In his 2005 hit song Bon Jovi asked, “who says you can’t go home?” My emphatic answer, I do! Even so I traveled with my sister and fiancé to my home town of Ringling, Oklahoma for Labor Day weekend. Ringling may be my hometown, but I did not feel like I was home. Perhaps it…
Critic finds film entertaining despite series age
Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, is the fifth installment of the Mission Impossible series starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. Much like its star, this series is aging well, as this latest film may also be its greatest. Hunt is joined this time around by returning members William Brandt played by Jeremy Renner, Luther…
SGA receives less funding
Student Government Association faces a budget cut this year. SGA’s budget for the 2015-16 academic year is $165,000, $45,000 less than last year’s budget. SGA received notice of the cut in June, but SGA President Chance Johnson is unsure of who made the decision because of turnover in academic affairs office. “There were budget cuts…
Therapy dogs make campus their home
Students love when Student Government Association provides therapy dogs, but lately dogs are appearing on campus outside Stress Relief Week. Permanent resident staff members and graduate students living in University Manor are permitted to own a domestic pet, like a dog, according to the university pet policy. Since these owners are not undergraduate students, their…
Religious life changes, encourages students to volunteer
Campus religious life is making changes. The largest change is that Wednesday at the Wesley, a free lunch for the campus that was provided every Wednesday in Watson Lounge in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel, is now only hosted the first Wednesday of every month. The first one of the year was Sept. 2 in the…
Retention rates at record high, estimated to increase
More freshmen are returning as sophomores than in recent years. Student retention rate measures the number of freshmen who return as sophomores. The retention for Fall 2014 freshmen returning as sophomores is at 85 percent. The rate increased 5 percent from last year. “Eighty-five percent is best in recent recorded history,” said Kevin Windholz, vice…
Campus Health Center moves
The Campus Health Center is no longer located in the Panhellenic Quadrangle. When the former student health clinic building was designated to the Phi Mu sorority as their new meeting house, the health center upgraded to a larger, updated space across campus. The center is located in Kramer School of Nursing West. The Campus Health…
Students start semester in new spaces, classrooms
Newly renovated classrooms and spaces on campus are getting mixed feedback from students. The Gold Star Memorial Building and Sarkeys Law Center have been repurposed for new academic spaces. The Gold Star was used for law school classes, but since their move downtown in December 2014, it has been empty. The building now houses the…
Mitcham becomes SAC setter of the week
Senior Setter Hannah Mitcham became the Sooner Athletic Conference setter of the week in the first weekly league honors of 2015. The SAC selected Mitcham as its setter of the week for the fourth time in her OCU career. Mitcham produced 91 assists, 18 digs, six kills and two aces during the Stars’ first three…
IFC hosts rush week, 41 men receive bids
The Interfraternity Council hosted their rush week Aug. 26-29. The informal night was Aug. 26, where each house hosted an event on campus and any men interested were invited to attend. The two following nights, Aug. 28 and 29 were formal and only those registered to rush were able to attend. The formal nights consisted of formal…
New event replaces Involved Fair
Live! on the Quad is an opportunities festival being offered this semester by the office of First-Year Experience. Students will have an opportunity to learn about and get involved in student organizations, study abroad, internships and future careers, and service opportunities. The outside volunteer organizations attending are Freedom Oklahoma, Family Builders, United Way of Central…
Former U.S. Ambassador answers questions on campus
A former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt will be hosting a talk and Q&A on Sept. 1 about foreign policy and relations with the Middle East. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer is currently a professor of Middle East Policies and studies at Princeton University. He served for four years as the U.S. ambassador to Egypt and…
Women’s basketball program receives new head coach
The women’s basketball team will begin the season with a new leader. Bo Overton was named this summer as head coach for the women’s basketball team. Overton’s appointment was made to fill the position after the departure of Latricia Trammell. Trammell left to serve as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at the…
New vice president for student affairs officially assumes position
When she isn’t adjusting to life as a Star, the new vice president for student affairs enjoys watching football and shopping. Dr. Amy Ayres grew up in Velma, Okla., where she was involved in basketball, cheerleading, student council, and Future Farmers of America, showing pigs and sheep. She attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman…
Phi Mu moves into new home, completes Panhellenic Quadrangle
The OCU chapter of Phi Mu moved into their new meeting house during the summer, right in time for recruitment. The house is located in the building previously occupied by the Student Health Center, completing the Panhellenic Quadrangle alongside the existing three sorority houses. The chapter previously used the Cokesbury Court Clubhouse as a meeting…
Leak discovered in dormitory
A leak in a drain line was discovered in Walker Hall dormitory around 1 p.m yesterday. The 17 affected students will be unable to use their bathrooms until the leak is fixed by OCU Facilities. The leak impacted odd numbered rooms in B hall on the fourth through the seventh floors. “We notified the affected…
SGA shares plans, encourages volunteers for academic year
Student Government Association has begun preparation for another year, focusing their attention on restructuring the organization. “The prioritization report asked that we undergo a strategic planning process to make sure the organization is keeping with a new student body,” SGA President Chance Johnson said. “We intend to streamline SGA and make it better able to…
Editor introduces herself to campus community
The first week of the semester is all about meeting new people and making introductions. There are so many new professors, staffers and classmates to meet that it begins to seem like a blur of new faces and names you’ll never remember. Forgive me while I add my name and face to the mix. I…
University police department moves to different location
The police department has a new location on campus. OCUPD moved into their new location at 1635 N.W. 23rd St. Aug. 17. The building has a bulletproof wall in the entryway that was created out of recycled bulletproof vests and a control room with cameras watching over the main campus and the law school. There…
Officials change parking regulations, offer new permits
The police department plans to improve parking on campus with new parking permits and guidelines. There are now four types of permits comprised of: Commuter, Cokesbury, Methodist Hall, and Star Access. The Star Access permit was created to provide full access parking to residential students so they can park at their residency and in general…
Sorority fall recruitment ends, fraternity rush begins
More than 130 women participated in sorority rush during Formal Recruitment Aug. 19 through Aug. 22. Bid Day was Sunday on the campus quad. The new sorority members ran from Watson Lounge inside Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel to the quad, where their new sisters stood waiting. “We work hard during recruitment,” said Danielle Petersen, music…
Arts, sciences dean steps down, resumes teaching
Dr. Mark Davies stepped down from his position as dean of Petree College of Arts and Sciences to work more closely with students, after 15 years of collegiate dean and associate dean titles. “I wanted to get more involved in social and ecological responsibility work,” Davies said. “ This way, I can spend more time…
New leadership named for academic affairs
Dr. Kent Buchanan is starting the academic year where his predecessor left off. Buchanan became interim provost July 1 after Dr. Susan Barber retired. He has served as assistant provost since 2012. Barber kept Buchanan up-to-date and involved so he knew what was expected of him and what kind of decisions he would be making….
Stars Week welcomes new students to campus, OKC
A new event centered on exploring Oklahoma City was introduced during this year’s Stars Week. OKConnect gave freshmen the opportunity to choose from five different trips around Oklahoma City via a campus shuttle. The trips included: – the Devon Boathouse, 275 S. Lincoln Blvd., and Empire Slice House, 1734 N.W. 16th St., – Devon Energy…
Event informs freshmen about campus opportunities
Freshmen learn about opportunities on campus before classes even begin. Around 40 students learned about the opportunities they have at the undergraduate level during IMPACT on Aug. 21 in the Great Hall in the Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. This is the first year IMPACT has been done. It was created to inform freshmen…
Alexander Beys, music theater freshman, and Julie Graff, dance and arts management senior, participate in welcoming games with Leslie Marie Coffman, acting senior, as emcee at the Blue Out Blow Out pep rally on Aug. 21 in Abe Lemons Arena at Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. The event introduces incoming freshman to OCU’s athletic department. Photo: Maleyia…
