Friday, October 18, 2024
Latina sorority finds small, meaningful campus community BELLA CASEY
STAFF REPORTER Jarely Casillas never imagined herself as a sorority girl. Soccer is all the Enid native knew growing up. But she didn’t see herself as a soccer player at first, either. Casillas’ parents immigrated from Mexico, and soccer was part of her heritage. Her time sitting on the sidelines and cheering on her sister won her over. She fell in love with soccer and joined a team. “It (soccer) brings together so many people, and soccer is such a team sport, that it just creates the best bonds,” Casillas said. “Having your family on the sidelines, or even being a part of the sideline is so amazing, just because you’re all supporting the same thing.” It’s similar to the bond Casillas formed with her college sorority sisters. She attended OSU to double major in marketing and management with minors in sports marketing and sports management after attending Northern Oklahoma College for three semesters.
See LATINA on page 7A
Maya Blanks Bree, one of the day-camp counselors, playing in the small dogs indoor pin on a hot day.
‘These are people’s children’ Stay and Play Pet Resort accommodating to all dogs, cats B Y R AY N E E H O W E L L I @ R AY N E E H O W E L L A S S I S TA N T N E W S & L I F E S T Y L E E D I T O R
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oss, a Great Pyrenees-Lab mix, wouldn’t enter the doors of the Stay and Play Pet Resort on
Lilian Easter Janice Diaz De León (left) and Audrey Nguyen show off the bags for breast cancer awareness at Willard Hall on Wednesday.
his first visit. He hated doors. He was scared to death of them, manager Heidi Simpson said. Each time Hoss attended day camp, one of SPPR’s most popular boarding services, the staff would have to walk him around the building to the back
door, straight to the dog day-camp area. Now, Hoss enters the doors enthusiastically, pulling his owner to the dog room. “Every dog that has started out that way, once they’ve been here at least two to three times, have started pulling us through the back,” Simpson said. “I get goosebumps, only for the fact of that dog very loudly telling you ‘I’m happy,’ to their owner too.” The doors were scary to Hoss, but
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that is not the only thing that deters dogs like him. The building, located right outside of Stillwater on Brush Creek Road, smells of other dogs, cats and sterile cleaning supplies, which reminds dogs and cats of a vet’s office. Simpson said Zora, a big black poodle, was just like Hoss. She refused to come inside. Now, she runs offleash, straight to day camp.
See CHILDREN on page 6A
Center for Sovereign Nations, NASA celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day HAYDEN ALEXANDER NEWS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR
America. Many groups have challenged the now take out infamous holiday for its historical inaccuracies and romanticized view of the relationship between Grab a snow cone and stay for the the Native communities and early stickball. explorers. In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day OSU alumna and director of OSU on Monday, the Center for Sovereign CHS Native Primary Care Center of Nations, NASA, members of the Alpha Excellence Tonya Wapskineh attended Pi Omega, a Native American sorority the event to discuss different internand representatives from the Native ship opportunities through the Native American Primary Care Center of Primary Care Center. Wapskineh said it Excellence came together on Monday is imperative to recognize the real first to educate and celebrate with the OSU Americans. community. “Having known the history of ChrisStudents could enjoy a snow cone topher Columbus and the things that from Kona Ice and cheer on those par- come along with that, and you know ticipating in stickball. him supposedly discovering America, Kenzie Burkett, the head of social which is not true after you further remedia and communications for the search it,” Wapskineh said. “I feel that Center of Sovereign Nations, passed celebrating Indigenous people were the out pamphlets with resources and ways first Americans or the first people here for students to get involved. in America. I feel that is a really special “We are just really trying to educate moment to celebrate.” people here on campus,” Burkett said. Indigenous Peoples’ Day was officialIndigenous Peoples’ Day was introly recognized by South Dakota in 1989 duced in 1977 to replace Columbus and then again by the City of Berkeley, Day, a federal holiday celebrating California, in 1992. Christopher Columbus’ discovery of
Bryson Thadhani
See INDIGENOUS on page 5A Students playing stickball and enjoyeing snow cones Monday to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day.