Friday, March 1, 2024
On-campus hit-and-run driver pleads not guilty
Bella Casey News and Lifestyle Assistant Editor
Riley Harness A 2023 Adidas study found 92% of women report feeling concerned for their safety. 51% of women fear being physically attacked, as opposed to 28% of men.
Trust your gut
Female runners face safety concerns rural Iowa hometown. Social media has shared their stories, along with other victims’. Users have created hashtags to share their outrage over women who die on runs. Roe, an eight time AllKennedy Thomason American and 2022 indoor News & Lifestyle 3,000 meter national champion Editor for OSU’s cross country and track teams, said she has been lucky not to experience serious Shouts hurled from car safety concerns while running. windows and honking horns “There’s definitely been are things that happen to Taylor times where maybe a situation Roe from time to time. It’s part of being a female you get a gut feeling like, ‘OK, maybe I should turn around or runner. Sometimes it’s more seri- take a different route,’” Roe said. ous than passing jabs. A 2023 study from Adidas Laken Hope Riley, a found 92% of women report 22-year-old student at the feeling concerned for their safeUniversity of Georgia’s Athens campus, was found dead on Feb. ty. The study surveyed 9,000 22 in a wooded area on campus women from nine countries. Roe typically runs alone. after she went for a run. When she does, Roe said she Her story is not the first. takes a phone with her. Eliza Fletcher, 34, died “I try not to be out on after a 4 a.m. run on Sept. 2, a dirt road at eight o’clock at 2022, near the University of night where it’s dark, there’s no Memphis’ campus. Mollie Tibbetts, 20, a stu- lights and there’s nobody to be seen,” Roe said. “So I definitely dent at the University of Iowa, try to pick busier areas at differwas murdered on a run in her ent times of the day.”
Colt Chandler, OSUPD captain, said female runners can do several things to keep themselves safe. First, runners should travel in opposition to traffic. At night, Chandler discourages the use of headphones. Having headphones in keeps runners from being aware of their situation, and they are unable to hear if a person or dog approaches from behind. He said running with a partner, running in well-lit areas and checking in with designated people after a run are all practices runners can implement. Since 2019, Chandler said OSUPD has recorded 825 accidents. In those five years, about 20, 2.4%, were auto-pedestrian accidents. Chandler, who is also a runner, said he recognizes the differences in male and female experiences. “When I run, I’m confident that I experience something completely different than what females would,” Chandler said. See Safety on 6A
Tyler Peters adorned a blue-and-white striped buttondown shirt and jeans, not a jail jumpsuit, as he awaited his arraignment on Tuesday. On Feb. 23, the day after his arrest, Linda Peters posted his $10,000 bond. OSUPD arrested 21-year-old Peters on Feb. 22 following a hit-and-run on campus. He was charged with leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday. His next court date is April 10. The hit-and-run occurred Feb. 22 around 10 a.m. when a truck struck Gabrielle Long near Monroe Street and Cantwell Avenue. Long died after she was transported to Stillwater Medical Center. It was her 19th birthday. The morning of Feb. 22, a white pickup truck with possible front end damage was seen leaving the scene of the hit-and-run, and a BOLO (be on the lookout) broadcast was issued through the Stillwater Police Department. A truck matching that description cruised down McElroy, and a police officer initiated a traffic stop. Peters was the driver. Blood and hair were found on the underside of
Peters’ truck. Peters was taken into custody at 12:35 p.m. He was arrested at 3:15 p.m. Despite The O’Colly’s request, OSUPD would not release the incident report or Peters’ arrest records until 10:13 a.m. the next morning. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, law enforcement must make law enforcement agencies shall make available for public inspection, if kept, “A chronological list of all incidents, including initial offense report information showing the offense, date, time, general location, officer and a brief summary of what occurred.” In an email, OSUPD Capt. Leon Jones said this information could take “a few days to a week” to be ready. Shannon Rigsby, a public information officer for OSUPD, said the records could not be shared until the investigation is complete. OSUPD arrested Peters on the basis of probable cause, and therefore did possess preliminary information such as the offense, date, time, general location of the incident and a list of officers who responded to the incident. Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, OSUPD must share this information regardless of the status of the investigation. “Sometimes, law enforcement will use the, ‘Well, this is under investigation,’” said Kurt Gwartney, executive director of FOI Oklahoma. “And not the only people who use that phrase, to try to keep records that, really, in most cases, should be open and available to the public, out of the public view.” See Pleads on 5A
Women’s history month
SGA Senate Speaker turns adversity into achievement
Luisa Clausen Sydney Adkins spends part of her week at her office in the Student Union. She splits her time into different responsibilities.
What’s Inside
Chilly Cowboy
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ics and sports because she needed scholarships, and she got them. But that doesn’t mean she had it easy. Johnathan Adkins, Sydney Adkins’ father, Luisa Clausen said his daughter was Editor-in-Chief picked on in school. So he put her in karate. He wanted her to be brave. Sydney Adkins is And she proved to be just not a fan of excuses. that. The oldest of six, “She’s not afraid of Adkins, a senior and any kind of challenge,” the Senate Speaker for Johnathan Adkins said. “I the Student Government used to tell her at a youngAssociation, finds moer age that just because tivation in being a good you’re smaller than everyexample and inspiration one else, doesn’t mean you for her siblings. And she can’t be an example.” also has goals of her own Life was strict under to achieve. the Adkins household in As a kid, she always Oklahoma City. Curfew, had a book in hand. As a chores and routine. teenager, her homework But Sydney Adkins was not left for later. Adsaid she would not have it kins knew if she wanted any other way. to go to college, she would “It gave me respect have to work hard for it. for how hard work benefits So she focused in academpeople,” Sydney Adkins
Officer Carlos Beloved turkey relocated
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SGA
said. “I am driven to reach bigger things because he believed in me.” The daughter and father duo highlight their bond as one of the most important things in their lives. Sydney Adkins’ and her biological mom did not have a good relationship, and when Adkins started college in 2020, her dad was fighting for her custody. Although Adkins said she wanted to keep the details private, she said it was a difficult time. A lot of Johnathan Adkins’ money was going toward lawyer fees and he could not financially help her. At the time, he worried she wouldn’t be able to focus on school and the situation would distract her from her goals. Sydney Adkins proved him wrong.
Presidential candidates advance to ballot
See Speaker on 5A
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