GRAND OPENING
September 16th | 1PM–5PM | CALLAWAYHOUSENORMAN.COM
#YOURBAD
W E E K E N D E D I T I O N | S E P T E M B E R 8 -11, 2 0 16 | 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
OU DAILY SOCIAL STORM ANDREW CLARK @CLARKY_TWEETS
Hundreds of tweets containing #yOUrbad have stormed Twitter over the past few days, and two university administrators, including OU President David Boren, did not address the hashtag directly when asked to comment on it. The hashtag’s creator, management information systems senior Emily Pham, said she wanted to create a platform for students to share their personal experiences, beliefs and opinions about OU. “I know, as a woman of color, how easy it is to have your voice silenced or ignored, and with campus life, it can be really difficult to voice your concerns and opinions and experiences and really have attention brought to them, whether that’s from the university or from the people around you,” she said. The hashtag was created just days after OU was given an award for its efforts to promote diversity and inclusion on campus. Many Twitter users were upset about the award, and Pham was not pleased either. “I think (Boren) is only pleased to be recognized for a goal that the university has yet to attain,” she said. “If it’s a goal that you don’t follow through on and you don’t commit your efforts to building an inclusive experience for people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA and other groups at OU, then your diversity numbers are worth nothing.” OU press secretary Corbin Wallace told The Daily Sept. 1 that the freshman class of 2020 is also the most racially diverse freshman class in the university’s history. Additionally, Boren sent a 14-word statement to The Daily when it asked him to comment on #yOUrbad. “The university remains committed to making inclusion and diversity one of its greatest strengths,” the statement said. Jabar Shumate ,vice president for the University Community, also sent a statement to The Daily regarding the Twitter hashtag, but he did not directly address it or the students using it. “The goal of the university and the Office of University Community has always been, and will continue to be, to create a welcoming environment for everyone,” Shumate’s statement said. “The university acknowledges and understands that addressing this societal challenge will be an ongoing process. We continue to try to make strides toward a more caring and accepting community. We realize that this requires ongoing commitment from all in our community. It requires an effort by everyone to make a positive and constructive contribution see HASHTAG page 2
Twitter hashtag met with relative silence from university STUDENTS SPEAK: TWEETS FROM #YOURBAD Support them. Listen to them. Be a positive influence for change #yOUrbad • #yOUrbad is such an eye opening experience for students of privilege. You should feel uncomfortable. You should want change too. • Everybody posting with #yOUrbad: cite some examples man! Prof. names, classes, etc ANYTHING. Don’t just post things that happened. • This is a disgrace to our university #yOUrbad • I had 33 different profs/instructors at OU. 2 were black. 1 was indigenous. 0 were Latinx. #yOUrbad • A group of OU students at Headington’s Qdoba openly took pictures of me (I was wearing a bow tie) while laughing mockingly. #yOUrbad • Felt like there was nothing I could do because confronting them might have made things worse. I couldn’t even order food in peace. #yOUrbad • Being subjected to actively violent spaces is just part of my daily life. #WOC #yOUrbad • Was once referred to as “the dyke RA.” Was very closeted, just had short hair. Too scared of being outed 2 tell anyone it happened. #yOUrbad • Knowing that as a WOC that your intelligence will always be questioned and your perspective always challenged #yOUrbad • Constantly expected to answer questions re: being LGBTQ, often w/o asking if it’s ok. Once asked who pays when I go on “gay dates.” #yOUrbad • The #yOUrBad trend is so important to acknowledge the lack of diversity on OU’s campus and the experiences of students of color. • No one taught us about COINTELPRO during the Civil Rights section of history class at OU. #yOUrbad • At end of diversity training, a boy genuinely said what he learned was to not discriminate or generalize a g a i n s t w h i t e f rat g u y s . #yOUrbad • There’s definitely a culture of silence at OU that harms marginalized students, faculty, & staff. #yOUrbad • “... taking a suspiciously long shower, GUYS, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Girls, cover your ears.” • -my sociology prof #yOUrbad • When you only have two female professors in your entire grad school experience. They were white. #yOUrbad • when your WGS professor uses the terms female and woman interchangeably #yOUrbad • When you have no people of color professors in your entire grad school experience. #yOUrbad • Reading for my anthro class 2day mockingly called indigenous African peoples
spirituality ‘primitive’. #yOUrbad • Bias incident reporting system!!! #yOUrbad • Once I emailed a professor about the discriminatory remarks made by her guest lecturer and how she should’ve intervened + #yOurbad • I’ve never felt needed, accepted, or supported from this institution #yOUrbad • In class, we completely ignore/erase/romanticize the history of colonialism (1/2) #yOUrbad • Our class discussions often demonize black/brown people who still suffering from generational trauma + violent policies #yOUrbad • If you think
OU’S RESPONSE:
#yOUrbad • When president David Boren wins awards for “diversity and inclusion,” but actively avoids speaking with student activist groups. #yOUrbad • Let’s be honest and call all of this “diversity & inclusion efforts” what it actually is: “postSAE cleanup/admins saving face.” #yOUrbad • A professor told my friend he was ‘brave for wearing pink.’ #yOUrbad • A professor allowed a student in class to say, “Native Americans are the most racist people you’ll ever meet.” #yOUrbad • We’re tired of the ‘diversity and inclusion’ awards at OU, especially
“The university remains committed to making inclusion and diversity one of its greatest strengths.” — OU President David Boren
our frats don’t have a race problem, you haven’t sat in one of my class discussions #yOUrbad • Seeing a professor spew homophobic rhetoric/racialized slurs.. + all 300 students angered/in shock only when some1 stands up to it #yOUrbad • Being a POC at a OU means being a walking token/ photo-op. If I speak up about my experience, I’m demonized. #yOUrbad • OU President David Boren makes extremely harmful and erasing statements without flinching. Gets awarded. #yOUrbad • Defense of OU’s use of “boomer sooner”/ schooner mascot/imagery is just a breeding ground for violent racism #yOUrbad • maybe white professors shouldnt teach non-western dance #yOUrbad • when the professor tries to speak on west african spiritual practices but doesn’t know the difference between voodoo and vodun #yOUrbad • the course spent 4 days on the entire continent of africa and the rest of the course was colonial dances in latin america #yOUrbad • i took a non-western dance course. we spent 1/2 the course talking about india and japan. #modelminorities #yOUrbad • i signed up for a native geology course to learn ndn science methods but we romanticized origin “MYTHS” n used western methods
when students’ efforts are unrecognized. #yOUrbad • “I just think it’s unfair that minorities are paid to go to college?” So why am I working full time in college Billy? #yOUrbad • Is OU seeking true diversity? Because I’ve always felt like I was merely filling the quota. #yOUrbad • Not listening to the concerns and complaints of native students in regards to “boomer sooner” and white washing colonization #yOUrbad • I’ve been at OU for 4 years and I’ve only had one African American professor, and she was in the AFAM studies department. #yOUrbad • When black and brown bodies and voices only matter, when something is to be gained from us. #yOUrbad • “Huh, it must be hard for you to write in English, you know because you think in Spanish” - English composition professors :) #yOUrbad • Not all black students are athletes, not all Latinx students are Mexican :) #yOurbad • Have u guys ever looked at the mural in the union food court at OU? Stop romanticizing colonization. OU is so ahistorical at times #yOurbad • Ok but when will Goddard start offering bilingual/multilingual services? I’ve seen the incompetence with my own eyes #yOUrbad • How can u look at the dropout rates of students from marginalized communities & look at ur PW
faculty & not see the connection? #yOUrbad • getting praised for diversity awards while PoC continue to not feel a p p re c i at e d . h o w S w a y ? ? #yOUrbad • When big oil funds ur university n u cover up the destruction that fracking causes. Boomer sooner translates to fuck natives #yOUrbad • And ignoring Native students’ concerns about the offensive nature of the mascot doesn’t help either #yOUrbad • Cutting scholarships for Native students, as Native enrollment drops below state population % just ain’t inclusive, sorry #yOUrbad • When undocumented folx are called “illegal aliens” in lecture, its easy to understand their otherization in the university #yOUrbad • When the professor doesnt know how to interact with your name because its english and spanish. ASK. #yOUrbad • Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Wisconsin all got it together. I’m waiting #yOUrbad • No, I’m not here because of Affirmative Action. #yOUrbad • When the professor says the n word in lecture, denies its a slur and then wants to talk about fostering an inclusive environment #yOUrbad • Please don’t use me as an example for every discussion about race and ethnicity in class #yOUrbad • When the brown students in the lecture have to correct the professor on geography of latin america in a colonial history course #yOUrbad • Pronounce my name right, not the Americanized version, my name is part of my identity and worth your time as a professor #yOUrbad • When white upper middle class professors deny the diversity of human experience by thinking trigger warnings are ppl being “weak” #yOUrbad • When everyone is supportive of a safe space lounge for vets, but one for LGBTQ+ community is a symptom of “sensitive millenials.” #yOUrbad • Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Wisconsin all got it together. I’m waiting #yOUrbad • OU show me a functional bias reporting system so students can report the stuff I didn’t, & MAYBE you’ll be on yr way to “diverse” #yOUrbad • “Boomer Sooner.” #yOUrbad • One of my TAs for history told the class that Andrew Jackson was a good president, a man of the people. #yOUrbad • OU continues to violate T VII and T IX to deny the rights of trans students, faculty, staff, despite these issues being reported. #yOUrbad • OU insurance refuses to cover basic healthcare needs because I’m trans. OU specifically requested this from their provider. #yOUrbad • If OU is so inclusive then why are almost all senior level administrators White, able-bodi e d , c i s g e n d e r, s t r a i g h t ,
ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, FOR A PRICE Warhawks will get $1.2 million for game JESSE POUND @jesserpound
JESSE POUND/THE DAILY
Louisiana-Monroe players go through drills Aug. 10. The Warhawks will be the first opponent to play at newly renovated Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
MONROE, La. — When head coach Matt Viator was directing his first fall camp this August, he could stand on the practice field in the sticky Louisiana heat and look straight through Malone Stadium to the free-standing scoreboard on the other side — his view unimpeded by thousands of seats or gaudy facilities. When he leads the LouisianaMonroe Warhawks onto the field
at the newly-renovated Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday with over 80,000 fans roaring their disapproval, his players will be visitors in a college football world much different from the one they usually inhabit. They’ll also be picking up a check for $1.2 million, as they will be coming to Norman for a “payday game,” just as they did in 2013 and just as the University of Akron did last season. Oklahoma is one of college football’s blue blood programs — and also one of the richest. OU’s athletic department ranked eighth in the country with over
$134 million in total revenue in 2014-15, according to USA Today. Louisiana-Monroe slotted in at 179th with less than 10 percent of OU’s total revenue, making the Warhawks’ budget the smallest among FBS schools and behind more than 50 schools that don’t play football at the highest level. So the Warhawks hit the road in search of money from bigger programs that are in search of easy wins. And they’re not alone. Schools from all of the non-power conferences trade expected losses for lucrative paychecks. With some of the Power Five see MONROE page 3