News from the University of Oklahoma's independent student news organization, OU Daily. Email: dailynews
@ou
.edu. For our sports news, follow
@oudailysports
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“If all those people in there, who came from all different walks of life, can come together and find common ground why can’t that be done on a larger scale?”
OU Football Head Coach
@LincolnRiley
said after walking through campus with his team:
The OU Board of Regents will vote on $16 million of proposed renovations to multiple athletic facilities and a compensation fee of $325,000 for interim head coach Bob Stoops during its Thursday meeting:
The city of Norman will dedicate a street in honor of Trae Young, a Norman-based basketball player, in a ceremony Sunday across from the Young Family Athletic Center, set to open in early 2024:
Today a rally was held that marched from Norman High School to OU's North Oval, where Justin Broiles, Ana Llanusa, and more spoke. Here are our best photos of the protest:
Beto O'Rourke, presidential candidate and former Texas congressman, plans to visit OU’s campus Monday, according to a representative of College Democrats of Oklahoma:
Team Norman will announce a proposed $1 billion entertainment district Wednesday during the Norman Economic Development Coalition’s annual State of the Economy breakfast:
“One mask makes a difference. If everybody just pitches in a little bit, then we can get through this.”
OU student Rosalinda Espinosa has sewn 50 masks in two days for physicians at local hospitals and pledges to make 100 a week:
“There are a lot of bad Republicans, there are no good Democrats."
Republican political pundit Ann Coulter spoke on a "Trump agenda without Trump," "finding racism," and more at an event hosted by OU's Turning Point USA Thursday evening:
EDITORIAL: Although ultimately students themselves are responsible for observing COVID-19 protocols, university administrators are the ones who brought thousands of students back en-masse when it’s not even safe to have more than 40 in a classroom:
A bill passed by OU Undergraduate Student Congress recommends the Friday before the OU-Texas football game be a student holiday, despite opponents’ request for the holiday to be saved for Election Day:
Per an email sent to College of Architecture personnel, OU administrators will decide in the next 48 hours if on-campus courses will move to online-only for two weeks after spring break due to coronavirus concerns:
The OU Daily tested the air quality of the dorms using a mold kit earlier this semester.
A lab analysis has returned results showing four types of mold in Couch Center that can cause illness, which backs up what residents have been saying for months:
Adams Tower will be demolished in summer 2023, OU President Joseph Harroz said during the Sept. 15 OU Board of Regents meeting. Harroz said OU plans to complete construction on a new building by 2025:
OU Daily is aware of a situation involving racist language on April 20 outside the Kappa Sigma house near campus directed at former OU football player and local business owner Ryan Broyles.
Dozens of OU students and community members marched from the Seed Sower statue to Andrews Park Wednesday in memory of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary student whose death has sparked a nationwide movement for 2SLGBTQ+ rights and bullying awareness.
Here's our footage from the march:
“This is way more than just what happens inside the stadium.”
Last fall, community leaders traveled to Fayetteville, Tuscaloosa and Lexington to compare infrastructure, amenities and game-day experiences as Norman and the
#Sooners
gears up for the SEC:
Chance the Rapper will perform at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in a free concert on April 29 as part of a “Fill the Stadium” event organized by Pulse, a religious nonprofit organization:
“I am literally staying in my car for warmth and to charge my phone."
Still dealing with community-wide power outages Thursday morning, OU students said they were frustrated at the university's decision to reopen campus:
OU employees are organizing a protest to demand online-only instruction for the fall semester, citing health concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A protest is planned outside Evans Hall on Aug. 10:
OU junior Gage Ford is being charged with assault and battery and domestic abuse with a prior pattern of physical abuse after his girlfriend, an OU freshman, was admitted to the hospital after he allegedly tried to kill their unborn child:
"(Mask-wearing) is not a violation of your constitutional rights or your civil liberties."
OU's Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler said officials should mandate mask-wearing amid coronavirus surges across the state.
As former OU student Julius Jones' execution date approaches, voices of support ranging from European Union ambassadors to students at multiple Oklahoma City high schools urge Gov. Kevin Stitt to grant Jones clemency. Follow here for live updates:
OU's Undergraduate Student Congress has unanimously voted to pass a bill approving the OU/Texas holiday, officially giving students the day off on Friday, October 5:
Norman restaurants Benvenuti's Ristorante and Volare donated $60,000 for Norman to purchase 100,000 masks to be distributed to residents and businesses:
The city of Norman honored Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, a Norman-based basketball player, with a street dedication ceremony Sunday afternoon.
Here's the sign unveiling, and you can watch the full ceremony plus our highlights on our YouTube:
OU graduate Destinee Dickson said her leadership roles across campus, including in the Black Emergency Response Team, helped her land a position with the American Civil Liberties Union:
OU's chapter of Kappa Sigma has removed a member after he and two other men yelled racist and homophobic language at people passing by the fraternity house on the day of OU's spring game:
"If you’re not speaking up right now, when your students of color don’t feel safe...it is on you. Your silence is deafening.”
Today, hundreds of members of the community marched in solidarity with students of color, with hopes to enact systemic change:
UPDATE: A banner hung on the Seed Sower statue calls for the resignation of Provost Kyle Harper, one of the demands of the OU Black Emergency Response Team's sit-in:
Leaked screenshots from an OU College Republican group message showed members of the group condoning racist incidents on campus and making racist jokes themselves:
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. confirmed the university was targeted by international swatting after receiving reports of an active shooter Friday night. Swatting is where callers fake an emergency to draw a large response from law enforcement:
Thread: COVID-19 cut their senior year short and left them without the opportunity to say goodbye.
We asked seven seniors, each with different experiences and a lasting impact on campus, to share their personal goodbyes to OU and the class of 2020:
“He wanted to hear our voices,”
Before an emotional rally in which he touched on issues of race in America, democratic presidential candidate and former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke met with students who lead protests against racism at OU:
Walkouts have begun at numerous schools across the Oklahoma City Metro, including Putnam City North and West, the Classen School of Advanced Studies, and others:
As former OU student Julius Jones' execution date approaches, voices of support ranging from European Union ambassadors to students at multiple Oklahoma City high schools urge Gov. Kevin Stitt to grant Jones clemency. Follow here for live updates:
Beto O'Rourke, presidential candidate and former Texas congressman, plans to visit OU’s campus Monday, according to a representative of College Democrats of Oklahoma:
OU officials have announced that admissions decisions will not be affected by students participation in gun control rallies. Over 150 schools have made the same decision across the country:
Actor
@rainnwilson
, most famous for his role as Dwight Schrute on "The Office," is coming to OU in November for an event held by the Campus Activities Council speaker's bureau:
Vaccinated students will be eligible for scholarships ranging from $100 to $5,000, as well as athletics season ticket packages. Winners will be required to verify their vaccination status:
Behind
@OU_Football
stands four women who help run the program.
"These are outstanding talented, passionate people who just happen to have chosen a profession in sports.”
“He’s chosen more division and insults to his Native American constituents.”
Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill Monday that would have allowed Native American students to wear tribal regalia at high school and university graduations:
“I'm on, not even cloud nine, I'm on cloud 100."
Lafonzo Spigner, public relations junior and member of CAC, received 1,313 votes in the CAC executive chair election compared to the 1,257 won by his opponent, current CAC executive vice chair Louisa Lee:
"Students like myself ... do not have the privilege of accepting experience or 'prestige' as payment."
The former Gaylord Ambassadors chair writes unpaid recruitment work conducted by students presents a barrier to those from underprivileged backgrounds:
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt visited the OU Food Pantry on Tuesday. While OU officials say Stitt was offered an "OU branded mask," Stitt wore a neck gaiter, which the university mandatory masking policy does not consider an acceptable masking option:
The new Starbucks location will replace the Oklahoma Memorial Union's ThinkTank area with an expanded drink menu and over 50 seats. It is expected to be completed by an "unverified date" in fall 2021:
With OU's Norman campus under a winter storm warning for the first time in three years, the Campus Closure Committee could make its decision to close campus as early as tonight: