Friday, April 3, 2026
Student volunteers bring Into the Streets to Payne County Aubrey Terry
STAFF REPORTER
About 2,800 OSU students fanned out across Payne County on Sunday for the university’s annual Into the Streets community service initiative. Volunteers hit 282 jobsites in Stillwater, Perkins and Perry, cleaning yards, landscaping and helping elderly residents with tasks they struggle to manage on their own. The event kicked off at noon outside the Wes Watkins Center with a complimentary lunch and free merchandise before groups dispersed to their designated locations. After hours of work, volunteers returned to Wes Watkins for dinner. Residents who applied to host a jobsite received yard signs to help volunteers find them. Charla Branstetter, a recipient of the day’s efforts, said the program fills a gap for her neighborhood, where most residents are elderly. “The reason [I applied for Into the Streets] is because my back hurts,” Branstetter said. “I would say the majority of the people out here don’t have people that can come and help them. You know, make their little area nice, so it’s very important.” Recipients often worked alongside their volunteers, providing tools, snacks and company. Regina Halihan, Branstetter’s neighbor, has applied for Into the Streets for 10 years and uses the extra hands to tend her garden each spring.
See VOLUNTEERS on page 6A
Show up
Members from the community walked in the “No Kings” march.
Andon Freitas, The O’Colly
Stillwater protestors march under one message BY BRYSON THADHANI
O
n Saturday morning, Tori Grey did what she has done since 2017: She showed up. Grey, a Stillwater community organizer, arrived at Strickland Park with a sign, a plan and a group chat full of neighbors willing to follow her lead.
I
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
By the time the march ended at Block 34, the “No Kings” protest in Stillwater had drawn a crowd of costumed demonstrators, faith leaders, local officials and first-time protesters who found out about the event in places ranging from Facebook to a Pokémon Go group chat.
“When you see people taking a stand, it changes our internal risk assessment,” Grey said. “It changes whether or not we are going to take a risk, standing up, or maybe protecting someone who’s being threatened.”
See MARCH on page 3A
Courtesy OSU
Into the Streets selects homes, agencies or school districts for students to help clean up.
OSU’s incoming SGA president, vice president violated campaign laws Bryson Thadhani
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Baylor Haynes and Braden Hamilton won the Student Government Association spring election as president and vice president. The roles include oversight of student activity fee allocation, representation on university-wide committees and direct advocacy to OSU administration on behalf of the student body. After the votes were cast, the SGA Supreme Court found Haynes/ Hamilton violated Title X Section 4.4.3 by failing to submit their campaign staff list by the required 5 p.m. deadline and violated Title X Section 4.2.3 by submitting an incomplete campaign budget that did not include itemized funding sources. On the deadline question, the court rejected the argument that a 24-hour provision in Title X Section 4.4.3 served as an alternative grace period. The court ruled the 24-hour provision applies only when materials are specifically requested by a governing body, not as a substitute for the standard 5 p.m. submission deadline. To interpret otherwise, the court wrote, “would render the 5 p.m. deadline meaningless and undermine the uniform administration of election procedures.” Baylor Haynes (right) has been elected as the Fall 2026 SGA president.
Payton Little, The O’Colly
See VIOLATIONS on page 2A