Friday, December 22, 2023
Last-minute Elf on the Shelf ideas Kennedy Thomason News & Lifestyle Editor
For 22 days, your resident Elf of the Shelf has bopped around the house, taunting Santa’s arrival. With two days left to go before the elf hitches a ride back to the North Pole with Santa, here are some ideas to end the season strong. Zipping to Christmas This slightly elaborate idea requires string, some tape and a candy cane. To create the zip line, tape one end of the string to the corner or ceiling of the desired room. Tape the other end of the string slightly below it on the other side of the room, creating a downward slope. Next, grab the candy cane and hang it from the sting. Make sure to securely take the elf’s hands to the candy cane. Tape the candy cane to the middle of the string
so the elf is in the middle of the zip line. Then let the elf zip through your house. Date night For this idea, your elf will be dining with a celebrity. Grab a Barbie, or another doll of your choosing, and set up a small table or picnic for them to eat at. Snow angels This is another easy idea, although it is slightly messy. Grab some powdered sugar or flour and spread it in a circle. You will want to do this in the kitchen or on an easily cleaned surface. Place your elf in the middle use it to make a snow angel in the powdered sugar or flour. Hot chocolate bath This is another slightly messy, but fun, idea. Fill up a bathroom sink about halfway with water. Take a few packets of hot chocolate and mix them in with the water. Add a few marshmallows to the top of the mixture. Position your elf around the sink, preparing to bathe in the hot chocolate bath. news.ed@ocolly.com One of many Elf on the Shelf stunts is putting up a string zip line for the elf to ride one.
Courtesy of Creative Commons
Sexual education’s impact on sexual assault rates Jaycee Hampton and Autumn Sterling O’Colly Contributors
File Photo The rodeo team is a collegiate sport but is not classified under the athletic department at OSU.
College rodeo teams face lack of funding Charley Van Newkirk O’Colly Contributor
“I mean we call ourselves the Cowboys, we should have a team with funding, be well-coached and able to recruit,” Roberts said. Despite these challenges, college rodeo plays a role Seeing the words “rodeo team meeting” etched in preserving a cultural heriinto the sidewalk with chalk, tage and offers an avenue for student-athletes passionate Jennifer Roberts knew she about the sport to compete at couldn’t pass the offer up. “After the first meeting, the collegiate level. At OSU, the team isn’t I knew it was over; I already classified under the athletic had my horses loaded up to come to OSU,” Roberts said. department. However, rodeo, a collegiate sport, has She not only spent her impacted not only the athcollege years as a member letes within the club but the on the team; she became an university itself. activist. Terry Hyman, the Roberts met with team’s adviser, appointed former OSU President James Roberts as the spokesperson Halligan to lobby for funding for the team. She led the for the rodeo team. Through charge for the organization conversation, Halligan and on campus to get the facilities and funding she believed Roberts struck up a deal. If the rodeo team raised the team deserved. $10,000, Halligan would
match the money it gave toward the program. Within the year, the team raised $16,000 at its first “Ride for the Brand” scholarship auction in Oklahoma City in 1999. Halligan then matched that number to grant toward the team. “I did my homework with Terry’s guidance and lobbied on behalf of my fellow rodeo students and mostly for the many to follow,” Roberts said. Roberts also found donors in Wes and Lou Watkins when she and her dad visited their house, where meetings were held. “Members of multiple departments on campus would sit and listen to our pleas and plans for the team for new stalls, pens and materials,” Roberts said. See Rodeo on 8
“I can’t remember a time before the assault,” Weaver said. “My whole life I had problems with being too inappropriate for my age and doing dangerous and sexual things at young ages. I never understood the reason behind these was my sexual assault Sexual assault can hapuntil I became an adult.” pen to anyone, anywhere, at any When she opted to try time. therapy, the therapist wanted to For Elizabeth Weaver, she do eye movement desensitizaknows this to be true. tion and reprocessing, EMDR, When she was 5, her immediately, which increased brother sexually assaulted her. Weaver’s post-traumatic stress At 18, she decided to speak out disorder, PTSD, symptoms to the after years of trying to convince point she was almost homebound herself it all was a dream. her senior year. She knew she needed help, Now 22, she still suffers but she didn’t get the response from severe PTSD from all facshe anticipated. tors of the incident. She is no “My mom knew about the longer in school because of the assault and never said anything symptoms she has after findto me about it or got me help,” ing out her family knew and did Weaver said. “She told me that nothing about it. sexual assault is something most “There are so many ways women go through, and it hapit still affects me to this day,” pened so long ago that it didn’t Weaver said. “I never got a real matter anymore.” childhood. My innocence was Through her adolescent taken at age five and could never years she attended Broken Arcome back from that.” row public schools. With each state differing Growing up in a state that in mandates, it poses a quesdoesn’t mandate sex education, tion of whether states that don’t her only recollection of sexual mandate sex education, result in health in school was a puberty a higher rate of sexual assault video in fifth grade. Neither she cases. nor her mom was given a proper A data analysis was coneducation regarding sex growing ducted related to how manup in Oklahoma. dated sex education programs in For her senior year, she schools impact forcible rape incimoved to California and atdences in the general population. tended high school in San The data includes all U.S. states Diego. While Oklahoma doesn’t and the District of Columbia mandate sex education, Califor- with two sources, including the nia does, but she was still not Guttmacher Institute and the FBI properly equipped as she left Crime Database. high school. See Rates on 6
Jaycee Hampton and Autumn Sterling Comparison of forcible rape cases based on whether sex education is mandated. The average of forcible rape cases is approximately 44 per 100,000 inhabitants.