In March 2020, unlucky Friday the 13th lived up to its reputation when the overhead speakers at Evergreen High School announced cancelations to upcoming athletic events and an extended Spring Break due to a mysterious illness spreading throughout the country.
Soon-to-be valedictorian Carson Poupore sat in English class during the announcement, which caused the classroom to go âhaywire.â Poupore was oblivious to what was to come due to the unprecedented outbreak. The following August, he enrolled in OU to experience an âunforgettableâ freshman year with virtual learning, socially distanced classrooms and masked faces.
The class of 2024âs first year of college included online learning and limited in-person events. The pandemic forced virtual settings and different approaches to promote engagement for various student organizations and events â like Camp Crimson, Oklahoma Votes and Campus Activities Council.Â
The OU Student Government Association and OUâs chapter of the NAACP will host a forum at 7:30 p.m. this evening to allow members of OUâs Black community to verbalize their feelings, according to the event flier.Â
Our Space â a Black safe space workshop â will allow Black OU students, faculty and staff to share their perspectives amid the âcompounding traumatizing eventsâ and the âfortitudeâ it takes to be Black at a predominately white institution, according to the registration form. Terrance Banner, one of the University Counseling Centerâs Black counselors, will help facilitate discussion.
Although the organizations appreciate the support of all non-Black allies, âthis event is specifically for the OU Black community,â according to the form.Â
The spring 2021 OU Student Government Association general elections open April 6 and close at 9 p.m. April 7.
According to an email, students can cast their ballots for the Campus Activities Council chair and Student Bar Association president. Students in the communication, engineering, finance and accounting, humanities, physical science, social science and university college districts can also vote on their representatives.Â
According to the SGA website, international business and marketing junior Kobe Chen is running unopposed for CAC chair, and law student Tyler Self is running unopposed for SBA president.
The CAC chair is head of the CAC, the programming branch of the SGA responsible for planning campus-wide events, according to their website.
The OU Student Government Association attended Big 12 on the Hill, where they discussed various legislative bills regarding college affordability and mental health Feb. 22 through Feb. 24 via Zoom.
OU SGA Undergraduate Student Congress Vice Chair Alexis Marvin said Big 12 on the Hill is a âlobbying effortâ on behalf of Big 12 universities. This year, it was Oklahoma State Universityâs turn to host the event. Â
Marvin said participants discussed various legislation they supported with U.S. House representatives and senators. She said Representative for Oklahomaâs Third Congressional District Frank Lucas was âvery excitedâ to continue conversations about mental health and college affordability.Â
The eyes of the OU community were locked intensely on Evans Hall roughly a year ago when the culmination of several semesters of racist incidents on campus finally arrived.