Friday, August 23, 2024
New Agricultural Hall opens on campus HAYDEN ALEXANDER NEWS AND LIFESTYLE EDITOR
The building is designed with size in mind. The new college accommodates six of the nine Ferguson College of Agriculture departments. The open concept is intended to encourage new ideas and participation from students and staff. “Previous buildings and a lot of older buildings were really centered around difThe Ferguson College of Agriculture’s ferent units,” Dean and Vice President of new home is open for classes. Agriculture Jayson Lusk said. “We really Agricultural Hall, which officially care about our different departments and opened its doors to students Monday, has different units, but we also wanted to crebeen years in the making. After large fun- ate an environment where people would draisers and months of construction, the have more accidental opportunities to new addition has finally joined campus. bump into each other.” Tori Watchous, a sophomore studyThere are plenty of places to bump into ing animal science, said she is ready for people with study spaces, meeting rooms, classes in the new facility. research labs and computer labs. There are “I think it’s awesome,” Watchous said. “I also large lecture halls and graduate labs. am super excited about it because FerguChelsey Comstock, coordinator for son is one of the biggest colleges, and we prospective students in Ferguson, said had one of the smallest buildings. I think students were prioritized when the buildit’s really cool that we finally have a mas- ing was designed. sive building like other colleges.” See HALL on page 6A
Delainey Cops
The new Ferguson School of Agriculture Hall promotes collaboration and networking amongst students.
Shrum acknowledges ‘growing pains’ of record enrollment KENNEDY THOMASON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @_KENNEDYPAGE
Bryson Thadhani
Lights On Stillwater is an annual event that brings OSU students and the Stillwater community together.
Bryson Thadhani
Thousands of students and community members attend Lights On Stillwater every year.
Lights On Stillwater bridges community
Although OSU has reached record enrollment in several of its student demographics, it has not been without some issues, President Dr. Kayse Shrum said Tuesday. Shrum said during a faculty council meeting that the university will have to adjust to its new growth. “I know that in our strategy, we said (in) 2026 we wanted to be at 5,000 (freshmen), we’re over that this year, not without a few growing pains,” Shrum said. “But you know, we’re going to learn from that process, and it’ll be smoother next year.” Friday, OSU announced record enrollment numbers, reaching new highs for freshmen, along with the university system. The Honors College, Graduate College, Native American students, nursing students and online students also saw record enrollment. The unexpected growth caused issues with oncampus housing, which has room for about 5,600 students. However, about 5,700 students requested on-campus housing, leaving some students in a bind.
To mitigate the issue, OSU briefly offered students compensation to forfeit their on-campus housing. Alara Rains, a freshman, took OSU up on its offer of a bronze meal plan valued at $3,500 and a $1,000 scholarship in exchange for no on-campus housing. “Oh my God, it was so stressful,” Rains said. Rains, who attended community college before enrolling at OSU, initially applied for a housing exemption for the spring semester. Freshmen are automatically enrolled in on-campus housing, according to Housing and Residential Life. The day after applying for the exemption, Rains was notified she was also exempted from living on campus during the fall semester. “It was a bit stressful because I had to rush to find housing,” Rains said. “It was a week before my apartment complex that I currently have shut down applications.” However, Rains said the compensation “kind of made up for all the stress that it caused.” Luis Cantu, a transfer student and sophomore, said an expanding OSU will allow more exposure to a diverse student body. “I think that’s one big positive, just being able to connect with so many different people from so many different places,” Cantu said.
See ENROLLMENT on page 7A
AVA WHISTLER STAFF REPORTER
Hundreds of students stood in a weaving line around Boone Pickens Stadium on Wednesday evening. “It’s an organized chaos,” Lori Hatfield said, a vendor at the annual Lights On Stillwater event. “It’s always fun, always hot and always very cool to see the ways in which the community supports the students.” Lights on Stillwater, with the Student Government Association runs, had tables and vendors covering the North side of Boone Pickens Stadium. The roads were blocked off to traffic. Students flooded the streets. And it was, as Hatfield described, hot. This much-anticipated event occurs the first Wednesday of every fall semester, as it has for years. “It allows us to connect with the community and allows them to connect with us,” vendor Dr. Danielle Dugot with the Veterinary Specialty Center of Stillwater said. The event is mutually beneficial. It allows businesses to market themselves, student clubs and organizations to recruit new members, and above all, it fosters an awareness between students and the community.
See LIGHTS on page 5A
Kennedy Thomason
President Dr. Kayse Shrum said the university is trying to combat an “enrollment cliff” with its growth goals.