Four full-time OU students, Nathan Cosby, Neil Weathers, Sarah Sandel and Jericha McGill, discuss the challenges of working while attending classes. The students balance school, work and social activities to be financially independent, learn time management skills, and gain experience for their career goals. VIDEO: Cassi Toney, 2:22

OU students work to support themselves while attending school full time

CASSI TONEY

Full-time students at the University of Oklahoma balance work and school in order to pay bills for their education and gain experience for their future careers.

“My parents are there to help me when I need them, but I can support myself through working full time and still graduate on time,” said Jericha McGill, a communications junior.

Neil Weathers, a social work sophomore, said he got a job working as a server at Chili’s when he was 16 and has had the same job ever since.

“I’ve learned how to be responsible,” Weathers said. “I’ve learned how to keep a scheduled and balanced life, and I’ve learned what’s really important, like grades and not partying.”

Sarah Sandel has two part-time jobs and has leadership positions in four student organizations.

“I enjoy being busy,” Sandel said. “By being involved and being busy, I’m able to keep track of school better, and my grades are pretty good.”

McGill said she enjoys working as an account and budget representative for University Theatre because it gives her experience for her goal of serving as the executive
director for a nonprofit theatre.

“My experiences with the technical side of the theatre in addition to my time on stage and now working with the budgets make me a well-rounded candidate for my dream job,” McGill said.

McGill said she better understands the communication theories and techniques she learns in class through her work experience.

Nathan Cosby, a history senior, said his work experience does not relate to his studies.

“I learn how to speak professionally, but my work and major are very different,” Cosby said.

Cosby said he does not have free time outside of attending class, working and studying.

“To survive, I turned work into a social activity so I didn’t dread going to work,” Cosby said.

Cosby said he wished he did not have to work, but he has to work to pay rent and tuition.

“Students who don’t have to work through college might be missing out on important lessons, but they’re lucky,” Cosby said.

The percentage of employed full-time college students increased from 34 to 52 percent between 1970 and 2000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

From 1985 to 2010, the median household income in Oklahoma doubled, but the median annual in-state tuition septupled, according to the Southern Region Education Board.

A cultural organization at OU hosted an Oscar-winning movie night

The president of the Iranian Student Association describes good qualities of the movie. Toney, runs :37


A film and video studies professor describes the themes of the movie. Toney, runs :38



CASSI TONEY
Nov. 19, 2012

NORMAN – The Iranian Student Association hosted a movie night to showcase the Oscar-winning Iranian film called “A Separation” in Meacham on Monday.

The event included an introduction speech by Dr. Misha Nedeljkovich, an OU film and video studies professor, the two-hour long movie and discussion with Nedeljkovich after the movie. About 40 people came to the free event.

“The movie is about a couple with a teenage daughter going through a divorce and criminal charges involving an accident,” Nedeljkovich said.

Nedeljkovich said good films always have enduring questions and deeper issues.
“It’s a very difficult to watch this film,” Nedeljkovich said. “You can only watch it once.”

Nedeljkovich said the enduring themes of the movie are separation, from the title, and white lies.

“It’s a time-release film where after you leave, you will keep watching it in your head,” Nedeljkovich said.

He said the movie makes the audience want to discuss and resolve the questions that the director does not answer.

“We chose this movie because it won so many awards and because it shows the culture of my country,” said Afrooz Ansaripour, the president of the Iranian Student Association.

Ansaripour said the Iranian Student Association decided to host the event for those interested in foreign films and learning more about Iranian culture.

“The film shows so much of our culture through dealing with the judicial system and courts to relations within the family,” Ansaripour said.

Arun Krishnasamy, an engineering masters student from India, attended the event because he is interested in Iranian culture.

“The movie had a good narration of a family from Iran going through the real problems of the society,” Krishnasamy said. “I gained a new insight about a religiously bound conservative society and its people and their perspective towards life.”

Nedeljkovich said the director, Asghar Farhadi, used tools and techniques to add to the thematic elements of the dramatic movie.

“The director used a hand-held camera the entire movie,” Nedeljkovich said. “The hand-held camera makes it seem more like a documentary of real life.”

She said the event was successful for those who came but she wished more people came to the event.

“We publicized all over campus,” Ansaripour said. “This was the only date that Meacham was available, but it wasn’t an ideal time because of Thanksgiving break.”

Three student organizations host an Eid Celebration on Campus VIDEO: Toney, runs 2:16

 CASSI TONEY Nov. 14, 2012

NORMAN – Three student organizations joined for the first time to host an Eid Celebration for 300 students at the Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center on Oct. 30.

The Arab Student Association, Muslim Student Association and the Saudi Student Association planned an event with food, preaching, praying, live music and a poetry reading to celebrate a Muslim holiday.

“In the past, each organization celebrated the Eid on their own,” said Hamad Al Yousif, the Saudi Student Association president. “This is the first time the three organizations joined together to celebrate the Eid in order to make it a bigger and better event.”

Al Yousif, a petroleum engineering sophomore, said the organizations were expecting 250 guests but the event had 300 people.

“We sold out 250 tickets during the first week of publicity in the union,” Al Yousif said. “More people bought tickets at the door, so we had to buy more food, but we’re very happy with the turnout.”

The Eid al-Adha is a Muslim holiday commemorating the prophet Abraham and the end of the annual Hajj to Mecca, said Bayan Abdallat, freshman representative of the Muslim Student Association.

“There is usually a lot of food, family gatherings and socializing,” said Abdallat. “Family is a really important part of the holiday.”

Mariam Edwar, Arab Student Association president, said they ordered Indian food from the Himalayas Restaurant to remind guests that not all Muslims are Arabs.

“We wanted to choose food that was not from the Middle East to show that Muslim culture can be found all over the world,” Edwar said. “We had naan bread, Indian rice and meat dishes and American-style desserts.”

Before dinner, there was a time for prayer and preaching, Edwar said. Abdallat said there is a special prayer for this holiday.

The women and men prayed in different rooms, while the non-Muslims watched a presentation about the Eid.

“It was really cool to have non-Muslims and Muslims celebrate the event together,” Edwar said.

Al Yousif said the audience included students from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Syria and the U.S.

Al Yousif said each organization was in charge of organizing different aspects of the event including programming, food and publicity. He said the event only took about two weeks to plan.

OU business students get real-world entrepreneurship experience VIDEO: Toney, runs 1:36

CASSI TONEY
Nov. 7, 2012

NORMAN - Business students start and run their own businesses for one semester through a Price College of Business program.

The Integrated Business Core program gives about 80 students each semester the opportunity to build four different companies, create a marketable product to sell and donate the proceeds to charities. According to its website, about 20 students work for each company.

“We start a company, elect officers, do market research for product then sell the products,” said James Young, marketing and entrepreneurship junior. “This is a great way to great real-world experience by launching a product into a new market.”

Young works for the Crimson Cooler Company, which is one of the four current Integrated Business Core companies.

“We’re selling a portable cooler that fits six cans or three bottles of water,” said Tripp Lopez, a broadcast and electronic media and entrepreneurship junior. “It’s really cool because it’s portable and easy to take along with you.”

The company’s website said the cooler keeps the drinks cold for about four hours.

“It’s a good way to show your school spirit when you are hunting, fishing, hiking or really doing anything outdoors,” Lopez said.

Lopez said their business has had the most success with tailgaters and parents of children in sports.

“People go crazy for them at tailgates,” Lopez said.

Hailey Wolcott, an international business junior said Crimson Cooler Company wanted to be competitive with other teams in the past and other current teams.

“Our product has the largest profit margin,” Wolcott said. “We really pushed ourselves to be competitive and raise a lot of money for Ally’s House, which is the philanthropy we chose to donate our proceeds.”

According to their website, Ally’s house is a nonprofit organization in Oklahoma City that helps parents of children with cancer pay for health bills, transportation and housing while their child is sick.

“We’re hoping to earn 17,000 dollars to donate to Ally’s House and really help them,” Young said.

Another aspect of the program is the sweat equity. All 80 employees of the four companies volunteer for a total of 500 hours each semester at local nonprofit organizations, according to the program’s website.

Lopez said the sweat equity was his favorite part.

“We volunteer with Loveworks and spend time with at-risk children,” Lopez said. “We’re basically just positive role models for them.”

Lopez said a lot of people do not want to buy their product at first.

“If you present it with our cause first, helping children at Ally’s house and Loveworks, then people want to help out,” Lopez said.

OU students and the Norman community celebrate OU's traditional homecoming parade on Oct. 20 VIDEO: Cassi Toney, 1:58

A main performer in the London Olympics Opening Ceremony studies as an exchange student at the University of Oklahoma VIDEO: Cassi Toney, 2:08

An exchange student at the University of Oklahoma with no dance training performed as a lead dancer in the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony.

 Dhruv Rupapara, originally from India, auditioned for the ceremony with friends in London, but he said he never believed he could pass the auditions with no formal dance training.

Rupapara performed as one of the 10 men performers in the Thanks Tim Family section of the ceremony, which included tributes to British popular music from the 1960s to 1980s. At the end of the segment, Tim Berners-Lee is thanked for creating the World Wide Web for everyone.

Danny Boyle, an Academy Award-winning director, served as the artistic director for the opening ceremonies. As a lead dancer, Rupapara was able to work directly with Boyle. Rupapara said Boyle was always friendly and personal even though he was busy directing about 1,400 performers.

Most of the 7,500 perfomers at the opening ceremony were volunteers in order to make the ceremony feel more authentic and save money on the budget, according to Rupapara. He said although he did not receive any money, the production team treated the performers like celebrities.

Rupapara first auditioned in fall 2011 and began practices in February. According to the official website of the 2012 London Olympics, the average adult volunteer performer practiced for 150 hours. 

Rupapara said the team he practiced with became a family. He said he and the team wanted the experience to never end. He said the experience has made him much more confident as a performer and excited to live life to the fullest.

Because Rupapara came to OU before the Olympics were finished, he said he was not able to experience the Olympic excitement in London as long as the other performers.

Rupapara said the experience changed him in many ways, but it mostly made him fall in love with London even more.

A home in the Fairmount Historic District in Fort Worth, Texas is full of interesting surprises and unique structures Friday, August 12. VIDEO: CASSI TONEY RUNS 1:59

International student on campus adjusts to OU’s lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer community

CASSI TONEY

Oct. 8, 2012

Atiba Williams, an OU international student who identifies as a queer male, traveled the world and experienced varying levels of acceptance as a member of the queer community.

Williams, a music composition senior, said when he tells people he is queer, there is a spectrum of responses from apathy to disgust.

“When I came out to people as a queer man, they would either be like, ‘Cool, you’re gay.  What’s for dinner?’ or ‘Let me think about this for three months to see if I still want to be your friend,’” Williams said.

Willams said there are differing of responses to the queer community at the University of Oklahoma.  He said many OU students are conservative, but college towns and metro areas tend to be more receptive of the queer community.

A report by the Daily Beast says six out of seven same-sex couples live in non-rural areas.

“At OU, many students from rural communities do not have exposure to the queer community, so their responses vary,” Wiliams said.

Williams grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean island.  He said he knew he was gay from a young age, but did not say anything because his culture did not allow same-sex relationships.

“There was no such thing being queer in Trinidad,” Williams said.  “There is no sophisticated view of sexuality.  People in Trinidad don’t even acknowledge that gay people exist.”

Williams said he wanted to move out of Trinidad and Tobago into a more accepting community.   He won an international scholarship to study at an Italian high school and at OU.

Williams is constantly looking for ways to improve his experience in life at OU with passion and enthusiasm, according to his friend Parker Manek, history senior.

“He has made life better by his sense of realistic optimism and positivism,” said Manek, president of the OU club for gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, transgender and friends.

Williams said he defends other people in his community by standing against those who speak hurtful words or act offensively.

Atiba Williams holds a candle at a candlelight vigil on the South Oval on Wednesday, Oct. 3.  The Sooner Allies hosted the candlelight vigil to show unity and support for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender and queer OU students.

“I call people out on things because some things are just not OK to say in certain situations,” Williams said.  “I have a thick skin so most comments don’t bother me, but I try to protect other people in the audience who might be more sensitive and will be hurt more deeply.”

Williams’ friend and former roommate Robert Wild, said, Williams is a great representative for the queer community because of his honesty and strength.

“If somebody says or does anything that is out of line, he quickly lets them know that what they've done is hurtful and wrong,” Williams said. “He doesn't tell them that it's just wrong, he tells them why it's wrong.”

Atiba Williams, member of OU's LGBTQ community, speaks about his experience in his home country, Thursday, Oct. 4. AUDIO: CASSI TONEY RUNS :32

OU introduces coed floor for freshmen

OU introduces coed floor for freshmen
CASSI TONEY

The University of Oklahoma’s first freshmen coed floor this year will determine expansion of coed floors in the residence halls.

Fifty freshmen live on a coed floor in Walker Tower with separate suites for male and female students to test the success of the pilot program while 400 students are on a waiting list.

Amy Buchanan, housing and food assistant director in community experience, said different student groups, such as the Housing Center Student Association submitted proposals to President Boren and met with him this summer to decide to offer a pilot coed floor option for the 4,300 freshmen living on campus.

“Offering coed freshmen floors involved a lot more people than housing and food because President Boren made the ultimate decision to give the option of coed housing,” Buchanan said. “The decision came from higher up than us, but we were obviously very supportive of the president’s decision.”

Buchanan said OU’s housing and food services wants to offer the best options for students. She said there are not yet plans for the future of coed halls because the program started one month ago, but President Boren will make the ultimate decision.

Students spend time together in a dorm room on a coed floor in Adams Tower, Thursday Sept. 27, 2012. Each suite of two rooms with a shared bathroom has only one gender on the coed floors

“Our staff is always available for any issues the students bring to us, so we can provide housing options that make students feel more comfortable and safer in the environment,” Buchanan said.

Bracken Marburger, aviation management freshman, said OU should continue to offer coed floors because of the long waiting list and good community experience.

“I thought living on the coed floor would be cool,” Marburger said. “It’s not that big of deal to live next door to a girl. It’s real world stuff, just like you would be living next to girls on your street or in an apartment complex.”

Meghan Gallagher and Justin Dutchover talk on a coed floor in the Adams Tower on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. Male student suites and female student suites are located next door and across the hall from each other.

 Marburger said he liked everything about living on the coed floor.

“It’s pretty chill and easygoing,” Marburger said. “I like that there are no visiting hours. In high school, everything is so structured and strict, and I think college should be more lenient.”

Buchanan said all the staff in housing and food wants the students to connect with someone in their community.

Residents on the coed floor talk, relax and study in the social lounge in Adams Tower, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. The residents share a study room in addition to a large social lounge area.

“The community on the freshmen floor seems to be very close,” said Buchanan. “They’ll all be hanging out in the social lounge and people have their doors open. It seems they are connecting and getting a positive experience for everyone of the floor”

The university introduced the option for upperclassmen coed floors in fall 2010. Fifty upperclassmen students live on the coed floors in the Johnson wing of Adams Tower, according to Buchanan.

According to the Journal of American College Health, 90 percent of American college dorms are coed.

OU Housing and Food Assistant Director in Community Experience, Amy Buchanan, talks about possible controversies of the freshmen coed floor, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. AUDIO: CASSI TONEY RUNS :40

OU museum hosts art and music event for all kinds of students

CASSI TONEY

NORMAN – Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art welcomed approximately 600 students and members of the Norman community to the bi-annual student opening party on campus Tuesday night.

FJJMA hosted a student opening party and a concert for its newest exhibition, “The James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection.”   The collection is composed of 4,000 pieces of art from indigenous cultures across North America, according to the website.

“The Bialac Collection is from the later part of the 20th century,” said Jessica Farling, coordinator of academic programs at FJJMA. “A lot of the artists are still alive and are coming to campus this week to speak or have demonstrations.”

Farling said the collector, James T. Bialac, will also be on campus this week, which is a really rare opportunity. 

“I’d love to talk to Vincent Van Gogh about his work, but this collection is so exciting because it’s contemporary,” Farling said.  “The artists are still working.  For me, that’s really exciting, and I hope that students see that.”

The museum targeted OU students to get them interested in the collections of art on campus, Farling said.

“The party is an exhibition opening for students only, like a sort of sneak peak of our new artwork,” Farling said.  “We want to provide an opportunity for them to enjoy the special exhibit and try to get them to come back.”

She said the event is elegant for students if they want to dress up and look at art in a formal atmosphere.  The two concerts after the party were more laid back and attracted different kinds of students. 

Farling said FJJMA partnered with the Campus Activities Council for the first time to host two concerts. 

Approximately 300 people sat on blankets on the lawn of the museum to listen to Milo Greene open for The Walkmen at 7 p.m.

Approximately 300 students attend The Walkmen concert, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 on the lawn of Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Okla. The concert followed the FJJMA’s Student Opening Party showcasing the new “James T. Bialac Native American Art Collection.”  

 Scott Vo, a biology junior, said having the concert next to the museum was a good reason to visit the museum.

He said he went to the student opening party briefly and then stayed for the concert.

“The concert had a good audience, very small and personal,” Vo said. “The genre was perfect for this kind of event.” 

Jake Smith, an OU alumnus, said he had never visited the FJJMA, but he enjoyed the concert.

“It was a laid-back, cool audience and an arm-chair atmosphere where everyone had a good time,” Smith said.

The FJJMA began hosting student opening parties each semester in 2008, according to Farling.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist launches campus-wide media study

CASSI TONEY

NORMAN – A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist spoke about the changes in media in the digital age to commence OU Student Media’s semester-long research Monday night.

Rob Curley, metro editor for The Orange County Register, presented “Imagine the Future: Campus Media in a Digital Age” to approximately 100 people in Meacham Auditorium in the Oklahoma Memorial Union 7 p.m. Monday.

“How do you build a product that people will consume?” asked Curley.  “This is the hard thing for newspapers.  There’s a big difference between knowing what matters and thinking you know what matters”

Judy Gibbs Robinson, editor adviser at The Oklahoma Daily, said she invited Curley to speak at OU because she wanted a big event to launch the study of campus media in the digital age.

“I hope he gets people inspired and interested in these tremendously exciting times in media,” Robinson said. “Then we can go in the right direction.”

Curley said when he worked at The Las Vegas Sun, every news story either had to serve the audience, or it had to save them. 

Curley listed five concepts that make a newspaper great, including passion, practicality, playfulness, personal communication and porn.

“Newspaper porn is not what you think,” Curley said.  “There’s no significance to it except mindless pleasure for people who live hard lives. …It could be food porn, casino porn or house porn.”

Curley said there must be some playfulness in newspapers because readers love playful content.

“No one cares if you leave out the narratives, but leave out the crossword puzzles and watch the old women get [mad],” Curley said.  “Delighting the readers is something newspapers are really bad about.”

Curley said The Las Vegas Sun found new ways to surprise readers, including converting traditional news articles into comic strips. 

“What do you have to do so that everyone every day has to read your newspaper?” Curley asked the audience mostly filled with current campus journalists and journalism students.

Robinson said Curley’s speech and the campus media study are relevant to all people on campus, not just journalism students, because The Oklahoma Daily is for the entire community. 

She said the semester-long study will include student and advertising focus groups, presentations to staff members, meetings with alumni and a campus-wide survey.

The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication organized and funded the event through a grant from the Hearst Foundation.

Sense of Place (SOP)

Sense of Place (SOP)

Portrait without a Person

Portrait without a Person (PWOP)