Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023
MEDIA Honoring singer and songwriter Neil Diamond. Pg. 6
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022
Volume 120, Issue 17
VISTA The
“OUR WORDS, YOUR VOICE.”
Volume 119, Issue 19
Sweating taxes?
Get assistance on filing taxes through UCO College of Business Kaleb Gonzalez Contributing Writer
Demonstrators protest anti-abortion bills in the state. (CNN/ Provided)
Oklahoma’s abortion ban exceptions bills advance Quinn Daugherty Reporter
Republican lawmakers advanced two bills that seek to introduce exceptions and establish uniformity and clarity to Oklahoma’s near-total abortion ban. Shortly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law the nation’s strictest abortion ban, effectively outlawing any medical procedures that terminate pregnancy. The controversial legislation allows for abortions only under lifesaving circumstances, or if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest that has been reported to law enforcement. Senate Bill 368 and 834 were advanced on Feb 9 during a meeting of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. State Senators Jessica Garvin, R-Duncan, and Julie Daniels, R-Bartlesville authored bills 368 and 834, respectively. Sen. Daniels’ bill expands exceptions for medical procedures that terminate pregnancies. If passed,
medical treatments like the prescription and use of contraception, in vitro fertilization, removal of an ectopic pregnancy, and procedures after a miscarriage would no longer be considered an illegal abortion. Garvin’s bill seeks to clarify the current law’s requirement that, in order for a woman to legally terminate a pregnancy that is the result of rape or incest, it must be reported to the law. Sen. Garvin’s bill, like Sen. Daniels’, also states that Oklahoma’s “pro-life” laws should not prohibit the use of contraceptive drugs or surgeries. Gov. Stitt said during his gubernatorial debate with Democratic candidate Joy Hofmeister that he would sign legislation containing exceptions for rape or incest or for women who are pregnant and entering rehabilitation for a chemical addiction if it reached his desk. Stitt had previously indicated that Continued from Pg. 3
UCO accounting students are providing free income tax assistance to students, faculty, and the public until April 8 in the College of Business building through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The VITA program, sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service, offers free basic tax return preparation and e-filing to assist low-income individuals. The program is open 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays in Room 107 in the College of Business. All services are provided on a first come, first served basis. The program’s staff consists of UCO accounting students. Students are required to complete the federal income tax class and pass three IRS tests to be certified to prepare taxes.
“Some of the tests were brutal, and it did prepare us, but I think most of the learning is done on the job,” said accounting student Clark Stevens. The taxpayer will need to bring all tax documents, including W-2 and 1099 forms, charitable contributions, a photo ID, and a Social Security card. International students will also need to bring passports, visas, and any 1042-S forms received from 2022 employers. After receiving the necessary documents, UCO Accounting Instructor Riley Shaull said that the program has quality checks to ensure that there are no mistakes in the process. “Once we have all the documents, a student will prepare the return. Another student quality checks to make sure that they’ve heard everything correctly because it’s easy to transfer those numbers wrong. Once the student has
quality-checked it, then a professor, such as myself, will check it one last time before it is printed, and we go over it with the taxpayer,” Shaull said. Stevens said that it is worth signing up for the VITA program instead of filing through other services, like TurboTax, because it is free, and it benefits the taxpayer and the accounting students. “The more time that I’ve been here, the more I’ve realized that with whatever kind of return we get, our professors will be able to help anyone understand how that tax return needs to get done, which parts we need to make sure we hit, and what we want to ask for,” Stevens said. The volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will be closed March 13-17 for Spring Break. For more information, visit blogs.uco.edu/ vita or contact Riley Shaull at rshaull@ uco.edu.
New brand personality for UCO with Carnegie colors Sam Royka Managing Editor
ty and how you should live into that in terms of branding,” he said. The fall workshops attracted 465 internal in-person participants and 1505 external online participants. “Carnegie has curated and refined nine archetypes or personalities that institutions and, really, people tend to have in their personality. And so
The first, yellow and blue, match up with Broncho colors bronze and blue. However, this was just a coincidence! UCO Vice President for Communica“It was just pure chance. In fact, I saw it and I tions and Public Affairs Adrienne Nobles and was like that’s literally their school colors,” EmDave Emerson, a strategist from higher education erson said. “We were excited that those were the marketing company Carnegie, introduced UCO’s school colors. But yeah, there was no correlation.” new brand personality in Constitution Hall last Yellow and blue values were combined to Tuesday. form the phrase “accomplished innovaThe new branding was develtor.” oped through workshops held at “Your yellow blue storyline, our UCO in Fall 2022. The new perinnovative collaboration, inspires sonality seeks to increase enrollstudents to lead the way forward in ment by increasing familiarity in Oklahoma and beyond,” he said. the surrounding area as a possible The handout explained those two in solution to the budget crisis. these words: “Intelligent and influential, They seek to do this by giving driven by inventing the future through UCO a new face. innovation. Delivers ingenuity, pride, “Carnegie is passionate about and strength. Values accomplishment, the science of human connections. experimentation, and progress. Causes As human beings, we tend to hupeople to feel confident and inspired.” manize things that we come into Purple and orange were the other two contact with. Institutions are no colors included for UCO’s new persondifferent,” Emerson said. ality. “In fact, most institutions Purple was summarized by “welhave some sort of personality coming supporter.” that they portray. When you The handout explained more in think about Nike, they portray depth about what that meant. that personality of being really “Supportive and selfless, driven by resilient, being really determined, compassion, warmth, and the desire being a champion,” Emersons to care for others. Delivers nurturing, said. “Higher Ed, they don’t tend comfort, and protection. Values altruDave Emerson uses this chart to speak about different color profiles and which to live in a personality. In fact, there ones UCO should match. (Provided) ism, commitment, and generosity. Causes is a lot of what we call, and I get into people to feel valued and supported,” it this, beige personality, where they’re all telling the these are the nine different archetypes that we’ve read. same stories. They’re all factual and a lot of just Orange was summed up into “imaginative creassociated into a name but also a color so I’ll the same types of things. ator.” briefly go over these just to give you an idea at “Nobody’s differentiating themselves into what “Creative and imaginative, driven by self-exCarnegie we love to speak in colors,” Emerson. their personality actually is as an institution. And pression and artistry. Delivers something new This graphic, tweeted by Carnegie HQ, is a so what we do at Carnegie is we help institutions that encourages creativity. Values originality, simplified version of the one Emerson brought to ideation, and new concepts. Causes people to feel understand what is your personality, what are explain the different color-trait associations. your traits, what are your faults? What is your constructive and expressive,” the handout said. UCO’s new direction is broken up into three difreason for being, why do you exist? And then UCO will put the new marketing into place over ultimately, this helps you define your personaliferent focus areas based on these colors. the next semester.