15th Street News
Volume LI Spring 2022
Let the Games Begin
Story & Photos by Ethan Davis | Staff Writer
Softball season for Rose State College has begun. After a long offseason, the Rose State softball team is eager to get back out on the diamond.
Sophomore pitcher Jayleigh Totten is fired up about getting back into the swing of things.
“I’m really excited; I think we’re really prepared,” Totten said. “I really think that we all have a really good connection.”
Freshman first baseman Caton Muncy is also ready to get back to it.
“I’m beyond excited,” Muncy said. “We have a great group of girls that are really talented and just awesome people as well as players on and off the field.”
Last year, the Raider softball team went 26-20 and are looking to improve on that this season.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to win; our main goal is to be No. 1 and win our conference,” Muncy said.
Head Softball Coach Nickie Madden is heading into her 10th season as head coach of the Raider softball team. Madden described this year’s team as a fun but intense group.
“They have some lofty goals but they’re willing to work for it,” Madden said.
With eight pitchers, four catchers and each position having a backup, Madden said this team contains a lot of depth, and there is no shortness of talent on the softball team this year.
“Talent-wise, everyone is
equivalent, so it’s kind of fun that they have to compete every day, and it just makes them better. I’m kind of excited to see how it pans out,” Madden said.
If there’s one thing to know
about Madden, it is that she loves coaching softball.
“I love teaching; I enjoy watching these kids grow and develop,” Madden said. “With junior college kids, you only have
them for two years, but it’s kind of fun to see them grow into what they should be and watch them transfer out and go do big things.”
To Madden, preparation is key when it comes to getting ready for the season.
“We’ve been in the weight room all fall; we started the spring out the same way, they’ve been hitting it hard in every aspect,” she said. “I think their attention to detail is what they’ve really been hammering and trying to get better at. We have two scrimmages before the season opens and I think that’ll be a true tell of where we are.”
When it comes to a new season, there are always new expectations that come with it.
The coaches have expectations for their players and the players have expectations for themselves. Madden said she put her expectations on the team’s shoulders.
“I wanted them to own it,” Madden said. “One of the goals they said was to try to shoot for that No. 1 spot in the conference, and I think talent wise if they go out and compete that’s definitely something that they should be able to fight for, so I’m kind of excited that was our mentality all fall.”
It’s clear to see that there is a lot of excitement around the softball team this year. To see what all the excitement is about, check out the softball team’s schedule at rscraiders.com.
Norman Music Festival Returns
By Jeremiah Cockroft | Staff Writer
Starting April 28, four blocks of historic downtown Norman will be shut down for three days for the Norman Music Festival. Main Street will be transformed into a celebration of music, art and community.
Hosted by the Norman Music Alliance, the festival will feature hundreds of musicians, vendors, food trucks, a carnival, as well as a possible art market.
About 100,000 people are expected to attend.
Over 300 bands will play across four main outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues during the three days.
Even as the event is getting close, the NMA is still getting applications for bands, vendors and food trucks.
“This is a very friendly, relaxed, hangout, discover new music, find your new favorite food truck, meet your new best friend, kind-of vibe,” said
Shari Jackson, Executive Director of the Norman Music Alliance. “It’s organically fun. It’s a very chill atmosphere.”
“Free. Original. Oklahoma.” is the NMA’s motto. The entire event is free to attend with original music and genres from touring indie bands from across the state.
With 90% of the bands performing being from Oklahoma, the festival has strong local ties. The festival is a chance to support local artists.
“We have some very cool people in Oklahoma,” Jackson said. “We should treasure them and hold on to them.”
The headliner for the festival, The Drums, is a world-known indie-pop band. They will play their entire album, “Portamento,” on Saturday. Other headliners include Wet, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Mothica.
Norman businesses and the Norman Arts Council have
funded and supported the event every year the festival has taken place.
The Norman Music Festival began in 2008 when a group of music lovers wanted an excuse to enjoy live performances with each other. Privately organized, a group of volunteers put on the one-day event.
A few local businesses and the Norman Arts Council supported the festival. An estimated 15,000 people attended the first year.
After the success of the NMF, the Norman Music Alliance was created to put on the festival annually. The event grew larger every year, drawing more people to the uniquely fun atmosphere known today.
“At 2 a.m., you might find 90-something of your closest friends having the giant-est game of Duck, Duck, Goose ever,” said Jackson. “We’ve seen it happen.”
The Norman Music Festival
was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. In 2021, COVID-19 case numbers were still not low enough for the three-day festival.
The NMA hosted the NMF Soundcheck Series, a series of street parties in place of the festival. The outdoor mini-concerts supported local musicians that were affected by the pandemic.
As 2022 approached, the NMA watched numbers to see if the festival could be hosted this year. They were advised by OU Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler that the cases were low enough to have the festival. Each venue is encouraged to post its COVID-19 protocols for indoor activities.
“We’re back; it’s free, it’s outdoors, it’s big, it’s going to be so beautiful,” Jackson said. “I can’t wait.”
The band line-up, hosted events, maps and how to support the artists can be found on the Norman Music Festival app.
Aerial shot of the 2019 Music Festival. Photo taken by Stephen Tyler with Tower Theater.
spring break
By Spencer Curren | Staff Writer
Planning a vacation is not as easy as it seems. There is a lot that must go into planning, like calculating prices for hotels, rental cars, flights, gas and what to do when you get there. All things considered, here is a list of personal Top 9 spring break destinations.
1. Miami Beach
Honestly, how can you go wrong with the classic Miami spring break trip? Miami is the perfect spot for college students with parties that do not stop. The weather is 75 degrees with lots of sun and bright blue water. You can catch some decently cheap hotels for $200 a night.
2. Aspen, Colorado
Coming in at No. 2, and is maybe a touch higher than it deserves, only a four-hour drive away from Denver. Aspen is a great place for winter lovers because they have nothing but time to snowboard and ski down mountains all day. There are also scavenger hunts and walking tours if you are into that kinda thing. A hotel or cabin here runs for around $176 a night.
3. Cancun, Mexico
Not as simple as getting in the car and driving or booking a flight, to get to Cancun, you would need to go through the trouble of getting a passport and be comfortable going to another country, but if you’re willing to do that, then Cancun would be a great option. It has beautiful white sand beaches and clear waters, while the town lights up at night. Hotels in Cancun are $300 a night on the cheap end.
4. Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is known for the beach, obviously, but also has some great seafood and art. There are four different art galleries and countless food spots around town. Lots more to do than look into the horizon line here. After grabbing a bite to eat and checking out some art, there is still the boardwalk to shop and games to play so there’s no way you’ll get bored. You can find a nice room here for about $120 a night.
5. Hilton Head, South Carolina
In Hilton Head, there’s lots of fun for people of all ages. There are helicopter tours, dolphin tours and pontoon boat rentals available. Tourists can also take a cruise or swim. Hotels could be as low as $74 a night.
6. Outer Banks, North Carolina
Outer Banks is likely a place no one had ever really heard of until the show “Outer Banks” came out on Netflix. Now it is definitely a place people want to visit. Outer Banks was a great show and seeing the city it was filmed in would be a great bonus for many people. Hotels in Outer Banks are about $120 a night.
7. Nashville, Tennessee.
Nashville is the home of country music. You can visit the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Downtown you’ll find Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. Across the river, there are tons of restaurants and bars where you could run into the next Taylor Swift (or Taylor Swift herself if you’re lucky). Nashville is also home to the Predators if you like hockey. Best of all, they actually have White Castle over there. Hotels in Nashville are around $80 a night.
8. Grand Canyon, Arizona.
The Grand Canyon is a timeless vacation spot. It is amazing how beautiful the land is. Spring break would be the perfect time with the kids out of school as it’s hot in Arizona during the summer.
9. San Francisco
In San Francisco, you can drive across the most iconic bridge of all time, visit Alcatraz prison and check out the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf. Might not blow anyone away with excitement but a decent spot to visit. Hotels are cheap, at $35 for a 1-star, you’d have a place to lay your head.
Aspen, Colorado
Cancun, Mexico
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Hilton Head, South Carolina
San Francisco
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Maintaining Self-care
By Ashley Newsom | Staff Writer
As Rose State students transition into the first years of their future degrees, it seems to have become increasingly difficult to find time for oneself, and it can be hard to decipher what the priorities should be.
The things people care about and how they spend their time can define them. Not being able to indulge in activities once enjoyed, whether because of COVID-19 or because of how hectic life has gotten, can make people feel aimless and less like themselves.
“Transitioning into college during the pandemic was definitely difficult, but focusing on hobbies, old and new, has helped me reignite what I am passionate about,” college student Caden Birsner said.
The ways that we practice selfcare and redefine our identities can fit into many different categories, but let’s break it into two.
PHYSICAL WELL-BEING
Physical well-being includes all of the different ways people take care of their bodies. Physical well-being has a direct impact on mental well-being. Regular practice of physical well-being can reduce stress, anxiety and anger, just to name a few.
Rose State student Kevin Ramirez said one of his favorite things to do is simply spending time outdoors. Whether that is, “walking around the neighbor-
hood, working on my car or even sitting in silence and looking at the grass,” he said.
Here are some examples of ways to take care of oneself physically. Make a mental note of which boxes are checked off, and what areas can be improved on:
• Keep water intake up
• Keep up with personal hygiene
• Exercise (in any capacity. As little as a 15-minute walk or as much as an hour-long workout)
• Get at least seven hours of sleep per night
• Keep up with dietary goals
• Spend some time in the sun.
MENTAL WELL-BEING
Practicing Mental well-being means different things for different people. Whether there is a need for more time with friends or more time by oneself; whether religious or spiritual and in need of time to practice that; how each person de-stresses can be based on what hobbies are enjoyed.
Mental well-being means mental clarity, bring a better sense of self. The pandemic, for many people, has caused them to lose their sense of individuality and self-care.
Ramirez said he has a full-time school schedule, while also working a night shift job.
“It really makes me appreciate every minute I can get,” he said.
Ramirez said he enjoys reading, video games and spending time with family and friends in his free time.
Here are some ways to practice mental well-being. Make a mental note of which boxes are checked off, and what can be improved on:
• Read something. (Comic books or classics, it doesn’t matter. Reading can help relieve stress and improve brain connectivity)
• Meditate
• Indulge in hobbies - try focusing for at least 30 minutes on something personal
• Listen to music
• Learn a new skill
• Create - Drawing, painting, taking photos, writing, etc.
• Spend less time than usual on social media.
• Plan time to spend with friends or do something alone.
It may seem impossible at times to maintain self-care. From college to the pandemic, jobs, personal issues and mental health struggles, it isn’t always easy.
There’s no need to check off every box. Self-care is personal. Figure out what matters most. If it’s a struggle to find the motivation to do things that matter, that is completely normal, too; however, here are some simple ways to find some motivation.
For example, checking off boxes on lists causes the brain to release dopamine. Making lists of daily tasks, such as brushing teeth, doing laundry or completing a homework assignments and checking them off the list can trick the
brain into being more productive. Similarly, exercise and sunlight also release dopamine, which trains your brain to enjoy related activities.
If the idea of taking time and energy to practice self-care is overwhelming, it may also be beneficial to start slowly, implementing one or a couple of new items into a routine.
Gradual changes are more likely to stay long term than trying to change everything at once.
Another tip for staying motivated is to set goals that are easy to reach. Short-term goals are just as important as the long term ones, and they can help one feel, and be, more accomplished.
Mental and physical well-being is not always attainable without help.
To reach out to a professional, all Rose State students have access to TAO (Therapy Assistance Online) and Kognito. These services are free for the Rose State community. Visit rose.edu and search counseling for the links to these services and other recommended apps.
Free in-person counseling services are also available through the Rose State Counseling Center. Contact the 405-733-7373 to schedule an appointment. If it is an emergency, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800273-8255.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
7 Tips for Studying Success
By Nathan Fox | Staff Writer
1. Find Your Comfort Zone
When preparing to study course material, find a comfortable place. For some, this may be at home, while for others it may be at the school library or even a public space. No matter the place, make sure it is comfortable and relaxing. “I find the library the best place to study,” Rose State sophomore Cassie Barger said. “I can put on my earbuds and really focus on the material I need to know.”
3. Get Organized
Every student will organize their study materials differently. Once situated into a study routine, plan out which subjects need more attention and which ones need less. Some courses may require little to no added study time, while others may require extra focus. The more organized you are, the more productive study time will be. “I’m really bad at math. I’m sure that’s something a lot of people say,” freshman Lani Hensley said. “I make sure that I have plenty of time to work on my math homework because I know it will cause the most headaches for me!”
6. Tutor is Not a Four-Letter Word
Never hesitate to seek additional help through tutoring. If certain subject material is difficult, a tutor can be a great resource in gaining a better understanding. “I knew I’d need a math tutor,” Hensley said. “My tutors in the LRC have been super helpful in helping understand what I need to know!”
2. Taming Your Time
Most college courses recommend two hours of studying for every one credit hour. Therefore, with a full-time schedule of 12 hours, the recommended amount of total studying would be roughly 24 hours. Don’t panic. Craft a study schedule that works for you, not against you. Above all else, be flexible. “Juggling work and school is incredibly difficult,” freshman Mason Ginn said. “I have to meticulously plan out my life’s schedule so that I don’t get behind in my classes.”
4. Avoid Distractions
Distractions come in many shapes and sizes. Perhaps your attention will wander from your study material and onto any number of things whilst in public. Most often, the No. 1 distraction will be our phones. Put it away, silence it, lay it facedown or a combination of all of these things. Being mindful about what you are studying will increase your retention of the material. “This is a very hard thing for me to do,” freshman Sam Dawson said. “I sometimes joke that my phone is an extra appendage. I have to actively set it aside in order to retain my study material, or else I’d never memorize anything.”
5. Set Goals
Before each study session, set clear, realistic goals to achieve. Write them down, make a checklist. Doing this before each session will give you a great feeling of achievement and should promote healthy studying. “I always make a mental list of everything I need to know before my next class,” sophomore Josh Guerra said. “I try not to agonize over whether or not I go through the whole list, but that mental list acts as a guide for me, which is really helpful!”
7. Take a Break
The mind is like a muscle: overwork it and it will tire. Plan for study breaks. Build them into your study schedule and adhere to them. Breaks can vary from 5-15 minutes but should not exceed 30 minutes. “I normally study at home, so when I need a break I’ll turn on something on TV and zone out,” Guerra said. “It doesn’t need to be anything super interesting, but taking some breaks while studying is something everyone should do to avoid going through the motions.”
The Netflix Dilemma
By Carsten Clark | Staff Writer
etflix has dominated the streaming industry for well over a decade now. With its initial inception in 1997, where they had started as a DVD rental business, the service has steadily grown to where it is today. They are now a media giant in the entertainment industry and were the pioneers of the streaming age.
Many have chosen to follow suit, specifically, television networks and the oligopoly they are a part of as a whole.
The media conglomerates, TimeWarner and NBC Universal, both have launched streaming services of their own in recent years, spawning Peacock and HBOMax, which evolved from HBOGo.
With the streaming industry seemingly oversaturated with countless services being offered to consumers, it has finally created competition for Netflix.
While Netflix has been in a league of its own for so long, and essentially being the catalyst for the sharpest decline in cable viewership in its entire
history, it has been unfazed as they have made great strides in both original programming and revenue. Its yearly revenue increased by 19% in 2021. Netflix does not intend on going anywhere anytime soon. It begs the question however, will Netflix’s current model be enough to ensure it remains on the top?
With consumers having more options available to them than ever before, it could be possible for us to witness the dethronement of Netflix as No.1 in the years to follow.
The best way to describe its current model is, “quantity over quality.” In its last sales quarter alone, it has released over 100 Netflix originals.
While they have received many accolades for their original content, and deservingly so, it seems like their model revolves around the idea of bombarding their subscribers with content to keep them actively engaged and hesitant to switch services. They spend an estimated amount of $13 billion on content alone.
That isn’t the only thing they are dumping billions into, however.
Marketing alone costs the streaming services well over a billion dollars. To understand more about Netflix’s marketing strategy, and the role it plays in their future, Marcus Mallard, Rose State professor of English and digital media, offered an explanation.
“Streaming services are going to eventually take over as the dominant form of accessing entertainment mediums,” he said. “Netflix is, I would argue, at more of a disadvantage because revenue streams for that company are based solely on subscription fees, unlike some of their competitors that have come up like Paramount+ or Peacock.”
The absence of traditional advertising is still one of Netflix’s main attractions for consumers, yet it backs them into a corner as they are only able to make profit through subscriptions. The company lost over 400,000 subscribers in one of their sales quarters last year, leaving their domestic market share and number of new subscribers to shrink.
Jack Livingston, a TV streamer offered his perspective on the topic.
“I feel like Netflix doesn’t have as
much to offer as they used to,” he said. “They always seem to cancel their best shows to make room for new ones, and on top of that they lose streaming rights to fan favorite shows (The Office, Friends, etc). Other services offer just as much for sometimes cheaper prices.”
Services like HBOMax and Disney+ have swiftly been climbing the ranks despite them being relatively new. Both services seem to offer a more curated experience with their collection of content, and are constantly creating and adding more as time goes on.
They also have properties that are exclusive to their service. Disney+ offers the entire Disney library, Marvel and National Geographic to its subscribers. Meanwhile, HBOMax takes advantage of the current and pre-existing HBO content, on top of properties like DC, Cartoon Network and Studio Ghibli.
“It seems like going forward, Netflix is going to have to reinvent itself to stay more competitive and relevant in the streaming war,” Livingston said.
The present is looking good for Netflix, but the future might just hold a different story.
- Jack Livingston, Netflix streamer “
It seems like going forward, Netflix is going to have to reinvent itself to stay more competitive and relevant in the streaming war.”
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Video Game Wars
By Coyt Wisdom | Sports Editor
Video games have been played in many households since the 1970s. They became even more popular in later years, particularly in the 1990s. Nintendo consoles and the Sony PlayStation were the two most popular consoles in the ‘90s, but at the turn of the century, Microsoft released their video game console known as the Xbox.
Fast forward to over two decades and all three companies are still going strong in the video game industry. However, there seems to be a new trend: buying video game studios.
In September 2020, Microsoft purchased ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda. Bethesda is known to create video game franchises such as Fallout, Doom and The Elder Scrolls.
In January, Microsoft announced they are purchasing Activision Blizzard. The video game developing company is known for hit franchises such
as Call of Duty, Overwatch and Crash Bandicoot. Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion.
Sony purchased a video game developing company as well in January. Sony purchased Bungie, Inc. for nearly $4 billion. Bungie, Inc. developed video games such as Halo and Destiny.
Tristan Wallace, a video game player from Harrah, said he sees good things and bad things in the recent acquisitions of the video game companies’ purchases.
“They are trying to monopolize the market, which could negatively affect the prices of games or make it harder for third party developers to make indie games,” Wallace said.
Indie games are when the video game was made by a lesser-known video game developer. Sometimes indie game developers create massive hits, such as Mojang studios who created Minecraft. Mojang Studios were eventually pur-
chased by Microsoft in 2014 for $2.5 billion.
Wallace said the acquisitions could also be a good thing for smaller developers being bought by major companies like Sony and Microsoft.
Smaller developing companies could potentially have access to more resources if they were to be purchased by a major video game company.
Wallace said he thinks video games could be better quality if video game developers continue to be acquired by major companies.
Similar to Wallace, another video gamer thinks there are two sides to developers being acquired by major corporations. Brittany Lehman, from Shawnee, has played an Xbox console for nearly two decades.
Lehman also thinks smaller video game developers could benefit from having more resources to create video games, and also produce a better quality
of video games. However, she fears that if acquisitions continue to occur, new ideas could decline. And gamers could also be left with only two choices.
“I don’t think that it’s good for the video game industry, because there will be no small indie companies and no new ideas,” Lehman said. “It’s all going to be ‘Microsoft pre-approved’ or ‘Sony pre-approved.’”
For what seems to be a trend of video game developers being bought by larger companies, perhaps the consumer won’t mind much as long as the video game satisfies their expectations.
Or maybe the video game industry is the future of entertainment, with streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon now entering the video game industry to publish video games. What was once called a children’s toy is now a massively profitable industry and could change how we view the potential cost of entertainment.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
TikTok: How long will it last?
By Nathan Fox | Staff Writer
TikTok has been downloaded onto more than 2 billion devices around the globe. To put this into perspective, the current global population is 7.9 billion. This means that roughly 25% of the population has access to TikTok, an impressive figure for a shortform video app.
TikTok began its life in late 2016 when ByteDance released its app known as Douyin in China. Within a year, Douyin had amassed over 100 million downloads, and in late 2017, the app was rebranded under the name TikTok. However,
the app was still only available in select markets.
TikTok CEO Zhang Yiming expressed firm interest in making the platform globally available. He would get his wish in 2018 following TikTok’s acquisition of the popular lip-sync app Musical.ly. TikTok would launch worldwide in August of that same year.
TikTok has an impressive algorithm in order to deliver content catered to each viewer.
“It’s a relaxing way to spend my free time,” said Tye Brown, a sophomore engineering major at Rose State. “Some of the videos on there are hilarious, but it is addictive, and I have to
really watch how much time I spend on it.”
The app hinges upon this addictive format.
“I can spend anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours on there. It really sucks you in,” said KyLee Mullican, a sophomore business major at Rose State. “I love TikTok, though. The content is so varied that there’s always something that I can find to enjoy.”
TIKTOK: THE SHORT-FORM VIDEO GIANT
“I don’t have TikTok, but a lot of my friends will send me videos from TikTok,” said Ladawn Jones, director of advising at the University of Oklahoma.
“I enjoy a lot of the videos, but my favorites are the ones that point out silly work situations or ones with cute animals.”
This is one of the defining aspects of the app — shareability. TikTok makes it easy to share content to other social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, as well as directly to friends. Even if someone does not have TikTok downloaded onto a device, people may still be aware of its easily digestible, short-form video content.
No app is perfect though, and TikTok is no exception.
“I don’t use TikTok,” said Armawn Asgari, head recruiter of organizational leadership at the University of Oklahoma, “Everything is just copying what someone else has already done, and it pushes people to be unoriginal.”
TikTok has experienced its fair share of controversy.
Former President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless the app was sold to a U.S.-based company. This endeavor did not lead to any concrete ramifications, but TikTok is still being investigated by the Biden administration.
TikTok is currently valued at around $50 billion, which is still not as much as Snapchat ($88 billion) or Instagram ($102 billion).
However, it’s popularity is undeniable even amidst heavy scrutiny and controversy. Time will tell whether or not this addictive app will continue it’s impressive rise, or fly too close to the sun and end up as a spectacular failure.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
COVID-19: The toll it’s taking on athletes
By Alyx Sabina | Staff Writer
The world was flipped upside down in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic took over every headline.
In the year 2022, everyone is still left hanging by their feet.
As many people hid in their houses, eyes glued to the TV, viewers spent a lot of time watching their favorite sports. For a long time, these sporting
events seemed to be some of the only normalcy left, but was it ever normal for the athletes?
Since the start of COVID-19, sports have taken a hard hit on what they are able to do while abiding by the safe distance and mask mandates, not to mention what to do if a teammate or coach was exposed or become ill with the virus.
“When we have an exposure on our team we have to cancel our practices until we know that everyone who was in contact with them comes back negative after they get tested,” said Katelin Shay, Rose State volleyball head coach.
Canceling practices causes numerous issues when it comes to keeping an athlete’s stamina and agility. Not having a steady practice schedule leaves them unprepared.
According to a University of North Carolina lawsuit, male athletes spend roughly 42 hours and female athletes spend nearly 38 hours each week of purely athletic hours.
“When our team got hit with COVID, I had to quarantine for two weeks and I didn’t get to practice with my team,” student athlete Logan Hausman said. “Then right when we came back, we had to play a game without being in shape. We weren’t prepared physically or mentally.”
While not being able to appropriately practice is a large issue for the athletes, there’s a lot more to the mental aspect of how COVID-19 is affecting these players.
“Dealing with this virus while playing a sport is taking a bigger emotional toll on me than I thought it would,” Hausman said. “It takes my team’s focus away from the game and causes us to worry about getting sick, getting others sick and what we will do if we aren’t allowed to play anymore.”
When the players are worried about their lives outside of the sport, it is difficult to stay focused on the field or court.
This can mean that they are not playing to the best of their abilities, which causes defeat in their mind and on the field.
“We had to cancel a few matches in the fall because we weren’t able to reschedule them … it takes a toll on them because they were excited to compete,” Shay said.
When an athlete gets sick from coronavirus, it’s a whole different ball game. While many can overcome the sickness because of their healthy athletic bodies, it still heavily affects them and their abilities to play their sport.
“Some of my athletes who have tested positive would get tired/winded more easily right after coming out of quarantine,” Shay said.
Playing sports in college is competitive and often consumes most of that athlete’s time and energy.
But for many, it is what they value and love to do the most. When the players only play a sport for two or four years in college, having games and practices taken from them, no matter the reason, can be heart-wrenching.
“I only get to play for one more season; it’s really sad to think about because this year our biggest trip of the season got canceled, and now I’ll only get to do it once before I’m done playing this sport for probably the rest of my life,” Hausman said.
Time will tell if the world will ever return to how it was before the pandemic and if athletes will be able to play the sports in the way they’ve always loved.
Mayor Holt says ‘MAPS renaissance continues’ after the Oklahoma City Council approves $177 Million project
By Michael Palacios | Staff Writer
Plans for a dense project worth $177 million in development costs were approved Jan. 18 by the Oklahoma City City Council.
Suitably named Convergence, the project aims to bring economic growth and collaboration in the Innovation District located in the northeast area of downtown Oklahoma City.
With multiple MAPS 4 projects in the pipeline, it’s important to decide where to properly allocate resources.
“I work with the other members to make sure we are properly using taxpayer dollars, negotiating contracts, meeting deadlines of the implementation plan,” said Dr. Monique Bruner, MAPS 4 advisory board member and executive director of Diversity and Cultural Affairs at Rose State.
The Innovation Hall will serve as the center for the development project, which will build onto Stiles Circle Park, incor-
porating the Beacon of Hope monument.
The central point, being the Innovation Hall, will be a link between the Oklahoma State University Hamm Institute for American Energy and the University of Oklahoma Research Park, bridging the two facilities.
The site will take up 2.7 acres of land, completely renovating the current park into a sophisticated plaza. Planned construction will boast an office tower, functional lab space and a hotel.
Entrepreneurship is a major focus, with the Henrietta B. Foster Center offering a platform for small businesses at events, meetings and showcases for ideas.
Intentions behind the development are to bring inspiration to the Innovation District by creating a public hub for creativity and education.
The connection of state-ofthe-art facilities with functional
technology centers will be the heart for the Innovation District, bringing together academic scholars and business experts to collaborate for a potential end goal of creating jobs. This center will ideally be grounds for academic cultivation for everyone with activities and learning programs for all ages.
An expansive development like this is another project proposed by the debt-free public development initiative known as MAPS 4.
Many of the project’s purposes are to increase the quality of life for Oklahomans. MAPS 4 is an ongoing funding process that has already allocated $10 million toward the construction of the Innovation Hall.
With the support of private investors, the budget for the development plan was bolstered to $177 million, giving the city much more funding to work with, as well as accelerating the process. Because of the
overwhelming backing for the plan, building of the project will promptly take place in the coming months.
This investment is planned to be used for the creation of job opportunities and stimulation for the local economy.
A set of proposals was originally approved Dec. 10, 2019.
Convergence is a consistent theme with the expansion of the Innovation District, a cooperative effort to modernize the Oklahoma economy.
“It’s great … that we are building new facilities that will improve research and even help create jobs,” Callie Moorhead, student at the University of Oklahoma, said. “Our main focus should always be encouraging everyone to work together.”
The development of the Oklahoma landscape continues through the MAPS 4 initiative. The Convergence development is predicted to finish construction in March 2024.
Photo courtesy of okc.gov.
Sharks: Predator or Prey?
By Ashley Newsom | Staff Writer
How many sharks can you name? No, seriously. Try.
Most people start with great white and then move on to hammerhead and maybe get to tiger shark. Occasionally, people will remember whale sharks exist.
Though most people have little to no knowledge about sharks, the largest misconceptions about the ocean oftentimes refer to sharks.
People tend to view them as dangerous predators ready to gobble up some innocent human flailing in the water at any given moment.
One of the things that frightens many about the ocean is the lack of knowledge of what goes on in there.
“We don’t know what lies beneath us,” high school student Vinicio Wint said.
Everyone is affected by disinformation and a lack of information altogether.
So, where do these misconceptions come from? And why should an Oklahoman care?
First and foremost, it’s important to note sharks only account for about 10 deaths worldwide per year on average. However, humans kill around 100 million sharks a year. This translates to around 11,000 sharks per hour, leading to a 71% decline in shark populations.
Most deaths due to shark attacks are because of blood loss. Often, a shark will bite a limb and realize a human not what they wanted or meant to eat, so they decide to move on.
Humnas are too lean for sharks, but with their lack of ability to distinguish colors, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a human on a surfboard versus a seal, at first glance.
Using data from confirmed cases taken from an international shark attack file where the sharks were unprovoked, out of
over 500 shark species, only 32 have been recorded to have “attacked” at all, with no fatalities in most cases. Only three of those species have been identified in causing fatalities adding up to the double digits since 1580. Those species are great white, tiger and bull sharks.
A lot of perceptions regarding sharks come from the media.
The most notable example being the movie “Jaws,” which caused a lifelong fear of the ocean for many people.
Rose State Professor of Environmental Science Daniel Ratcliff said that the film not only caused fear, but also caused people to hunt and kill sharks more than they had previously.
On top of this, the average person mostly hears about a shark is from the news, which typically reports cases of attacks and/or fatalities because it’s an anomaly, which makes it newsworthy.
The other popular form of shark media is “Shark Week,” which some would argue sensationalizes moments of aggression because that is what gets the views. They use episode names like “Great White Serial Killer” and “Deadly Stripes.”
Wint said sharks have a “creepy and intimidating stigma.”
However, statistics show these instances are rare; rarer than dying after getting hit by lightning, rarer than dying from a wasp sting, rarer than dying from a dog attack, rarer than dying from falling off of your bed while sleeping.
Of course, the likelihood goes up the more times one goes in the water. Even still, in the ocean, there is only a 1-in-3.75 million chance of dying because of a shark attack.
In the discussion over the effects of the declining shark populations in relation to climate change, it is important to take into consideration the ecosystems at play, not just pollution or how much meat we consume.
Climate change affects everything, including shark attacks, shark health and the health of the entire ecosystems.
As the oceans warm up, this impacts shark migratory patterns, often causing sharks to show up closer and closer to shorelines and outside of protected zones that disallow the killing of sharks.
Ratcliff said this is also affecting the sharks in a different, unique way; it is causing skin diseases in White Tip Reef sharks that have migrated outside of usual patterns. This disease is eating into their flesh.
One of the biggest contributors to the sharp decline in shark populations is shark finning, often used for dishes such as shark fin soup. Shark finning is the process by which the fins of the sharks are removed before discarding the rest of the shark’s, still living, body into the ocean.
Sharks are apex predators. Ratcliff said removing sharks from the ocean causes something called a “trophic cascade,” meaning the
removal of a creature higher in the food chain can increase the survival of those in lower trophic levels. This affects the entire ecosystem and can wreak havoc on the balance of the environment.
The ocean is in danger, and the world is 71% water. The issues in the ocean affect everyone.
Ratcliff said marine issues should not be disregarded. All ecosystems interact; they are all interconnected, he said.
Making a change can be as small as not contributing to the problem, such as not buying shark-fin soup when on vacation somewhere that sells it, or as big as being an oceanic activist.
Above all else, stay informed; inform others. Everyone is affected.
Sharks have something called the Ampullae of Lorenzini, which are electroreceptors that sharks (and some other marine species) have. They are located on the shark’s heads and undersides and look like little pores.
The ampullae sense the electrical fields of other creatures in the ocean. These receptors are so sensitive that sharks can sense the beating heart of another creature, or find creatures buried in the sand.
Sharks also have teeth that act as a sort of mechanosensory structure, kind of like our hands and fingers. It helps them figure out what they are seeing or biting.
Sharks act on instinct. If they sense an electrical field and see someone laying on a surfboard, they want to go check it out. And they do that with their teeth. Kind of like a huge, annoying house cat.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
Beefing With Prices
There aren’t enough steaks to put on american dinner plates ...
Story & Photos by Thomas Slinger | Staff Reporter
With inflation rising and the pandemic still soaring, many students at Rose State think becoming a vegetarian seems like a good option. This is due to the drastic increase in meat prices over the past two years.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of all major meat products has risen nearly 10% since the start of the pandemic. The largest price increase has come from beef and veal, which rose 20.1% in 2021. With a 14.1% increase in 2020, the price of beef has increased nearly 30% since the start of the pandemic.
For comparison, between 2000 and 2020, the price of beef rose only 4% on a national average.
But why has the price of beef risen so dramatically compared to the other products in the meat industry? The answer—different events that come together to create the perfect storm.
The first ingredient to this storm can be traced back to the start of the pandemic. In 2020, meat processing plants closed on a national scale. This led to farmers and ranchers having to cull cattle because there is nowhere else to sell.
Fast-forward down the road a bit and fewer cows are being put into processing plants. In economic terminology, there is an increase in demand but not in the supply chain.
This means there are not enough steaks to put on American dinner plates. In addition to the supply chain crisis, carbon dioxide, which is the
main ingredient used to keep beef cold during packaging, has nearly doubled in price since the start of the pandemic. This adds to the overall increase in the price of beef.
So how does this affect students at Rose State? It means students will buy less beef. Many students admit dinners and meals that were once common now are saved for special occasions.
“Oh, I used to get these premade hamburgers for like $5,” Rose State student Kevin McCormack said.
“Nowadays, when I walk into the store, they’re like 10 bucks a pop … It’s just not worth it to buy anymore.”
Other students also noticed similar trends in their shopping routines.
“I used to get rib-eye from Walmart and Crest, but now I usually just keep on walking,” Rose State student Sheref Hill said.
In a press release from the White House, the Biden administration acknowledged “families have been facing higher prices at the grocery store” and has pledged to enforce antitrust laws to battle anti-competitive practices in the meat industry. But the future does hold hope. Toward the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, prices in supermarkets began to stabilize, with many national experts believing that the price will start to come down as the cattle industry recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
student “
It’s just not worth it to buy steaks or beef anymore.
- Kevin
Rose
McCormack,
State
Remembering the Father of Blood Banking and Transfusion Practices
Story contribution by Professor Carlo Ledesma, MS, MLS(ASCP) CM SHCM DLMCM, QLSCM, MT(AMT) Rose State College Medical Laboratory Technology/Phlebotomy Program Director
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was the African American surgeon and researcher that Medical Laboratory Medicine hails as the Father of Blood Banking practices.
Drew organized America’s first large-scale blood bank and trained a generation of Black physicians at Howard University. His father, Richard, was a carpet layer and financial secretary of the Carpet, Linoleum, and SoftTile Layers Union—and its only non-white member. His mother, Nora Burrell Drew, graduated from the Miner Normal School, though she never worked as a school teacher.
Drew’s upbringing emphasized academic education and church membership, as well as civic knowledge and personal competence, responsibility and independence. Drew attended Amherst College in Massachusetts on an athletic scholarship. He received his AB from Amherst in 1926.
To help finance expenses for medical school, he took a job as an athletic director and instructor of biology and chemistry at Morgan College in Baltimore. The racial segregation of the pre-Civil Rights era constrained Drew’s options for medical training. He was accepted to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine in Montréal, which had a reputation for better treatment of minorities.
Later, he joined the faculty at Howard University College of Medicine, starting as a pathology instructor, and then progressing to surgical instructor and to chief surgical resident at Freedmen’s Hospital. In June 1940, Drew received his doctorate in medical science from Columbia, becoming the first African American to earn the degree there.
Drew met his spouse, Minnie Lenore Robbins, while attending a conference in April 1939. Robbins was a professor of home economics at Spelman College in Atlanta. They married in September 1939 and had three daughters and a son. Interestingly, the eldest daughter, Bebe, was named after Drew’s work in Blood Bank-BB
He was called back to New York in September 1940 to direct the Blood for Britain project to help support Great Britain who was under attack by Germany and was in desperate need of blood
and plasma to treat the casualties of the war.
Drew, as medical director, established programs and standardized the collection and processing of blood plasma at the participating hospitals. This led to a national blood banking system sponsored by the American Red Cross and National Research Council. One of his many innovations was the mobile blood donation — “blood mobiles”
Ironically, as the blood bank effort expanded in preparation for America’s entry into the war, the armed forces initially stipulated that the Red Cross exclude African Americans from donating; thus Drew, a leading expert in blood banking, was ineligible to participate in the program he helped establish. The policy was soon modified to accept blood donations from Blacks, but required that these be segregated. Throughout the war, Drew criticized these policies as unscientific and insulting to African Americans.
Drew became the first African American to be appointed an examiner for the American Board of Surgery. For the next nine years he devoted himself to training and mentoring his medical students and surgical residents, and raising standards in Black medical education. He also campaigned against the exclusion of Black physicians from local medical societies, medical specialty organizations, and the American Medical Association.
Drew’s innovative work was recognized by awards and honors including the 1942 E. S. Jones Award for Research in Medical Science from the John A. Andrew Clinic in Tuskegee, Alabama; an appointment to the American-Soviet Committee on Science in 1943; the 1944 Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, for his work on blood and plasma; honorary doctorates from Virginia State College (1945) and Amherst College (1947); and election to the International College of Surgeons in 1946.
Drew died on April 1, 1950, in Burlington, North Carolina, from injuries sustained in a car accident while en route to a conference. Drew left a substantial legacy, embodied in his blood bank work and especially in the graduates of the Howard University College of Medicine.
Charles Drew, MD, PhD - Father of Blood Banking and Transfusion Practices
Dr. Drew educating his students.
Dr. Drew and his family.
Prohibition: A Complicated History
By Luke Yost | Staff Writer
From the birth of the state to now, Oklahoma has had quite the complicated history with “booze.”
When Oklahoma was first established in 1907, it adopted prohibition, the absence of alcohol, to be in the state’s constitution.
This did not stop people though, as illegal hooch makers littered the state of Oklahoma. This called for men that worked in law enforcement to crack down on these operations.
One notable man in that era who was famous for catching those doing illegal activity in action was prohibition leader and law enforcer William Johnson.
Johnson was more notably known by his nickname “Pussyfoot,” due to his catlike stealth in the pursuit of suspects in the Oklahoma territory. The newspapers in Muskogee often referred to him as “the gent with the panther tread,” which then led to the name “Pussyfoot.” Johnson was also said to have worn rubber on his shoes.
A non-alcoholic drink named “Pussyfoot” was even invented in 1920 by Robert Vermiere at The Embassy Club in London.
Despite the national views on prohibition, which were instated in 1919 and repealed in 1933 with the 21st amendment, Oklahoma remained adamant on their views of liquor and remained dry.
Oklahoma did see a little change because of the 21st amendment, as the first legal sale of beer was approved and took place on July 12, 1933. Although, regulations were still strict due to the 1907 state constitution. But as usual, the law doesn’t stop people from doing what they want. Bootleggers reigned supreme, especially in the 1950s. A bottle of hooch was just a phone call away and home delivery was expected. Law enforcement would regularly catch the clever spots where bootleggers hid their stashes.
The hiding spots ranged
from secret compartments in the floor, holes in the ground or a hollowed-out car door, nothing was off limits as bootleggers tried it all.
It also wasn’t out of the question to have lawmen conspiring alongside these bootleggers. They often had a few lawmen in their back pockets doing business with them.
J. Howard Edmondson signed a Liquor Control Bill on June 23, 1959. This established an Alcohol Control Board that governed the manufacture and sale of alcohol, but the legislation did not permit liquor by the drink.
There were many attempts to legalize liquor by the drink in 1972 and 1976, but they were rejected by voters.
On Sept. 18, 1984, by a narrow victory, liquor by the drink was allowed. Since then, voters approved additional state questions which loosened the state’s alcohol laws.
Phil Cross, mass communication adjunct professor at Rose State, gave his thoughts as someone who wasn’t accustomed to the strict liquor laws in Oklahoma before he moved here from Iowa.
“When I moved to Oklaho-
ma in 2007, I didn’t pack wine bottles for the move, so I went to Target to get a new bottle when I got moved in. Well, there was nothing at Target. I went to Walmart and found nothing but 3.2 beer. I went to the actual grocery store and couldn’t find wine anywhere,” Cross said.
Almost 10 years after this culture shock that Cross experienced, things changed.
One of the most recent and impactful decisions took place in November 2016, approving the elimination of the distinction between 3.2 percent and “strong” beer and allowed the sale of wine and all beer in grocery and convenience stores. It also enables liquor stores to sell chilled alcoholic beverages and items that don’t contain alcohol.
Reuben Stewart, a student at the University of Oklahoma, benefits from the 2016 decision along with many other Oklahomans.
“It’s nice and it’s convenient,” Stewart said. “There aren’t a lot of liquor stores by me, and they are usually pretty sketchy, so it is nice being able to buy some alcohol at a place like Target.”
Disposing of illegal alcohol in Oklahoma City, 1921. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Officials raid an illegal liquor operation. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Gov. Haskell signing prohibition into law. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
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