backwards from there.

Olzawski said that knowing one’s family histor y and background provides a unique perspective.

“I think it is a good way to think about history in a different way because when you break it down, the history that we learn about was really all carried out by people who may have been in your family many generations ago,” Olzawski said.

Andie Beene Andrea.K.Beene-1@ou.edu

B6

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• Thursday, April 30, 2015

FACULTY

A TRIBUTE TO THE

the following University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center members who were honored April 27 at an awards ceremony.

CONGRATULATIONS! tofaculty

Blair

Callegan

Chen

Darden

DeAngelis

Ferretti

Hanas

Hanigan

Houchen

Kolobe

Kropp

Latif

Li

Lin

Ma

McGinnis

McKee

Medina

Po

Postier

Reynolds

Roswell

Scherlag

Stull

Thompson

Tweten

Vesely

Weigel

West

Wong

REGENTS’ AWARDS FOR SUPERIOR TEACHING Robert W. Blair, Ph.D., David Ross Boyd Professor and Vice Chair of Physiology, College of Medicine Melissa S. Medina, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacy Clinical and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy; Assistant Dean for Assessment and Evaluation, College of Pharmacy

Guangpu Li, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine Presidents’ Associates Presidential Professor David M. Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health Presidents’ Associates Presidential Professor PROVOST’S RESEARCH AWARD FOR JUNIOR FACULTY Faisal Latif, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine

REGENTS’ AWARD FOR SUPERIOR PROFESSIONAL AND UNIVERSITY SERVICE AND PUBLIC OUTREACH Robert H. Roswell, M.D., Senior Associate Dean, College of Medicine; Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine; Professor of Health Administration and Policy, College of Public Health REGENTS’ PROFESSORSHIPS Martha J. Ferretti, PT, MPH, FAPTA David Ross Boyd Professor and Chair of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Allied Health

PROVOST’S RESEARCH AWARD FOR SENIOR FACULTY Paul M. Darden, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine PATENT AWARDS Ying Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Cell Biology, College of Medicine *Victoria Christiansen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine

Dwight W. Reynolds, M.D., Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine

Paul L. DeAngelis, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine

DAVID ROSS BOYD PROFESSORSHIPS Sara K. Vesely, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Public Health; Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health GEORGE LYNN CROSS RESEARCH PROFESSORSHIP Christopher West, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine PRESIDENTIAL PROFESSORSHIPS Michelle C. Callegan, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmology, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor Terrence L. Stull, M.D., Professor and Chair of Pediatrics, College of Medicine Presbyterian Health Foundation Presidential Professor

Jay S. Hanas, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine Marie H. Hanigan, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, College of Medicine Courtney W. Houchen, M.D., Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine *Kenneth Jackson, M.D., Associate Professor of Research, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine Hlapang A. Kolobe, P.T., Ph.D., Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Allied Health

Bradley P. Kropp, M.D., Professor of Urology, College of Medicine Hsueh-Kung Lin, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Urology, College of Medicine Jian-Xing Ma, M.D., Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Chair of Physiology, College of Medicine James F. McGinnis, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine; Professor of Cell Biology, College of Medicine Patrick A. McKee, M.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine Sunny S. Po, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine Russell G. Postier, M.D., David Ross Boyd Professor and Chair of Surgery, College of Medicine Benjamin J. Scherlag, Ph.D., Regents Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine Rodney K. Tweten, Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine Paul H. Weigel, Ph.D., George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Chair Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine Lily Wong, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS AWARD Paul H. Weigel, Ph.D. George Lynn Cross Research Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine FACULTY GOVERNANCE AWARD Marie H. Hanigan, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology, College of Medicine * No photo available

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