Friday, August 19, 2022
Back to school edition
The rush to find home Mallory Pool Staff Reporter
Not only are there career fairs, orientations and student celebrations during welcome week, but one of the biggest online trends is happening on campus right now. Sorority recruitment is one of the main events at Oklahoma State during welcome week, getting students who are involved excited to come back to school and kick
off the year. TikTok’s top trending topic this past week has been #bamarush, Panhellenic formal recruitment at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. This recruitment process has begun to take over campuses across the country, including OSU. From the outfit of the day to door songs, recruitment is an exciting time in the Greek community. The OSU Greek community comprises of over 50 chapters,
offering students the opportunity to participate in brother/sisterhood, academic excellence, leadership, community service and social events. Panhellenic Council has 13 active chapters on campus that incoming freshman women participate in formal recruitment to join. Not a lot of people know about the inner workings of this big week See Rush on 5A
Abby Cage Potential New Member (PNM) poses for picture in between parties during Panhellenic formal recruitment.
40 for freshmen
Advice from students past and present
Payton Little Staff Reporter
Operation overflow
Abby Cage
New students are making the best of their living conditions in Wentz hall.
Adam Engel Co-Editor-in-Chief Three boys crowd together on a small brown couch, their fingers clacking buttons on Xbox controllers. Several feet to their left, Luke Finn stares at a monitor with a headset and trash talks his friends while he blasts opponents on Call of Duty. Behind the group, six beds separated by a few feet are split into rows of three. The clutter crowds the sixthfloor lounge of Wentz Hall at Oklahoma State University. This isn’t a normal setup. Beds aren’t supposed to be in lounges. Each student should live in a traditional room with one roommate. Not now. Full capacity in the traditional-style dorms, caused by a record freshmen class of 4,270 and a large number of returning residents forced OSU’s Housing and Residential Life department to find alternative methods. Classes begin Monday and dozens of students will temporarily live with unusual accommodations. Leon McClinton, OSU’s director of Housing and
Residential Life, led his staff and residents through the pandemic with limited issues. Now, he will lead roughly 6,000 residents through a period of no vacancy. Sam Walker, one of Finn’s five roommates, lies in his bed and speaks with positivity. “I just got an email that said, ‘Congratulations, you’ve been assigned to lounge 6C from Oklahoma State,” Walker, a sophomore economics major, said. Confusion filled his mind. Soon, relief. “I honestly view it as a good thing because I knew I was gonna live here but I thought it was going to be in the regular rooms,” Walker said. “When I had the email and they decided to combine rooms, I thought it was a really good idea.” His other roommates happened to be his pledge brothers from Sigma Nu. He won’t room with strangers. Instead, his “brothers.” Against the opposite wall, dozens of shirts hang on several rolling racks like a clearance section at the back of a retail store. A half-eaten bag of Doritos sits next to the TV. Blue LED lights outline posters and flags featuring Ronald Reagan and Will Ferrell. This is their home. For now. Many factors contributed to this shortage. In the three
traditional style halls — Iba, Stout and Wentz Hall — each floor features a combination of a typical two-person room and a private room. Not everyone lives with a roommate. That is changing, thanks to the record numbers. McClinton and his staff aren’t kicking any one out. All students who applied for housing will get a bed in a temporary housing assignment. Three options exist for the students unlucky enough to be caught in the overflow. Finn and Walker’s crew settled in the floor lounges. Several roommates with little privacy. Every student in the traditional halls uses a community style bathroom so that privacy is already scarce. The other temporary assignments are dependent on a resident. “Some students signed up for a private room and these rooms are designed to accommodate two people,” McClinton said. “We have notified these students that were supposed to have private rooms that we’re moving somebody else in there and help them understand that we live by the Cowboy Code, and we hope that they will welcome this resident in their room.” Community mentors, OSU’s version of a resident assistant, generally live without a roommate. Now, they will receive a weekly
$100 stipend if they let a resident stay in their room. The students hosting someone in the private rooms will also be compensated, McClinton said. “Students that are placed in the lounges are going to get their first month rent free,” McClinton said. “The students that have private rooms will also get their first month free.” OSU isn’t the only campus with housing shortages. Many universities nationwide are experiencing similar issues and seeking solutions. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the University of Utah is paying alumni $5,000 to host a student because of its waiting list of nearly 3,500 students. According to USA Today, students at large universities in major urban areas like California are looking at four digit monthly rental rates off-campus. While rent in Stillwater is much cheaper, Realpage reported that the price of off-campus student housing increase by 6% nationwide. McClinton said no one is on the waitlist at OSU. “We’re pretty much at a point where we’re still getting interest and requests, but we pretty much said, ‘We can’t take anyone else,’” he said.
See Overflow on 3A
week, take the risk and go,” Tara Mason, a sophomore in applied exercise science. “Realize that the amount of accountability you had in high school for doing the right thing, making good choices, going to class, doing homework, etc. is now much different. Analyze your own strengths and weaknesses and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Virginia Coonce, a sophomore in human development and family sciences: child and family services. “Don’t worry about making friends. Every single person is in the same boat as you. Everyone wants friends just as badly as you do. Put yourself out there, and I promise, it will all work out,” Landry Ehmer, a sophomore in nutritional sciences allied health.
High school to college is a large jump to make, and it can often be overwhelming for many people. Thankfully, there have been many people that have made this jump successfully that have shared their knowledge with The O’Colly. Here are 40 pieces of advice to the incoming class of 2026. “Go to office hours and get to know your professors. Building relationships and networking makes a huge difference in the long run,”Jack Beadles, a junior in entrepreneurship and management “Do not say no to any opportunity that could bring you new friends. If you get invited to an event, especially during welcome See Advice on 4A
Abby Cage Freshman PNM’s have been on campus during rush this week.