11 October 2021

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

October 11, 2021 - Issue 5 - Volume 107

Fat bear week champion 2021, p.3 Student Association in selfmade predicament, p.5

Homecoming weekend back in full swing, p.4 Studying for midterms tips, p. 6 Satire: Governor Stitt bans alcohol, p.7

Cover by Zachary Short

Sports

The Collegian: 2

October 11, 2021

Tulsa Tennis at the ITA All-American Championship Sports analyst Callie Hummel breaks down the competition for both the men’s and women’s teams.

On Oct. 2, men’s tennis began their week-long competition at the ITA Men’s All-American Championship. This is the 16th year that the University of Tulsa has hosted this fall national championship, an event which has 98 different schools represented this year with 400 singles players and 88 doubles teams.

Seniors Kody Pearson and Stefan Hampe both competed in Main Draw Singles and together as a doubles team in the Main Draw. Sophomore Callum Gale and junior Adham Gaber also competed in the Main Draw Doubles and Qualifying Singles along with senior Daniel Siddal, juniors Ezequiel Santalla and Connor Di Marco and freshman Matthan Tharakan.

The first matches of the tournament took place on Oct. 2 with the prequalifying men’s open singles. Tharakan, ranked nine, fell to a UT Arlington player, ranked 10, with a 4-6, 3-6 final score. In the consolation match on Oct. 3 ranked 85, he fell to University of Wisconsin, ranked 86, 4-6 and 2-6.

In qualifying singles, Di Marco, Santalla and Siddal fell in regular play and consolation on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5. Gaber lost his first game but in the consolation bracket won his match 7-5 and 6-0.

In the main draw for singles, Hampe fell to Ohio State with a 1-6, 4-6 loss. Pearson took his first match against Florida with a big 6-2, 7-2 difference before also falling to Ohio State.

The women’s team has also been competing in the All-American tournament, consisting of 64 teams which started on Oct. 4 in South Carolina. Directly before this

tournament, the team played in the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas. The doubles team consisting of Ana Naranjo Martinez and Lily Hutchings completed the tourna-

photo by Tommy Reid

ment with a 4-0 record, allowing them to leave the tournament undefeated. The pair also ended the tournament winning the doubles championship against Arizona State with a 6-4 score.

Martinez and Hutchings did not compete in the All-American tournament , so Shura Poppe and Laia Conde Monfort took their place as the doubles team for the tournament. However in the first round of the tournament they fell to Florida State. The doubles team went onto the consolation bracket, where teams play one game instead of two, and lost to Auburn 5-8.

Poppe played in the singles Qualifying Draw as well, and in the early days of the tournament fell in the first round to a Cal State player 0-6, 0-2. Moving to the consolation bracket, she went up against San Diego and lost 4-6, 4-6.

Monfort also played singles as well in the Main Draw, but lost to a Pepperdine player in the first round but found success in the consolation bracket. After defeating a player from Georgia 6-3, 6-4, she was rewarded with a bye. In the quarterfinals she fell to Princeton 1-6, 6-7.

As the tournaments both end on Oct. 10, the women will be back in action on Oct. 21 with a five day tournament at the ITA Regional Championship in Des Moines, Iowa.

The men’s team will be playing in the same ITA Regional Championship Oct. 21-Oct. 5 but will be located in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Brown Bear Otis awarded Fat Bear Week Champion 2021

Social media and web manager Maddie Walters describes Alaska’s greatest contribution to the world of sports and its greatest “athlete.”

This past week saw the thrilling conclusion to the annual Fat Bear Week. Beginning in 2014, this week-long tournament celebrates brown bears at the Katmai National Park in Alaska as they prepare for winter hibernation. Large bears are important because, while a bear hibernates, it does not eat or drink, resulting in the bear losing up to one third of its body weight. Taking home the title of Fat Bear Week 2021 Champion is Otis.

Hosted by Explore.org, the tournament starts out with 12 bears, who are pitted against one another in a challenge to see who can receive the most online votes. Fat Bear Week is a subjective competition, meaning that there is no defining characteristic from winner to winner; the choice is entirely up to voters. That being said, there are certain trends among previous winners. For example, sometimes the winner, like this year, is simply the largest bear on the bracket. Other times, the winner has extenuating circumstances that make it stand out from the other brown bears, like a mother bear who must care for both herself and her cubs.

Bears competing this year include Otis, Grazer, Holly, Walker, Popeye, Chunk, 131, 132’s Spring Cub, 402, 503, 812 and 747.

The bears with a numerical name are either subadults or cubs, and will receive their name once they become a fully grown bear.

Right from the start, two bears stood out from the others—Otis and Walker. In their

courtesy @KatmaiNPS Twitter

respective first rounds, the former received 71,227 votes, while the latter received 60,621 votes, leaving every other bear in their dust; the next closest bear, Grazer, received 30,000 less votes than Walker.

It was no surprise to see the two pitted against one another in the finals taking place on Oct. 5, or more commonly known as “Fat Bear Tuesday.” Ultimately, Otis prevailed over Walker. This isn’t Otis’ first win either; he also took home the title in 2016 and 2017. The final tally saw Otis receive 51,230 votes to Walker’s 44,834 votes.

Otis is between the age of 24-26 years old, which makes his victory even more impressive due to the fact that it is more likely that younger bears would usurp his fishing spot than for him to retain it. In his online bio, it says that his hobbies include sleeping and generally not paying attention to those around him.

Fat Bear Week is also important for the Katmai Conservancy. Since its start, the champion of the tournament receives his or her own merchandise line with the proceeds going directly to the National Park. Though it is the fourth largest national park in Canada, it receives very little funding. In addition to spreading awareness of the brown bears of Katmai, the tournament also brings in crucial funding to the national park.

Set your calendar for next year’s event to see if Otis defends his title as champion of Fat Bear Week.

Oct. 11 - Oct. 17 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 12

11

Thursday

Friday 15

14

13

Saturday

Cross Country Nuttycombe Invitational

Sunday 17

16 Football @ USF 11:00 a.m.

Football @ USF 11:00 a.m.

Softball Connors State 1:00 p.m.

Softball Connors State 1:00 p.m.

M Soccer Temple 7:00 p.m.

M Soccer Temple 7:00 p.m.

All Day Golf

Golf

McNamara Invitational

McNamara Invitational

All Day

All Day

Softball Cowley County 5:00 p.m.

none Volleyball Cincinnati 7:00 p.m.

October 11, 2021

Sports

The Collegian: 3

Tulsa Cross Country goes for 12-year win streak

Sports writer Callie Hummel discusses the Cowboy Jamboree and Chili Pepper Festival and what to look forward to from the team as the season continues.

After winning 11 consecutive league championships, the men’s cross country team is going into their season hoping to make it 12 straight years.

At their first race of the season, the men and women both competed at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Sept.

1. With 16 women’s teams competing and

courtesy tulsahurricane.com

18 men’s, it was a good competition to get warmed up for the larger festival in Arkansas. The women ended up finishing fourth against 16 teams with 127 points right below Utah Valley, while the men placed fifth against 18 teams right below Texas with 125 points. Graduate student Scott Beattie came

in 11th place overall and first place for the men’s team, and junior Cormac Dalton came in 15th overall and second for Tulsa.

On the women’s side, senior Caroline Miller took 14th place overall and 1st for Tulsa, while junior Katherina Pesendorfer took 20th overall and second for Tulsa.

The most recent race for the cross country team was at the Chili Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas,—one of the larger races in the country, combining the three largest races in Arkansas into one. This is the first time in five years that the men’s team has competed in the festival, but the women raced it in 2019, bringing home fifth place.

Out of the 37 women’s teams that competed, Tulsa’s women increased their ranking from their previous race at the festival, taking second place overall with 132 points, racing eight girls. Arkansas took first place with 45 points, and Augustana took third with 185 points. The total race time for all Tulsa runners was 1:27:43.30, less than two seconds behind Arkansas’s total time.

The top three runners for the women were Caroline Miller, Katharina Psendorfer and Chloe Hershenow. Miller led the team coming in at 10th overall out of 322 runners with a 17:16.1 time for the 5k race, Psendorfer placed 12th with 17:20:00, and Hershenow at 30th with 17:36.9. Senior Krissy Gear from Arkansas took first place in the race with a 16:24.3 time.

The men’s team only raced four runners, Max Nores led the team in 62nd place overall with a 25:21.7 for their 8k race, just two seconds behind the Western Colorado runner who took 61st. Pete Johnson came in 133rd with 26:10.2, and Ben Black in 200th with 26:56.1.

Both teams will compete again on Oct. 15 at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, held by the University of Wisconsin. The men will be running 8k while the women run 6k, and the teams will be running seven athletes in the top category. The last time they competed in this invitational in 2019 the men’s team placed third, and the women took 18th out of 36 teams. Miller also came in third for Tulsa’s women’s team at the 2019 competition with a time of 21:17.6, showing how much she has improved in just two years.

NWSL loses credibility amid Paul Riley scandal

Sports writer Zach Sabel discusses Riley’s sexual harassment and coercion reports and the effect it has on individual players and the league as a whole.

One of the world’s top women’s soccer leagues has been rocked by a scandal in the past week, bringing games to a halt for the past weekend and causing resignations to fly. On Sept. 30, the story broke of NWSL coach Paul Riley’s pattern of manipulations, sexual harassment and coercion. Players have accused Riley of abusing his position as coach, using his position to sleep with them, as well as other manipulations.

This had immense mental tolls on players like Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim who openly discussed their ordeal with Linehan.

Sadly the experiences of these women seem to hardly be an isolated incident, with many players speaking of Riley’s power and influence within the women’s game, fearful to come out publicly and not wanting to draw any repercussions. It has been said that Riley on multiple occasions drank with players, asked them personal questions, made them lower their guard and in Farrelly’s case, coerced her to his hotel room to have sex with him after the team lost a championship game. She alleges this predatory behavior continued throughout their professional careers together.

Eventually, Farrelly would collapse on the field during a game for the Portland Thorns whom Riley coached at the time, with no apparent injuries. She realized the mental pain she was under due to Riley’s constant mental abuse. Reports of Riley’s abuse were sent to the league office, who denied having any knowledge and pretended to be shocked and horrified when the news broke publicly.

This misstep is just the latest in a long line of gaffes by the league. In the past two years, there have been a string of serious blunders. A few months ago, Washington Spirit coach Richie Burke was fired from his position after he was found to have used abusive language towards players. Before that, during a North Carolina Courage game, a young child was misidentified as Courage player Jessica McDonald’s 9-year-old son, Jeremiah, when in fact he was not. This was the fault of a league-run broadcast. Former Sky Blue and Portland Thorns player Nadia Nadim alleged that Sky Blue, now Gotham FC, had forged her signature to sign a new contract to get more for her in a trade. Upon submitting what she stated as proof of the forgery, the league sided with the team.

This instance of the league’s lack of care for its players compounded with the lying about knowing of sexual harassment claims

courtesy Wikimedia Commons

against Riley have caused whatever shred of legitimacy Lisa Baird and the NWSL front office had. Baird finally resigned this past week after games were canceled due to the immense turmoil.

Baird’s resignation and Riley’s firing are a start, but they are nowhere near good

enough. The league has failed its players and lost a lot of its credibility. I think there is a small chance this could lead to the death of the league down the line, causing irreparable harm to the women’s game in the USA, a sport in which we have been a traditional powerhouse internationally. With

FIFA opening investigations into the NWSL handling of these issues, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for the league’s future. For now, we can only hope for the best and hope the upcoming division 2 women’s league can do more right by its players.

News

The Collegian: 4

October 11, 2021

Homecoming events a welcome return as pandemic wanes After last year’s events were stifled

by COVID-19, TU enjoyed the usual festivities throughout Homecoming week.

Tommy Reid Student Writer Homecoming 2021 is now complete, and it was a fantastic week celebrating the reunion of past classes with current students.

This year, the theme that the Alumni Association chose for homecoming was “Let the Hurricane Roar.” This theme comes from one of the lines in the TU fight song. The goal of this theme was to serve as a unifying rallying cry for the TU community to come back strong and united together following a year of difficult times and separation during the pandemic.

The planning process for homecoming was a detailed process that involved many different groups. From the Alumni Association and Campus Security to vendors across Tulsa and TU students and faculty, many different groups of people came together to make homecoming this year a success. Planning for homecoming began in June. The Homecoming Signature Team comprised a group of students that began planning all the

events that happened last week. This team included Caiton Wilmoth, executive director; Celeste Valdez, Josie Cooley, Ashley Marin Martinez and Katie Drawdy. One thing that was key in the planning process was estimating the number of people that would attend the events. With last year’s

food, and the events have provided a chill outdoor space for students to spend time together,” Wilmoth said about the festivities.

“After social limitations the past year and a half, it was important for us to not overwhelm people, but to also give them something new and exciting.”

“The turnout this year far exceeded expectations ...” numbers being low due to some of the activities being virtual, the question remained for this year how the number of students involved would be at the events. The turnout this year far exceeded expectations with nightly attendance ranging between 400 and 700 students.

The events this year consisted of a carnival on Monday night, street painting and an art fair on Tuesday night, coffee and comedy on Wednesday night, a bonfire build on Thursday afternoon, a karaoke night on Thursday evening and the bonfire on Friday night.

Caiton Wilmoth, Homecoming Event Lead, thought the events this year went very well considering the unknowns leading into this time. “I think everyone has enjoyed the

Overall, the events went well with many people enjoying each event. Speaking about the carnival on Monday evening, Wilmoth

The carnival was held Monday on Dietler Commons.

remarked, “Honestly, the best experience for me was watching everyone arrive at the first event Monday evening. People were excited to be there, and we had a great turnout…

Once we got the Kickoff Carnival going, I felt better about the rest of the week ahead.”

Looking back on the week, Wilmoth said that “I just hope that everyone has enjoyed their Homecoming experiences this week.

We tried really hard to give seniors a great last year in person, and we knew that sophomores and freshmen had never experienced a true, full-scale TU Homecoming… It’s been an honor getting to host such a great tradition, and I’m so thankful for everyone that made it possible.”

photo by Tommy Reid

Environmental lawyer Facebook and related services down for hours Donziger sentenced to prison The social media site, alongside Instagram and Messenger, were unavailable for users last Monday.

Tommy Reid Student Writer Facebook. A company that has become ingrained in daily life for billions of users around the world, is a company that has seen much swift growth in the past while seeing much slower growth recently.

This past Monday, despite being one of the largest companies in the world, Facebook experienced an unusual shutdown.

Messages stopped being sent. Photos stopped being synced. Posts stopped being shared. Normal life for many around the world ceased.

Congress where Facebook whistleblower Francis Haugen testified on how Facebook’s products have been harming its users.

About forty-five minutes after the outage began, WhatsApp was the first of the products to notify its users through a Tweet that they knew about the issues and were working to fix them. About ten minutes later Facebook notified its users that they were working on a fix to the issue and Instagram said a similar thing a few minutes after that.

The outage did not just affect the products that the end users use, but it also affected the internal systems that Facebook uses to communicate among the employees. Internal email, work passes, and the system that Facebook could have used to remotely fix the problem all ceased working during this outage. As a result, Facebook employees had to travel to the physical data centers to

“‘... configuration changes on the backbone ... caused issues that interrupted this communication.’”

It was around 10:30 a.m. on Monday morning when business around the world halted as the Facebook products went dark.

Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus all stopped working as the entire Facebook network seemed to be down. People began to wonder what caused this outage. Was it an attack on Facebook?

Was it a configuration setting that Facebook got wrong in their network configuration?

These were all questions being asked as people pondered what was causing this outage.

This outage came as Facebook has come under intense scrutiny for how its reach has an impact on society. Recently, the Wall Street Journal has published an article series entitled “The Facebook Files” that details how Facebook knows the ill effects its platform can have on its users but has not done what it should have done to fix this.

Also last Monday, there was a hearing in

reset the systems that were causing the outage in an attempt to solve the issue.

While this outage caused major issues for people around the entire world, it was resolved about six hours after it began. At 5:33 p.m., Facebook apologized for the outage and posted a statement regarding the cause of the outage. “To all the people and businesses around the world who depend on us, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by today’s outage across our platforms…

Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication. This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt.” The problem was fixed and Facebook ensured that this issue will not occur again.

Users were unable to access Facebook services for six hours last Monday.

courtesy Pixabay

After his case against Chevron was overturned in the U.S., Steven Donziger has faced punishment for criminal contempt of court.

Logan Guthrie Sports Editor Disbarred attorney and indigenous rights campaigner Steven Donziger was given the maximum sentence of six months in prison on Friday, Sept. 24. Only the day before, Donziger had asked the court to take into consideration what experts at the United Nations had to say, who held the opinion that it was a violation of international human rights law for Donziger to be held under a court-mandated home confinement for over two years.

Donziger claims that “This is all part of a plan concocted by Chevron to dismantle my life. They want to do this to avoid paying up and to turn me into a weapon of intimidation against the whole legal profession.”

He has also claimed that both the judge and the prosecuting lawyer have connections to Chevron. He refers to Judge Loretta Preska’s service on the Federalist Society’s advisory board, to which Chevron is a donor, as well as to the prosecuting lawyer’s previous work for Chevron. Donziger pleaded to Judge Preska to toss the older July ruling that found him guilty on six separate accounts of criminal contempt throughout this whole process, on the basis that the prosecuting attorneys were serving illegally.

He claimed this on the grounds that the U.S. Department of Justice declined to supervise these attorneys.

“ ... to this day Chevron has not paid the $9.5 billion from the original lawsuit.”

Donziger was found guilty in May of defying court orders. In particular, he was charged on the grounds that he did not turn over electronic devices, including his computer. This is related to being charged in 2019 of criminal contempt and placed under house arrest because he was believed to be a flight risk. He has been found by the court to be willfully and repeatedly defying their orders, and the charges have continued to rack up from 2019 all the way to the end of September this year.

All of this is in relation to a lawsuit against Chevron, a well-known name in the oil industry. Donziger has in the past fought in court against the company over pollution claims in the rainforests of Ecuador. Donziger won in 2011, but the U.S. enforcement of the ruling was barred in 2014 amidst claims by Chevron of “shocking levels of misconduct” and fraud on the part of the Ecuadorian judiciary as well as Donziger himself. The acting judge found the ruling in 2011 to have been obtained through fraudulent means on the part of Donziger, and to this day Chevron has not paid the $9.5 billion from the original lawsuit, because the matter shifted to a criminal case when Donziger did not turn over his electronic devices under court orders.

Preska was not required to consider the opinion stated by the UN that the United States violated international law by placing Donziger under house arrest for so long, and she shocked many when she opted for the harshest legal punishment for Donziger.

The current UN stance is still that the United States should move for the immediate release of Donziger, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Nothing is said currently on whether his devices will now be investigated for fraudulent activities related to the Chevron ruling in 2011 now that he has been convicted.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons Donziger was put on house arrest in August 2019.

courtesy Wikimedia Commons The U.N. High Comissioner for Human Rights ruled Donziger’s house arrest violates international law.

October 11, 2021

Commentary

The Collegian: 5

SA takes themselves very seriously

The University of Tulsa’s Student Association spends more time making problems than fixing them, leading to petty internal debates.

Julianne Tran Variety Editor We have a contentious election upon us.

Alert the media! Send out your journalists!

Did you know the University of Tulsa was so distraught with electoral conflict? Me neither.

Every time I look at my semester bill, I’m mildly surprised to see a Student Association fee. Then, of course, I realize that every student is a member of SA, thus prompting semesterly member fees. In being so, we are to be properly represented, active and agentive in this significant organization.

Or, at least, that’s the ideal. However, in practice, SA appears rather insular and enigmatic to many students, SA’s very own members. With their stratified positions, SA executives, cabinet members and senators attempt to serve purposeful roles on campus. Yet, the student body at large has no understanding as to what SA actually does, who to go to for specific help and what any of these priggish titles even mean. This is not necessarily the fault of any SA members, senators or executives. Much of this lack of awareness on SA activity and efforts simply comes from a lack of interest in their actions. If SA isn’t giving out shirts, do students think twice about the organization?

tees do I go to in order to voice my concerns? The MAC, GOC, UIC or SOC? How much paperwork does it take to get five pizzas for my club? Why am I scared that I’ll lose pizza funding if I criticize SA? Should I use my personal connections so I can be heard within SA and resolve my organization’s issues? Is that patron-clientelism? Is this corruption? Does it matter?

Because of both disinterest and inaccessibility, students know little about the SA Judicial’s latest court opinion in Splain v.

Williams. Justices, after a long night of arguments, deliberations and discussion, summarized and published their Opinion on Fall 2021 Senate Elections Certification in an eight page document to prove their efficacy and earnestness in interpreting the preeminent SA Constitution.

On Sept. 18, Chief Justice Lauren Agpoon and Director of Membership and Chief Elections Officer Caroline Williams certified and finalized the results from the Fall 2021 Senate Elections. In doing so, one particular election result for the Commuter Senate seat contained a mistake: one candidate’s name and voting results did not appear on the certified results. This student emailed Director Williams, inquiring on this omission and upon further investigation.

Williams found the error; the student’s name and results were not copy-pasted to the final results document. She then “proceeded to respond to the candidates involved, assess the alleged error with Chief Justice Agpoon, and post the newly certified results.” Williams apologized for the error and referred to the disclaimer noted on the certified results documents stating that results are subject to change pending complaints.

Then, on Sept. 19, Hunter Splain (who had previously won the seat before the results were amended) filed a Writ of Election, claiming the former results ought to stand.

Stating Williams violated Elections Code and Certified Elections Code by publishing new results post-certification of the original ones, Splain argued that the corrected results were “null and void on the basis that the previously published results were already certi-

“. . . this case is an attempt at pronouncing the tireless, serious work of SA as an institution.”

Does Senate take the bills sittin’ on Capitol Hill and turn them into laws? Would I, as a student, know and care about it?

On the other hand, SA activity also appears veiled in bureaucratic procedure and nonessential busyness (though there is much to commend the institution for its attempts at creating a stratified, rules-based and inefficient bureaucracy). It makes a difference whether I submit my concerns as complaints instead of appeals. Any student concerns need to be funneled through a complicated, inefficient tunnel of SA committees, officers and advisors. Which of the Senate commit-

fied by Director Williams and Chief Justice Agpoon.” Splain “demanded that Director Caroline Williams resign from her position as Chief Elections Officer” while requesting her to issue a public apology and explanation.

First, what a procedure! We love that our precious votes matter and are properly accounted for and certified by two SA officers. What a beautiful testament to this rules-based procedure. Second, I understand that mistakes happen, but a copy-paste error? Child’s play. That mistake within itself seems quite unattentive, but I do appreciate

courtesy Student Association Appointed Positions Application This description of the University of Tulsa’s Student Association repeatedly hits on its relationship to the student body, but its focus on its constituency may actually take a back seat. (highlight added)

its quick and deliberate correction. Then comes the drama.

Despite Williams’ issued apology and the fact that the results were not altered, Splain demands a resignation? Hunter, you pretty clearly lost. With Senate seat winners gaining more than 20 votes each, Splain earned 11. (Also, I’m pretty sure we have more than 71 commuters on this campus; why were there only 71 total voters for the Commuter Senate seat?) This demand for a resignation and appeal to the Judicial Council to overturn the new results among other demands is quite the overreaction. The Judicial Council stayed up past midnight so that Splain could complain and express grievances over a Senate seat that people don’t even know he lost. In doing so, SA had to close in their ranks, defending their internal procedures and bureaucratic mandates. What a committed organization!

After a multiple hour deliberation, SA Judicial Council concluded that the original results were incorrect by an unintentional mistake, Director Williams justifiably published the new results and that the new results stand. In doing so, the Judicial Council published their court opinion, writing in the most legalistic jargon, quoting directly from the ever significant SA Constitution and even referencing Marbury v. Madison in an eight page document. The opinion included numerous quotes from the Election Codes with meticulous citing of the specific section, subpart and paragraph. The justices flooded these pages with countless references to the Elections Code and SA Constitution in order to defend their authority in this ruling. It makes me wonder: who was this opinion written for? Is it an exhausted attempt to combat Splain’s petty complaints with forceful assertions of SA authority?

Does SA expect us, as students, to have read this Code? Are they merely trying to earn respect? Or, do they simply take themselves too seriously?

In my opinion, this case is an attempt at pronouncing the tireless, serious work of SA as an institution. Asserting their objectivity in this court ruling, they write, “This judicial body serves to protect the integrity of Student Association and its members, and to do this, the SA Constitution and supporting documents must be upheld to the highest standard.

courtesy Adam Walsh Alongside other random fees, each student pays a specific amount of money to fund SA every semester, totalling $150 per year. One has to wonder where this money goes.

courtesy SA Fall Senate Results

Before the results were corrrected, one of the two winners in bold were missing from the election.

Splain’s name, in red, shows his position as third.

What a climactic event, right? How intense! How provocative! Though I commend SA Judicial for their detailed and careful deliberation of this appeal, why does this matter? Does the SA Constitution require such judicious protection? How does this matter ultimately impact the student body at large?

I would like to acknowledge that SA executives put in long hours for this university, planning events, working through university-wide issues and attempting to improve the campus environment (i.e. Homecoming week and University Improvements Council’s work on the blue light poles). However, at what point is their work meaningful for students beyond their bureaucratic structure? At what point does the SA Judicial Council resolve external problems that concern multiple students? This case is a prime example of SA working on SA problems.

This does not affect the student body as a whole. It is a petty dispute between an individual within the organization, against the organization.

I commend them for their tireless work defending the SA Constitution, but I am wary about whether their work in Splain v. Williams serves a meaningful purpose besides resolving an individual, internal dispute that affects minimal parts of the student body. This case entailed a SA Senate seat whose very constituency (TU commuters) probably know little about who holds that seat, how to communicate with them and what they can do for them. Despite the view that SA Judicial intends to work for the student body at large, how often do (by virtue of their job description) they simply resolve internal SA disputes that do not concern other students?

And if you’re worried about Hunter Splain and his overturned Senate seat, don’t worry. Per the Judicial Council’s recommendation that “if there are any vacant seats for the Fall 2021 Senate Elections, the Vice President should appoint the Plaintiff, Hunter Splain, to a seat”, Splain was appointed to another position, without a vote, given this debacle and his past work within SA Senate.

SA resolves itself, within itself. And students at TU don’t know nor care about it.

SA may take themselves too seriously, but I guess the same could be said about me concluding this article.

Facebook falls short of accountability yet again

With a whistleblower leaking internal documents, Facebook faces new wave of backlash.

Hana Saad Student Writer

Last week, Frances Haugen, a former project manager at Facebook, released documents revealing Facebook’s knowledge of how the platform is harmful to its users and the broader social and political landscape.

Haugen is determined to use this information to help fix the problem.

We’ve known for years that Facebook and Instagram are platforms where hate and misinformation can spread. Visual platforms like Instagram have been increasingly

linked to the promotion of harmful messages about bodies and beauty, thereby contributing to eating disorders in teenage girls and women.

However, the documents that Haugen leaked reveal how Facebook has been more than aware of its role in causing harm, on both an individual and collective scale.

Profit is the number one priority for Facebook, and all of their efforts ultimately go towards retaining a platform that keeps people engaged.

Unfortunately, one of the main ways that Facebook does this is by allowing digital communities to spread misinformation and perpetrate hate, further dividing digital communities on Facebook and Instagram.

The need to fight and be right is what drives the success of Facebook now. This has serious consequences for everyone involved.

We are no longer in an era where digital communities can be regarded as mere fantasy spaces. These digital communities, as Zeynep Tufecki details in her book, “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of a Networked Protest,” create imagined communities which contribute to movements and action in physical spaces. An example of this is the Jan. 6 insurrection in the United States. Facebook dissolved its

civic integrity team, designed to minimize Facebook’s risk to the 2020 elections, after the presidential election. This gave terrorists greater leeway to organize the insurrection at the capitol.

Digital technologies like Facebook and Instagram can also be used as a force of good. Often, social movements that strive to fight against injustice (such as Egyptian citizens in 2011 protesting against Hosni Mubarak’s “repressive regime”) are mobilized through social media, as Tufecki explains. It allows activists to be connected to each other, often in places where it is difficult for dissident groups to take action due to media censorship and fear-based tactics.

Facebook is a double-edged sword.

But in this case, Facebook has let things get out of control. Since profit is the number one priority, executives at Facebook are not really concerned with combating misinformation or content that perpetuates harmful ideologies. Such posts became Facebook’s bread and butter, sucking those who have even the best intentions down a hole filled with endless arguments that lead to no real change.

Facebook has a responsibility to fix the problems that run rampant on its platform.

Although people are skeptical of social me-

dia (especially the generations that grew up with it), too many people use it as a tool to read the news, learn about health or political issues, and spread posts they believe to be true.

Some will argue that people have the right to free speech and that regulations to help combat misinformation and hateful accounts are a slippery slope. However, social media morphed into a space for productive conversations. It is a space that shows you what you want to see; a space that becomes a vacuum consisting of your beliefs. Occasionally, people can break through to those who have different opinions, as Tufecki explains, but such moments seem increasingly far and few in between. Platforms like Facebook need to be heavily revamped when it comes to their algorithms and the types of content they prioritize. Perhaps there could be an option that allows people to more directly customize their algorithms.

Facebook and Instagram have become platforms that are causing more harm than good at this point. Steps need to be taken to resolve the issues that Facebook has been aware of for years now. Digital communities on social media translate to physical spaces, and affect the lives of people across the globe. It’s time for a change.

Variety

The Collegian: 6

October 11, 2021

Positive differences to survive midterms

Midterms are brutal, but with small dorm building. Why not go off campus and changes, positive differences can be explore Tulsa? Study at the Gathering Place, made not only to survive but to thrive. at a local coffee shop or at a local library.

Myranda New Student Writer Midterms are underway with a noticeable difference in our student body. Assigned a number of lab reports, essays and exams a week, sometimes it feels like it’s impossible to have anything in the schedule that doesn’t revolve around these demanding assignments, especially sleep and relaxation.

As brutal as midterms are, though, there are ways that we can get on top of them and at least survive until October comes to a close.

These ten tips are a great way to rehone focus on the wellbeing of yourself.

1. Prioritize and Manage Assignments Do you have a big project due in two weeks, but small assignments every other night until then? Don’t wait until your smaller assignments are complete to start

There are so many opportunities to be introduced to a new space that may become your new favorite place to study.

3. Try a New Study Method I know that I don’t do well studying with groups. I am a social creature who will spend her entire time talking to other people as opposed to focusing on work, so I highly enjoy putting in some earbuds and cranking out assignments for hours by myself.

Sometimes, though, study groups do work, depending on the assignment. Or maybe you’re the type of person that doesn’t do well studying on their own. Mix it up and try other study methods, tips and strategies; sometimes it may be all you need for a new kind of project.

4. Eat Snacks and Drink Water It’s very important that as you’re cramming for midterms, you make time to eat and drink; it can be easy to forget when there’s so much already going on in your mind. Buy some easy snacks to store in

“ ... there are so many opportuities to be introduced to a new [study] space ...” your big project. Do a portion of your big project every night and make steady progress, no matter how small. It will pay off when it’s due in 48 hours, and you’re the only one in your class not cramming.

2. Study in a New Space Sometimes all you need to increase productivity is to study in a new space and get a change of atmosphere. Why study in your dorm when you can go to the basement of Keplinger or the computer lab in Stephenson? Go reserve a study room in the library, sit in your hammock adjacent to the library steps, set up a picnic blanket on Dietler Commons or use the study rooms in your

your dorm, like small packages of Goldfish, pretzels or cereal bars so you can just grab and go. Always have a filled water bottle on your desk so you can grab it as you’re working. Your body will thank you.

5. Dress to Impress I know that when I feel dead and exhausted from midterms, I just want to curl up in a blanket and a sweatshirt, but sometimes all I need to feel motivated is to dress to impress. Instead of throwing on leggings and a sweatshirt, I’ll throw on a simple Old Navy dress, and I already feel more awake and put together. The same goes for a shower;

Go for a walk around campus or study at Gathering Place and walk around the park.

courtesy Pixabay

Mix up your study routine and study outside by the library.

a shower is very efficient at waking you up and keeping your hair squeaky clean in the process. Sometimes there’s no reset button quite like freshly washed hair.

6. Clean Your Room When you’ve been studying for hours, you need to give your brain a break. I know I (like most of you) have the tendency to just scroll on Tik Tok, but that isn’t giving your brain a break. Giving your brain a break is not inputting any new information, such as watching television or reading a book. You really need to do something that doesn’t require too much brain energy, so try folding your laundry or cleaning your room. It will make you feel better and more put together while also giving your brain a break from cramming information.

7. Take a Walk Outside Going off of that, getting fresh air is an-

courtesy Flickr

Fitness Center, anything from zumba and cycling to yoga and barre, as well as high fitness and tone workouts. Feel free to try one out at all different times of day!

9. Make Room for Events It can be hard to make room for things in an already full schedule, but I was certainly feeling this when Homecoming was hosted right in the middle of my midterms. I spent a lot of time working on assignments, so I rewarded my hard work by going to the homecoming events that sounded interesting. I wasn’t able to make it to every event, but I still had a great time, and I’m glad I got at least a two-hour break those days to try something new and hang out with my friends.

10. Make Time for Yourself Now this is the most important tip of them all. Don’t wake up at 4:00 a.m. and work

“ ... you are more important than everything involving school combined.” other way to give your brain a break. Take a walk around campus; if you go around the far border of campus twice, that’s about three miles. Or, if you don’t want to commit that much, take a walk around Dietler Commons in the shade or walk to the Student Union and pick up a meal. Get those legs moving and fresh air in those lungs.

8. Attend a Free Fitness Center Class Exercise is a great way to steady the mind and get you to focus on something other than your midterms for 45 minutes. Sometimes, I don’t want to force a fitness class into my schedule, but your body will thank you for the small span of time you spend working out rather than cramming information. Currently, fitness classes are free at the Collins

until 11:00 p.m. That isn’t enough time for you, and you have to remember to take care of yourself during midterms. Do things you enjoy, make time for a grocery run, go to a park, read a good book before you go to bed or reward yourself with a movie after taking two exams in one day. Midterms and your grades may be very important, but you are more important than everything involving school combined.

As we continue chugging through October, I hope these tips are able to help make you feel better as you tackle all of your midterm assignments. We got this!

.

tucollegian@tucollegian.com editor in chief

Hana Saad Student Writer “Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter” is a podcast from TED Audio Collective. The name of the podcast might cause some to balk, but I promise it’s not as weird as it sounds. Dr. Gunter, an OB/GYN and pain medicine physician, busts some of the biggest health myths and trends in an informative and exciting way.

As of now, there are eight episodes in season one. Lasting around 30-40 minutes, the episodes break down a variety of popular health myths. Dr. Gunter brings in a few guests in each episode to help explain why certain myths have been prevalent and how they’re incorrect. Not only does she provide scientific evidence, but she also explores the cultural reasons why such myths have become accepted as truth.

Certain topics, such as an episode titled “Do You Need to Do a Detox?”, explain health practices that most people probably have been skeptical of before. Other episodes, such as “How Much Water Do You Actually Need in a Day?”, combat misinformation that most people have taken to be true.

All my life, I’ve heard that you need eight glasses of water a day. Most of my friends try to drink lots of water everyday. I even used to compete with my friends to see who could drink the most ounces of water every day in an effort to be more “healthy.” But after listening to this episode, I realized that my beliefs had been wrong.

Dr. Gunter explains where this myth of eight glasses a day came from. She details how a small study deliberately manipulated the conditions of the participants (forcing them to go without water hours before riding a bike for a set time) so that results which show they needed a lot of water after exercising.

It was eye-opening and a good reminder to be critical of information, even when it is backed by a scientific study. Over the course of the episode, she also talked about the influence from large companies, such as Quaker Oats (which at the time produced Gatorade), who pushed those running the study to manipulate results so the results would support the idea that people needed sports drinks to stay hydrated.

Beyond information, what makes this podcast special is how fun it is! While covering a topic that runs the risk of being dry or boring, Dr. Gunter brings in a variety of guests and tells compelling stories to help listeners learn more about health myths and how they can take care of themselves.

In a media landscape that is full of content about health and wellness, it is difficult to discern fact from fiction. Health has always been a field affected by the social, cultural and political biases of those creating health guidelines and information. It is crucial that people have the tools they need to deconstruct health claims and sift through information. This podcast helps people do just that.

Piper Prolago managing editor

Zach Short news editor

Justin Klopfer sports editor

Logan Guthrie variety editor

Julianne Tran commentary editor

Adam Walsh satire editor

Anna Johns photo & graphics editor

Amy Polovich

business & advertising manager

Madeleine Goodman social media & web manager

Maddie Walters copy editor

Ji Aldada

@TUCOLLEGIAN

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October 11, 2021

The State-Run Media

the

State-Run media Eugh!! Pleugh.. cough cough.. blegh.. ptoo..

Governor Stitt bans alcohol, legalizes recreational LSD, weed and shrooms

Kevin Stitt shocks the state of Oklahoma with the legalization of Schedule 1 drugs and his insistence that “only pussies dont toke it up.”

Aries – Eek! Blasted warlock sentenced you to the Dream Realm; the purple haze and its shifting shapes–shapes you cannot quite discern, shapes that shift and distort when your gaze lands upon them–warmly welcome your shadowy, gelatinous form. You must be so tired, Traveler. You don’t belong here, but why don’t you stay for a while?

Your energy trickles away, your eyelids toy with closing and your mind liquifies. Stay, Traveler.

Stay.

Kyle Garrison Swag enabler In a surprise move, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order, effective immediately, legalizing recreational weed, LSD and magic mushrooms.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is now illegal.

“I tried ‘em all, and that alcohol shit fucks you up more than anything,” stated Stitt clearly high off his ass, swatting violently at the air as if he was hallucinating flying will-o’-the-wisps wielding pro-choice picket signs.

At a press conference yesterday concerning this drastic change in stance, Stitt began his speech by quoting the Urban Dictionary definition of “zooted” as “when you are so high that you forgot you ordered pizza.” He continued, “That is something that I want the average Oklahoman to be able to experience without fearing legal repercussions.” He explained to skeptical business representatives that this would be financially great for the state’s culinary sector because of the resulting “massive increase in munchies per-capita.” To concerned prison lobbyists he assured that we would find some way to keep our stats high, asserting that they are “committed fully to keeping us in the top five.”

Is this an attempt to broaden his political base in advance of the 2022 gubernatorial election, or did his radical liberal cousin from Boulder peer pressure him into trying drugs? We reached out to Stitt’s office for comment to learn the story behind why this happened. “We made the mistake of taking him on a tour of the police department and the police chief challenged him to try the seized drugs as they do on a daily basis,” admitted his secretary dejectedly, holding back tears. “I don’t know, you lose sight of him for one minute, and next thing you know he’s tripping off LSD and talking nonsense about supporting women’s rights. He’s just not himself.”

In response to outcries from the college community, Stitt released a statement on

Taurus – Greetings, Paycom Plaything. You will find nothing here for you. Why don’t you go suckle on the chapped teat of the Wonderful, Easy-to-Use Paycom Mobile App? Gemini – I don’t know how else to phrase this. You have motherless behavior.

We all thought this was some narc nonsense, but wow, he looks cool as fuck.

social media platforms defending the banning of alcohol, simply repeating, “Bro, that shit will fuck you up more than anything else.” He expressed his confusion as to why alcohol was legal instead of less harmful substances, like LSD, making sure to clarify that he was not advocating for LSD usage “all willy nilly, but your liver is gonna be a hell of a lot better off than it would be with heavy drinking.”

Health experts have responded by saying that, while the governor was not entirely incorrect, they suggest that you consult your doctor to see if weed, LSD or shrooms interact with your totally safe pre-

graphic by Kyle Garrison

scriptions, like opioids. A representative of a pharmaceutical company expressed concern that with access to recreational drugs, their exciting, name brand medications will have less demand. They implored their customers to “please remember just how fun those opioids that you got that one time were. Other highs just won’t compare!”

At press time, Stitt was found fleeing the state capital with the entire state’s supply of girl scout cookies in a hotboxed bulletproof SUV, screaming “you can’t catch me you fucking pigs!” out the window at pursuing police cars.

Student who hasn’t done the reading “just piggybacking off of that” Great day for underclassmen everywhere: big words do equal participation credit.

Kyle Garrison Analyzing the duality of the text and its interconnectivity According to inside sources, a student productively added to the discourse in an English block class by explaining to his peers that while “I haven’t done the reading, if what I am gleaning from the class discussion’s vibe is correct, the ambiance shown in the text really matches the time in that it pushes a complex narrative with an emphasis on prose vis-a-vis the truly multifaceted nature of the author’s perspective.”

such addresses the human condition as this one does, or so I assume having not read a page of the work,” the freshman added thoughtfully.

The professor commented, “I am glad I teach eight classes at three universities so I can hear a wide range of students such as him who probably watched Ben Shapiro videos instead of reading the seven page essay I assigned.”

An English major who regrets putting this class off until her senior year stated that she had tried to join in the conversation but the freshman, wearing a counter-culture tee shirt he bought at Target, interrupted her.

“If I might impose, I think we really need to look at this from a historical framework.

This author, whose name I have forgotten,

“... This author ... is—like us all—limited by the boundaries of our social fabric.”

When reached for comment, the underpaid adjunct professor for the block English class explained that he was trying to lecture on the subject of the class when this wise student bravely joined the dialogue. “If I might interject here, it would be apt to note at this time that the truly complex and historical setting intrinsic to any work which

is—like us all—limited by the boundaries of our social fabric.”

She explained that, after a brief intermission of productive comments from classmates, he continued, claiming that “based solely on the other students’ contributions, it seems to me like this work borrows heavily from the filmmaker Tom McGrath’s fourth

best grossing (US) work—the DreamWorks film of which I am sure you are all familiar.”

“God he’s the worst,’’ commented a sophomore stoner wearing a blue Colorado state flag hoodie, who slept through the majority of class periods. He explained that his vibe was continuously interrupted by the freshman who would wake him up with comments like: “actually, I contest that superfluous claim based on the evidence presented in the...”

The stoner continued, “Bro, shut the fuck up, you are ruining my REM cycles.”

As a student under the purview of social sciences and humanities myself, I am very appreciative of students like this who take valuable time out of their networking agendas to attend class and add such helpful and insightful commentary on works within my field of study. Here at TU we pride ourselves at being a melting pot of differing opinions, and I am glad that students who just don’t give a shit also have a chance to be heard here.

This brave freshman’s circumambulation of reading the class materials by means of a continuously misused but relatively expansive lexicon will surely remain a sufficient strategy for the remainder of his business degree, and I for one, respect him all the more for it.

Cancer – Cancer, you’re so stressed. Find a moment of respite from the stress of midterms, like at my dad’s cabin this weekend. You can’t miss the huge fucking party I’m throwing–you know, we’ll have the 3 B’s: booze, babes and blunts.

Also, I know your crush Katie is going to be there, and she gets so horny when drunk. Directions to the cabin are simple: it’s the only dilapidated building in this corner of the woods, the coloring of the wood has lost its lustre and the locals keep muttering something about a fabled man with a mask and a chainsaw. Come on, pussy, join us. It’s going to be killer.

Leo – Σ balls.

Virgo – A sharp knock on the door will startle you out of your reverie, Virgo. Open up, a voice will whisper through the wood.

Let me in, a voice will plead.

Please, you know it’s Captain Cane’s hunting hour, a voice will cry.

Libra – I’ll tell you your horoscope, sure. Well, actually, things at the medieval infirmary have been a little backed up ever since that big fucking dragon stepped on the tavern and squashed all those orcs. How about we do a trade? You go out and collect 10 unrefined pieces of iron, 15 elk leather and 10 rosebuds. Then– and only then–will your future be foretold.

Scorpio – This week brings a struggle to you, Scorpio. You will have to find your inner strength and listen to a man named something like Josh tell you all about his opinions on Afghanistan.

Sagittarius – Sorry, Sagittarius, but it’s time to suck up to SA. You want that pizza for your cute little club? You’ll have to sign off the ownership of your firstborn to your SA representative, Rumplestiltskin.

Capricorn – Awoogah! You shit with that ass, Capricorn?

Aquarius – Don’t drink the red wine this week, lest ye be trapped in the Testicular Quagmire.

Pisces – Please write for the satire section. I’m a funny little birthday boy. Please? Won’t you write for the funny little birthday boy? graphics by Naomi Dunn horoscopes by Anna Johns