Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022
EVENTS UCO’s 2SLGBTQIA+ association chooses ‘Stranger Things’ theme for its equity gala. Pg. 6
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022
Volume 120, Issue 7
VISTA The
“OUR WORDS, YOUR VOICE.”
Plantiffs speak out
Women athletes claim unequal opportunities source for investigation
‘Divergent’ author visits campus for new release The Vista talks to Veronica Roth about her new novel ‘Poster Girl,’ life and advice to college students Ainsley Martinez Editor-in-Chief
Track athlete Tatum Robertson said a lack of resources for women’s athletics is why she decided to become a plaintiff for the Title IX. (Provided)
Jocelyn Schifferdecker Contributing Writer
Plaintiffs involved in the Title IX lawsuit against the University of Central Oklahoma are currently facing for sex discrimination and retaliation in its athletics programs say the university’s treatment of their team makes them feel as it they are not wanted. “We don’t even have a space for our team on campus, so when you come there you may not even know we have a track team,” said one of the plaintiffs, Tatum Robertson. There is no designated area on campus for the sole use of the women’s track and cross country team. The team practices at a local
middle school off campus, in the upper level of the Hamilton Field House, and in the parking lot behind the sports performance building. The track and cross country teams share these spaces with other athletic groups and constantly feel like they are being displaced, said Robertson, a junior from Cashion. “It’s kind of this overarching feeling of being unwanted — that you’re just constantly in somebody else’s way and you shouldn’t be there,” said fellow plaintiff Eve Brennan, a junior from Edmond. According to Brennan and Robertson. the problem goes farther than not having a space for Continued from Pg. 3
Volume 119, Issue 19
New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth will discuss her latest novel “Poster Girl” at a book signing event at 3 p.m. Oct. 30 hosted by the UCO College of Liberal Arts creative writing program and Best of Books bookstore. Best known as the author of the “Divergent” series, Roth will answer questions from attendees, and sharwe her thoughts about the newly released book, which involves similar dystopian elements readers are familiar with. But in the latest dystopian landscape Roth creates, the failure of an oppressive regime shines light on the faults of the community. “Poster Girl” centers around the question
‘What would happen if the government collapsed?’ as it follows a woman’s relentless pur-
how she might deal with the aftermath of that.” Roth said she found exploring the
Author Veronica Roth will visit UCO on Oct. 30. (Provided)
suit of a missing child after a state collapse. “I had this kind of post-dystopian regime concept in mind, but I couldn’t really figure out what kind of story to tell in that world,” Roth said. “It came together when I thought about this character who had been formerly complicit in that regime, and
perspective of someone guilty more exciting than telling the narrative of someone undeniably innocent. “What’s appealing about dystopia, specifically to me, is how it allows you to explore something through exaggeration. Continued on Pg. 3
Group questions whether UCO violated HB 1775 Quinn Daughtery Reporter
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) says its attorneys are working to determine whether UCO violated HB 1775 during its 9th Annual Fusion Conference. Dr. Felicia Blow delivered the keynote address virtually at the conference titled “Media Unmasked: The Changing Face of Communication.” Dr. Blow, the associate vice president for Development at Hampton University and chair of the Public Relations Society of America, discussed diversity and inclusion in higher education during her address titled, “A Conversation on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & PRSA.” “I have a few slides that I’m going to go through about diversity, about communications, about equity and inclusion,” Dr. Blow opened. “I’m going to talk to you about my personal DEI journey, my work with PRSA and then thoughts for the future.” The OCPA is a “trusted source for fact-based public policy analysis,” according to its website. The OCPA’s mission statement is “to promote the flourishing of the people of Oklahoma by advancing principles and policies that support free enterprise, limited government, individual initiative, and personal responsibility.” In a staff article titled “UCO Hosts DEI Indoctrination’’ the council said Dr. Blow’s address potentially violated HB 1775. The article also mentions “OCPA attorneys are conducting further research to determine whether UCO’s program violated state law.” “That the keynote speaker at the conference is a proud adherent of CRT,” Trent England, OCPA’s media contact said in an email. ”Suggests that the content of the conference may have violated the law.” Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Adrienne Nobles said in an email the University does not believe its actions violated state law. “The university does not believe the conference or any individual session during the conference was contrary to state law,”
she said in the email. Additionally, OCPA claims students were required to attend the conference. According to organizers, the conference was scheduled at a time when classes were not in session, and students were encouraged but not required to attend. “The UCO Department of Mass Communication redirected classes in its department to encourage students to attend conference sessions,” Adrienne Nobles, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs said in an email. “Students could choose among many sessions and were not required to attend any particular session… No classes were redirected or canceled for this particular session and no student was
“HB 1775 is a direct affront to the constitutional rights of teachers and students across Oklahoma by restricting conversations around race and gender at all levels of education.” Megan Lambert required to attend.” Trent England said whether the University broke the law hinges on one question. “Whether it presented stereotypes or bias is the question, but if it did, then UCO broke the law,” England said in the email. He said in the email that the OCPA is gathering more information about the conference and that if proof is found that the law was broken, they will bring that material to the attention of the Oklahoma Attorney General. “We will do whatever we can to see this law enforced,” he said in the email. HB 1775 was passed in May of last year and prohibits students in certain institutions from being required to engage in
certain forms of training or counseling related to sexuality, gender, or race. The state Board of Education approved permanent rules regarding the bill on March 10, 2022. The rules found in Subchapter 1 of Chapter 10 in Title 210 state that, “It shall be the policy of Oklahoma State Board of Education to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race or sex in the form of bias, stereotyping, scapegoating, classification, or the categorical assignment of traits, morals, values, or characteristics based solely on race or sex. Public schools in this state shall be prohibited from engagin in race of sexbased discrimintaory acts by utilizing these methods, which result in treating individuals differently on the basis of race or sex or the creation of a hostil environment.” Megan Lambert, the legal director for ACLU of Oklahoma said in a 2021 statement the bill negatively affects the quality of public education in the state. “HB 1775 is a direct affront to the constitutional rights of teachers and students across Oklahoma by restricting conversations around race and gender at all levels of education,” Lambert said in the statement. Trent England says he believes the bill protects students from discriminatory programs being presented by state schools. “HB 1775 is positively affecting education policy as it reminds us all that our nation is founded on the idea that all people are created equal, with equal dignity and equal natural rights,” England said in an email. “That vision, that truth, is worth fighting for even as we acknowledge that our nation has failed many times to live up to it.” In October of last year, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma (ACLU), the Oklahoma State Conference National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the American Indian Movement Indian Territory (AIM) sued the state in district court over HB 1775. The organizations say the bill sends Oklahoma public education in Continued on Pg. 3