Social Entrepreneurship Class Goes International

International students representing four countries helped a social entrepreneurship class develop solutions to water and sanitation problems near their homes. Alex Xulu represented his country, South Africa.

Alex Xulu, graduate student in Chemistry
PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

"Many girls probably don't see this side of men"

        An all-male student organization held an event on Wednesday, April 27 to show women that its members appreciate them and their contributions to society.

        Students of African American Brotherhood hosted its third annual Women’s Appreciation event, which lasted for two hours. The evening consisted of food, door prizes, cupcakes, a speaker and entertainment.

        The purpose of the event was for women to spend an evening relaxing and be shown they are appreciated in the community, said Daron Stallworth, president of Students of African American Brotherhood.

        “The event is important because many times, especially with how society is now, sometimes men don’t always let women know that they are appreciated for everything they do. That is the purpose of Women’s Appreciation, just to let women know we appreciate them for everything they do not just for the community and who they are but even things they do for us that we may not realize,” Stallworth said.

        Members of the student organization served as escorts throughout the night, walking guests to their chairs, serving them drinks, either tea, water or lemonade and serving the meal.

        While the event was held at the University of Oklahoma, women from nearby universities were also invited to attend.

        Skye Hammond, public relations junior at Oklahoma Christian University, said the event provided a great environment, adding it was definitely worth the drive and cost of gas from Edmond, and saying that she felt like a princess when the escorts walked her in and then would not let any of the women lift a finger.

        “This might be kind of silly, but I loved the giggles and smiles on the girls’ faces when they were escorted in and their chairs were pulled back for them. That’s definitely not an everyday occurrence,” Hammond said.

        Summer Randall, accounting sophomore, called the event lovely and said it was improved from last year’s, adding that the men of the student organization created a great atmosphere for the women.

        Also, Randall appreciated the initiative the men took to host the event.

        “I think it is so commendable that the men at this university take the time once a year to acknowledge us and appreciate women which a lot of times are not always treated the way they should be by college men,” Randall said.

        For the meal, members of the student organization served salad, bread and their choice of chicken Alfredo or lasagna. For dessert, there were chocolate, strawberry, lemon and vanilla cupcakes from Cookies & Cards, a Campus Corner favorite.

        Jennifer Cox from the Women’s Outreach Center led a discussion about domestic violence and ways to overcome it.

        Each woman in attendance received a raffle ticket, and the tickets were drawn in order to determine the winners of the door prizes.

        At the end of the event, the men of the student organization offered three-minute neck and shoulder massages to the women.

        While the organization planned for 60 women, close to a hundred attended the event, Stallworth said.

        Keyonte Leggins, University College freshman, said the event gave women an opportunity to see men in a different light.

        “Many girls probably don’t see this side of men, so it may open their horizons…they might come here and change their perspective and see that dudes, they aren’t all the same,” Leggins said.

        The student organization’s effort was co-sponsored by the Student Alumni Association, Student Affairs and the President’s Office for this year’s event, and Stallworth said the sponsorships allowed the men’s group to purchase better food, door prizes and decorations.

        While the student organization that held the event is aimed toward African Americans, the night was intended to show appreciation for all women, Stallworth said.

        For Hammond, this was an appealing aspect of the evening.

       “Being an African American, it was especially touching to see chocolate guys showing love and appreciation to women of all races. I could definitely tell they put a lot of thought and effort into the event,” Hammond said. “I appreciate them for appreciating us.”

Info Box

Door prizes given to guests attending the Women’s Appreciation event included:

• hand soap
• chocolates
• body lotion
• towel set
• make-up brushes
• make-up mirror
• shower rack
• showerhead

Story By: Chelsey Kraft

Two female students enter the Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center for Women's Appreciation Night. The event was hosted by the African American Brotherhood organization to show appreciation for women.
PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

Taylor Jackson, entrepreneurship and marketing sophomore, and Trey McCarrell, broadcast and electronic media sophomore, wait at the window for plates of lasagna and chicken Alfredo to serve women guests. The Students of African American Brotherhood organization hosted its third annual Women's Appreciation event, where they served the women food and entertained them throughout the event.
PHOTO: COURTNEY GOFORTH

Sam Nobles Hosts Science In Action

            A skull of an ancient mammal, a fur coat and beaded pieces from South Africa all have one thing in common—they were brought in nationwide from the closets of people who visited Norman Sunday, Feb. 13.

            The free event that has been compared to a giant show and tell and antique road show, brought together curators and staff from the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, as well as experts from a variety of other organizations to observe the private collections. The artifacts that were brought in varied from bones, fossils, fur, rocks and even languages that all participants hoped to be identified. However, the scientists also engaged in the show and tell by displaying their own relics.  

             

PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

PHOTO: Courtney Goforth

Sam Noble Hosts Native American Youth Fair

            More than 1,000 students from pre-K to twelfth grade traveled from all over the country to the museum in Norman with the ambition to preserve their languages.

            The ninth annual Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair was held at The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, where students performed over 20 Native American languages.

            The three main goals of the youth fair are to provide students a safe place to present and speak their native languages in a public setting, support the native language teachers in their efforts and bring awareness to the diversity of native languages, according to Mary Linn, curator of Native American languages, prior to the event.  Every one must support the languages so that they do not die, Linn said.

            “I personally think that it is one of the best ways in which the museum collaboratively supports the efforts of the tribes and tribal people to maintain and revitalize their languages,” Linn said.

            After Mary Linn was hired 11 years ago as the curator of Native American languages, she wanted a way for the museum to exhibit the native languages in Oklahoma in a way that would show them as living dialects, not something of the past. It would also give the teachers a way to showcase their students and programs, Linn said. 

             It gives them a way to show their cultures for them. The Fair supports the museum’s mission to develop awareness, appreciation and understanding of the rich cultural contributions of indigenous languages to the general public and supports the ongoing use of these languages in daily life, Linn said.

            Students from Oklahoma, North Dakota, Arizona and various states participated according to age in different categories. Spoken language performance, performance incorporating music and dance, poster art, book and literature, language film/video, language with PowerPoint presentation, language advocacy essay and language masters performance were among the categories the students participated in, according to the event flyer.

            “I had fun doing everything,” Martisha Dixon, Riverside Indian School student said. “I had to sing, read a story and dance. Reading the story was my favorite part because I have been studying the story for a long time and I got first place. The story was, “Shokkni Apelaluski”, which means, “helping the turtle.”

            One of the first place winners in spoken language performance, Dale Shackleford, an 11-year-old from Lexington, Okla., performed a scene in Chickasaw with his three sisters. 

            “I like to see what other people come up with,” Shackleford said. “I enjoy watching just about everybody. This event helps us preserve our languages in ways books cannot.”

            The students were judged by the amount of language used, fluency, spirit of the performance and their stage presence, according to the event flyer. Some of the judges for the day represented the Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw and Kiowa nations.

            “I judge them mostly on how well they speak, how well they carry themselves, how much knowledge they have about what they are speaking about and traditional clothing if their act requires it,” Carlin Thompson, Chickasaw nation judge said. “Basically how well they do overall.”

            Thompson has judged the youth fair for five years, even when the event was held at the fairgrounds in Norman off of E. Robinson Street.

            “I think it is a very important cause and I like to help and give support to the Indian people and tribes and encourage them as well,” Thompson said. “I think it is a very special event for young Indian people. We have almost lost all of our languages at one time. Some tribes still maintain their language pretty well, but every generation we lose languages. I think this helps promote and encourage children to carry on our tradition. Without our language, we are nobody.”

            One volunteer from the Chipota Chikashshanonpolu, “Child-speaking language” organization has volunteered at the youth fair for four years and adapted the nickname “granny” among the students. Lynie Richardson from Ada, Okla. brought her three grandchildren to perform in the event, because of the appreciation she has developed for her Chickasaw language.

            “When I was a child, my mom didn’t encourage us to speak the language,” Richardson said. “My mom couldn’t speak English until she started school when she was nine years old. She did not want me to go through the embarrassment that she went through of going to a ‘white school’ and not knowing how to speak the language... She wanted us to be able to make it in a ‘white man’s world’ and leave that behind.

            “I’ve turned it around to where I’ve realized I have missed out on not learning our language,” Richardson said. “So, my grandkids are learning it now and it is important that they just keep going with it. They don’t know they are speaking Chickasaw language-- it is just a word to them, but they are learning. I’m going to keep doing these events until they kick me out.”

By: Courtney Goforth

Tyson Killspotted, a Standing Rock Sioux tribe member from Ft. Yates, N.D., admires his medal after performing during the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. PHOTO: Zach Herring