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Friday, December 11, 2020

Orange Christmas small businesses in stillwater adjust to holiday season amid covid

File Photo

For Pete’s Sake on Saturday, April 4, 2020 in Stillwater.

Adam Engel Sharon Sample is a people person. Sample, manager of For Pete’s Sake, an

Oklahoma State apparel store, has missed her customers. In a year filled with uncertainty and the coronavirus, the holiday shopping season has been anything but normal. As an OSU gear shop, Sample said the majority of her business is from gamedays. With the limited capacity at

OSU sporting events, sales are not easy. “In a normal year, we are done with most of our Christmas sales by the end of the season,” Sample said. There is nobody in town now. It’s even tougher with basketball because the games are at later times and the crowd limits are

smaller.” As Christmas nears, Sample said December business has been kind but “November was horrible.” In a time of the year where gratitude is key and joy is widespread, support from her customers has been beneficial. “I have thanked every single customer that has been in,” she said. “I’ve been careful because I’m old, but it’s been really hard not to hug. I’ve cried several times because I am just so grateful. I think we live in a pretty great place.” The holiday spirit isn’t enclosed with the doors of For Pete’s Sake. “Personally, I’m only doing my holiday shopping here in Stillwater,” Sample said. “I know personally three doctors that are just

shopping local.” In fact, according to a Visa study, 60% of Americans will do the majority of their holiday shopping locally this year. Sample also knows that this is a community effort and she has been helping out fellow small businesses for years. “If I know another store has an item that we don’t, I will send them there.” For Pete’s Sake is also offering a discount drawing. “We have a drawing ongoing, customers have a chance to get anywhere from 20 to 50% off their purchase. In addition to the drawing, Sample is continuing a years-long tradition. See Orange on pg. 2

Putting the ‘Still’ in Stillwater Stillwater experiencing temporary population dip during COVID winter By Amelia Jauregui In response to the on-going pandemic, Oklahoma State, along with many other universities, decided to forgo the last few weeks of in person classes and move them entirely online. With online being the only option, there was little need for students to return to campus after the week of Thanksgiving, leaving Stillwater as more of a ghost town than in years past. Students are rarely walking around campus, dorms feel vacant, and the regular activities that would normally be put on by different student organizations are no more. For freshman Molly Humes, being on campus during this time has been strange. “I go back and forth between whether or not I enjoy campus being bare,” Humes said. “On one hand, it’s really fun to just be here with a couple of my friends and see Stillwater when it’s in its ‘natural state’, but I also miss the buzz of people coming for football games, seeing students walking to classes, and just enjoying the events that OSU puts on.” However, the students that are here are being brought together by a few things: basketball games and finals stress. “I went to one of the basketball games earlier last week and the stadium was pretty full compared to what I imagined it to be,” Humes said. “So although I thought Stillwater was pretty empty right now, the students here still want to be involved in the few things going on.”

File Photo The Oklahoma State University campus and surrounding areas are experiencing a temporary population dip due to students leaving amid COVID-19 break.

As for final stress, the students still here are filling up the coffee shops for study dates and mental lapses, pushing through to the final stretch of this semester. “I have spent more money on coffee than I’d like to admit, but it motivates me to get my work done and actually prepare well for my exams,” freshman Steffie Moss said. “Plus, it’s been cool to see them so full with students in the same situation as me, who are all just as stressed and exhausted.”

As for Australian international student, Heidi Demeo, this is her first time experiencing the “still” in Stillwater. “I’ve never witnessed Stillwater without the endless stream of students walking around campus and crowding coffee shops around town,” Demeo said. “At first it was so strange, but it’s beginning to really grow on me. I’m loving having my pick of study spots in the library and the endless choices of tables to sit at cafes.”

As for any college town, there’s pros and cons to having all students on campus versus when it’s time for a break. “As much as I am enjoying the change in pace with less people around town, I have to admit, I much prefer the hustle and bustle when school is on per usual,” Demeo said. “However, I do feel as if I’m beginning to get to know the locals of Stillwater which is definitely a plus!” news.ed@ocolly.com

Page 2 Friday, December 11, 2020

News

Put to the test osu students adjust to online final exams

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Students have had to adjust to Zoom classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Samantha Sanchez As the year comes to a close, Oklahoma State University is switching to full online learning for finals week, presenting students with yet another challenge: virtual finals. It is known that stress is almost tangible during finals week, and the virtual component testing this year has added more pressure for some OSU students. “I’m worried that maybe I didn’t get enough preparation

because not having in-person time to talk to my professors last week,” Alexis Maynard, a strategic communications junior, said. While some may think that taking virtual finals can’t be that much different from taking them in person, there are some crucial limitations that come with taking online exams that concern students more than usual. “I am used to sitting in a classroom and if I have any questions or anything like that I

could talk to the professor and ask them things like that and usually with most of the virtual finals that I have we can’t do that. Is more of just answering questions and turning them in,” Logan Bone, psychology junior, said. The additional tension has become so great for some that it has impacted their mental health. “I felt very cooped up in my house, just kind of going crazy. Just staring at the computer 24/7 is mentally drain-

ing,” Kamryn Bene, animal science junior, said. Students have dealt with the pandemic and new accommodations for the entire semester, allowing a number of them to take finals week somewhat more lightly. “All of our finals were virtual last semester so I’m pretty much used to it at this point. It didn’t feel quite as real taking it,” Elizabeth Thomas, history junior, said. Despite all the difficulties that might

arise, some OSU professors have made efforts to make the process of taking virtual finals as smooth sailing as possible. “Most of them are trying to be as helpful as possible. They are answering as many questions as they can. A lot of them are posting study guides and things like that. I am grateful that they are being helpful as much as they can, so I am not displeased with that,” Bone said. news.ed@ocolly.com

Orange customers. This year, saying thank you and make a huge “If the difference.” customers see While something they Sample’s store like, they can relies on OSU get a discount athletics, The even if it’s not Barn Wine, on sale,” Sample Beer and Spirsaid. “It’s just a its store is not File photo thank you to our normally busy Continued from pg. 1

The Barn and other businesses have adjusted to COVID Christmas shopping.

around this time of year. “Our customer base is comprised mostly of students, professors and university support staff so we aren’t super busy during this time of year with win-

ter break,” The Barn manager Travis Smith said. “We do sell a lot of gift sets and gift cards though,” Smith said.

news.ed@ocolly.com

GOOD MONEY

ACTIVE FAITH! (Part #2) “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” (Heb.11: NIV) These Ancients of the Bible were commended for their faith. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” (Gen.6:9 NIV) He believed God existed and God rewarded those who diligently sought him. His faith brought immediate action. (Heb.11:8) He did not put the building of the ark on a long “to do” list. It took 100 years to build. During that time he constantly spoke of the judgement that was coming. (2 Pet.2:5) This was the situation in Noah’s day. How about our day? Do we believe God exists? To so many, God is something of the past; one you give an hour or so every Sunday morning, because of tradition, but he does not truly count

for much in life. So this moves us to turn to things that have only temporary pleasure, and build our life activities around them. Noah and others mentioned in Heb. 11, were looking for something lasting, something God had promised. They realized they were strangers and pilgrims; living here for a short time. They were living for something better. (Heb.11:13-16) It is so worthwhile to read and reread the New Testament and consider what was the hope of the early Christian leaders; they passed on to all the believers. It was not centered in this present life. They were “running a race;” living a life centered in the example of Jesus himself, and in those who walked with him during his earthly life. We can do the same; live for the eternal, present ourselves to Christ, and let him use us to bear lasting fruit.

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A GREAT CAUSE

cowboys offensive line shows continued improvement Chris Becker Coming into the final regular season game for Oklahoma State, Ry Schneider is the only OSU offensive lineman to still be at the position he started the season at. Schneider has not missed a game while starting at center for the Cowboys. Josh Sills is the only other offensive lineman that started against Tulsa to not miss a game. However Schneider is the only one to remain at his original position throughout the season. “Ry’s a guy that needs to donate his body to science next year,” coach Mike Gundy said. Chuba Hubbard is pushed into the end zone by the rest of the offensive line.

Logan Biggins

See Finding on pg. 4

‘Next man up’

the mentality that has motivated an osu team dizzied by injuries this season

Dean Ruhl Preston Wilson kept it simple. “We just have that next man up mentality.” With a veteran team returning this season for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, it was shaping up to be a unique season. But it has since taken a detour, in large part due to injuries, and no group has been more wounded than

Wilson’s, the offensive line. Since offensive linemen Cole Birmingham and Hunter Anthony suffered injuries before halftime of the season opener against Tulsa, the team has been playing catch up, which has created an evolving game of, as Mike Gundy describes it, “musical chairs” for the O-Line. “Everybody had to learn and study different positions,” Wilson said. “We had to play things we weren’t used to in order to get the job done.” Last Saturday’s loss against TCU added more names to the list of injuries, with Biletnikoff

Award semifinalist Tylan Wallace, safety Tre Sterling, and cornerback Rodarius Williams all exiting the game at some point. These names only added to the pile of a quickly growing list of players who’ve worn sweats on the sidelines during gameday, with Spencer Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, L.D. Brown and Kolby Harvell-Peel all missing multiple games due to injuries. “I don’t think we’re the same team we were when we started the first game,” Gundy said. “We’re playing with three freshman on the offensive

OSU has had to adjust to many injury issues this season.

line and we’re down six the team has still been starters on offense.” able to field a competitive Despite the everteam. growing list of injuries for the Cowboys this season, See Next on pg. 4

Page 4 Friday, December 11, 2020

sports Finding Continued from pg. 3

Next Continued from pg. 3 A lot of this is thanks to the team’s “next man up” mentality. “I would say it’s unfortunate, but in football it happens,” Jelani Woods said. “You just try to have to move on and just find a positive out of it. We found things that we didn’t know people could do.” Woods used offensive lineman Josh Sills as his example, and praised his ability to move around to different positions on the offensive line as someone who has been able to face the adversity that injuries have created. Riddled with injuries, the offensive line that has started to click over the past two games, playing a vital role in thirdstring running back Dezmon Jackson to pound away for 235 and 118 yards in the absence of Hubbard and Brown. “Everyone is trying to hold each other to a higher standard,” Wilson said. “Don’t be satisfied with being average.”

“He struggles through practices and stuff, but he loves to play football, he loves to compete, he loves his teammates, he loves Oklahoma State, and there’s a lot to be said about him and what he’s been able to do.” Gundy and offensive line coach Charlie Dickey had to rely on young players who hadn’t played snaps at the college level to protect the backfield. Preston Wilson was one of those

young players thrown into the fire after injuries in front of him. Wilson started No. 3 on the depth chart, but quickly moved up to the top and had to make an impact. “It’s just been a crazy year in general having to deal with coronavirus, for sure, then having to deal with injuries,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to be ready for anything and that’s really what coaches told us in the beginning of the season. Everybody’s got to be ready. When things happened we just had that next-man-up mentality, get your butt in there

and be ready to play.” With the lack of depth at the position group other positions have had to step up and switch up their game plan. The Oklahoma State Cowboy back group has been a help in pass and run blocking as the offensive line fell to injuries. “I would just say us as the Cowboy Backs, just being put in those spots helps the offense in developing plays,” Jelani Woods said. “Putting us in multiple positions can help limit the things that defenses do, which will help give the offense

an advantage.” In the midst of the season, the offensive line struggled to find its footing and recover from the injuries. In the first seven games of the season, Cowboy quarterbacks ended on their backs 21 times. “When they first went in there, you guys can go back and look, like four games ago, whoever we played, it was a sack-a-thon, right?” Gundy said. Since being run through by the Oklahoma defensive line allowing four sacks and many more pressures the line has

given up only one sack in the previous two games. “They’re getting better,” Gundy said. “Myself, coach [Charlie] Dickey — Spencer Sanders has been awesome, [Shane] Illingworth’s been awesome with them. The running backs have been awesome. I’m excited about what they’re bringing to the table, but I’m also realistic that we can’t just all the sudden make those guys that are going to all the sudden compete at a high level right now.”

Sports.ed@ocolly.com

Sports.ed@ocolly.com The OSU offensive line has faced many injuries this season.

Sharon Ellman

sports

OSU athletics

Trevor Mastrogiovanni came to OSU thanks to persuasion from his fellow teammates.

Jersey Sures

young osu wrestlers bonded back east By Adam Engel

Persuasion from old friends changed Trevor Mastrogiovanni’s life. Mastrogiovanni was nearing a verbal commitment to an Ivy League school when Oklahoma State freshmen Dustin Plott and Konner Doucet encouraged their former middle school teammate to visit OSU. Conflict, however, plagued Mastrogiovanni’s mind. A New Jersey native, Mastrogiovanni wasn’t fond of departing the lush, forested landscape of northwestern Jersey for the flat great plains of north central Oklahoma. Yet, he eventually succumbed to peer pressure and joined his former teammates on the visit. And then he joined them as Cowboys. Before two Oklahomans and a New Jerseyan joined forces in Stillwater, the relationship traced back to the Mastrogiovanni household in Sparta, N.J.

“

schooled so they stayed at my house often. “Plott and Doucet are like family to me.” Before AJ Ferrari moved from New Jersey to Allen, Texas and became the No. 1 overall national recruit according to FloWrestling, and before Ferrari and Mastrogiovanni were teammates at Blair Academy, a middle-school aged Mastrogiovanni was wrestling with Ferrari in duals across the country. But how did Plott and Doucet, two Oklahomans, become involved with the wrestling activities of a New Jersey based team? “In middle school, there are a lot of national dual teams that meet up in different cities and wrestle,” Plott said. “We were together on the Buxton Red Beards which was the best team at the time. We spent weekends together at different places, so naturally, we became close.” Cowboy coach John Smith didn’t coincidentally sign a group of friends within the 2020 class, it was a calculated move.

felt like he had to accept. “Not only did I see that these guys are willing to sacrifice everything for wrestling and education, but I had to follow them,” Mastrogiovanni said. “If I want to be the best, I have to follow.” As for Plott and Doucet, Mastrogiovanni owes a bit of gratitude towards them. “If it wasn’t for those guys, I wouldn’t have met coach Smith, coach Perry, Tyler Caldwell and now I love those guys,” Mastrogiovanni said. “None of this would’ve happened if those guys didn’t call me and say, ‘Get your butt over here.’” Despite earning high school All-American honors three times, Mastrogiovanni’s arrival in a college wrestling room was accompanied by a feeling of shock. Mastrogiovanni credits 2019 NCAA runner-up and Olympic hopeful Daton Fix for making him a more mature wrestler. “I’ve always wrestled with technique, but I have to be tough,” he

Doucet, Plott, AJ Ferrari and I have been hanging out since sixth grade, Mastrogiovanna said. “All of us want to go win individual and national titles under coach smith

“

“Doucet, Plott, AJ Ferrari and I have been hanging out since sixth grade,” Mastrogiovanni said. “All of us want to go win individual and national titles under coach Smith.” Summers back home were full of activity for the aspiring collegiate wrestlers. “Plott and Doucet practically lived at my house in the summer,” Mastrogiovanni said. “All of us were home-

Smith, a wrestling legend in his own right, was able to easily notice a special bond between the highly touted freshmen. “You find that some student-athletes have a real level of drive to be successful and it rubs off on you,” Smith said. “These guys bonded because they are all similar.” In retrospect, visiting OSU was an opportunity Mastrogiovanni

said. “Fix beats me up for two hours during practice if I just sit there and be a wimp. I have to fight and battle through things.” Assistant coach Zach Esposito, a Blair Academy product, has also contributed to the freshman’s growth. “When I mess up in practice, I call him (Esposito) and talk it out rather than just going home and being pissed about it,” Mas-

File Photo John Smith is optimistic about the future of his program.

trogiovanni said. “ He’s able to recommend film to watch. I was never a big film guy. I just wrestled my way for 15 years so why not do it at OSU? He’s showed me that I need to watch film when I’m wrestling the best of the best.” While Mastrogiovanni faced a dilemma with OSU, Plott, a Tuttle native, had an easy choice to make. “Growing up in Oklahoma, I really love Oklahoma,” Plott said. “There’s no place I’d rather be. I was given the opportunity to wrestle at a program that is historically the most successful out of all other D-1 sport in my home state. It would’ve been stupid not to come here.” With many championship teams in the past, the Cowboy wrestling program is one of the more successful in the country. After all, the program has produced a nation-leading 34 NCAA team titles. This is mixed in with an unordinary freshmen class. What may be considered blasphemous goals and expectations elsewhere is the norm in Stillwater. Nine consecutive Big 12 titles have been claimed by the Cowboys, but a team national title is a void hoping to be filled. “Most of us in this

freshmen class have the same goal of becoming four-time national champions,” Plott said. Mastrogiovanni and Co. have chased their wrestling dreams all their lives and converging upon one of the meccas of college wrestling is just the beginning. Although Smith brought in a coveted 2020 freshmen class, the next generation of legendary Cowboys is just beginning. “This freshmen class is legit. It’s loaded all around,” redshirt sophomore and 2020 Big 12 champion Travis Wittlake said. “They will be ready quick. Things are looking good for that class. We have a really solid next couple years coming up.” In fact, Mastrogiovanni will be joined by his younger brother Travis next year in a highly touted 2021 class. In a sport where community creates a tight-knit relationship, Smith has already continued the Ferrari legacy with the verbal commitment of Anthony Ferrari a junior at Stillwater High School. Jordan Williams, a junior at nearby Collinsville High has also vowed to become a Cowboy upon graduation in 2020. Sports.ed@ocolly.com

Page 6 Friday, December 12, 2020

sports

Life without Wallace OSU prepares for a game without its star receiver By Ryan Breeden It’s no secret at this point that receiver Tylan Wallace is an important part of the Cowboy offense. But, his importance goes deeper than some may think. Many see the amazing catches 40 yards downfield and the devastating blocks he delivers on the perimeter, but when he is not on the field, life is much harder for the offense, especially in terms of opposing defensive strategy. “You take a player that’s a potential early-round NFL Draft pick and take him out, the defense doesn’t have to be aware of where he’s at,” coach Mike Gundy said. “If you go back and study, you’ll see [TCU] played a corner underneath him and a safety over the top of him. Well that’s one less player to defend the run. If he’s not in, they feel like they’re equal, and that gives them one more player to defend the run.” When Wallace left the game Saturday after a touchdown catch late in the third quarter, that’s exactly what TCU did. The addition of an extra man in the box completely shut down the OSU rushing attack, and the Cowboys didn’t score again. With the run game taken away, the best thing that the offense could attempt was spreading the ball around to its other receivers. That was a difficult task though, given the fact that TCU had an extra man in the box to blitz. “It kinda does help if he is doubled, and if he is out of

the game then somebody will come into the box,” cowboy back Jelani Woods said. “It stops the running game, but the passing game will probably be more open. It goes both ways.” It’s important that OSU learns how to play without Wallace sooner rather than later with him only having two games left to play as a Cowboy. It seems like OSU has had a star receiver on the roster pretty much at all times since Dez Bryant in 2009. They seem to come one after another, and for Cowboy fans that are curious about who the next one will be, Gundy feels that the answer to that question isn’t always obvious to the public. “Tylan played a year here behind James Washington and nobody knew who he was,” Gundy said. “James Washington played a little bit as a freshman, and he was behind some guys. Justin Blackmon redshirted, and he was on the scout team for a year.” In this specific case, the answer isn’t obvious to the fanbase. Whether it’s obvious within the program is yet to be seen, but declaring someone worthy of such praise isn’t something that Gundy likes to do before it happens. “That’s a really good question, but I hate to throw a guy out there and put them in that category cause you’re talking about a bit-time elite category,” Gundy said. “I don’t wanna put that much pressure on those guys.” Sports.ed@ocolly.com

Sharon Ellman The OSU Cowboys are preparing for life without Tylan Wallace and the impact that could have on the team.

FOR RELEASE DECEMBER 11, 2020

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis ACROSS 1 Draft sources 5 Arabic for “commander” 9 Parts of a code 13 Pelvic parts 14 __ tag 15 Candied, as apples 17 Annual assembly of breakfast lovers? 19 Wee Scot 20 Visibly upset 21 Exhaust, as a welcome 23 Sci. course 24 Words with waves 25 __ Sutra 26 Draft pick 29 “No problem!” 31 Playing a fifth qtr., say 32 Langston Hughes Library designer Maya 33 Melted cheese concoction 36 G, in the key of C 37 Bathroom fixture trial version? 39 9 to 5, say: Abbr. 40 Like the Inca 42 Electric __ 43 Marshy spots 44 Former flier with a NY/Newark/DC/ Boston shuttle 46 Prairie home 47 Tirade 49 Plural French pronoun 50 Get 51 Real asset ... or no asset at all? 53 Repeat 57 Keys 58 Educators’ concerns ... or, a phonetic hint to how four long puzzle answers were derived 60 Gruff 61 Together, so to speak 62 Smell __ 63 Napping, perhaps 64 Natural gas additive 65 Sit

12/11/20

By Jonathan Potter

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12/11/20 Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit sudoku.org.uk

Page 8 Friday, December 11, 2020