Kevin's News Blog

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[knbou]

PREACHER CAUSES CONTROVERSY ON OU CAMPUS

  VIDEO: Kevin McPherson, Runtime 1:59

  A large crowd of students gathered around a Gospel proclaiming preacher on OU’s campus, when insulting claims were made toward students in sororities and fraternities in the name of religion. 

The preacher, Gary Bowman, started to become most insulting to students when he let out slurs against people in Greek life, calling sorority houses “whore houses” and calling fraternities “fraterna-brothels.” These remarks were met mostly by scoffs and laughs, but others felt too insulted to laugh.

Bowman has been seen on campus for many years, and often gathers an audience of students who want to defend themselves. He is so common on campus that some people have given him the nickname, “Preacher Bob,” or even “Moses.”  

Even Christian students are offended by Bowman’s words. “The difference of what he’s preaching and what’s in the Bible is love,” Sean Lassiter explains. Lassiter believes that Bowman’s preaching reinforces a false stereotype about Christians that portray them as hateful people. “If the message is delivered through hate and anger, it’s not how Jesus said to reach people.”

In response to some racial slurs, one student approached the crowd from behind as Bowman continued to preach. The student announced that he was starting a petition to call for the removal of Bowman from the campus. Upon announcing the petition, students gathered to sign, passing the paper around, quickly gaining signatures. Whether the petition has been effective has yet to be seen.

Bowman believes that his efforts bring about the revelation of gospel to students. “This could be the last sermon that people hear.” He said, “Eternity is too long to be wrong.”

Bowman has been seen on college campuses as early as 2004, bringing about similar messages even then. That year, he also won a lawsuit for violation of his first amendment rights in the amount of $60,000 against the state of Tulsa for claiming that police threatened to arrest him for using a children’s karaoke machine to broadcast his anti-abortion views.

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OKC BAND MOVES INTO OU FOR FRESHMAN YEAR

VIDEO: Kevin McPherson, Runtime 3:56

This year, members of the band Cosmostanza moved into the OU dorms and continue to make music, though the struggles of adjusting to college life make it more difficult than it was in the past. The band is a duo, made up of the singer/guitarist, Maxwell Moore, and Raney Aboud on drums.

Aboud and Moore, both now OU freshmen, attended the same high school in Oklahoma City. They believed it would be beneficial to be roommates as they were band-mates and good friends. However, even though they live together, the time consuming nature of college has made it hard for them to practice. The duo remains optimistic as they move forward, taking steps such as finding a practice space in Norman.

Ever since they appeared on the scene, they have gotten a lot of attention. They attracted a loyal group of fans, and both of their music releases have been reviewed in the music section of the Oklahoma Gazette.  Fans of the band have noticed a change in their performances, though the change is a positive one. “A lot has changed. The dynamic between Max and Raney, the frequency of shows, and the attitude behind the band seems a lot more mature. I'm not sure if college affected that, but they both look like they know what they're doing a lot more now,” said Broderick Lockett, a long-time fan.

Aboud and Moore share the song-writing duties, as both write lyric. Moore writes the guitar parts and the vocal melodies, and Aboud writes the drum parts.

Both members see their past performance at Norman Music Festival as a top moment in the band’s career. Moore was happy about playing outside to many eager fans, and Aboud enjoyed all of the ‘buzz’ that surrounded the event.

Aboud says the name Cosmostanza came from a reference to ‘Seinfeld.’ When naming their band they wanted a name that would reference the show, as they are both fans.

Cosmostanza currently has two EPs out for free download at cosmostanza.bandcamp.com.

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LOCAL ARTIST USES 'SELFIES' AS SUBJECT FOR PROJECT SLIDESHOW: Kevin McPherson, Runtime 2:14 Maria Wood, a local artist and Rose State art student, has started a project where uses ‘selfies’ a recent cultural phenomenon as a subject for her painting. The ‘selfie’ is a term that refers to when someone using a camera, typically one on an iPhone, turns the lens to themselves, or points it into a mirror so that the one taking the picture is the subject of it. Wood takes the pictures that people take of themselves and paints them. Wood says that she sees the selfie as the “modern self portrait,” as it captures an exact moment in time. This is contrary to portraits in the past, when the subject of a painting had to sit in front of a painter for possibly weeks on end. The process starts when someone sends her a selfie. Wood then prints the picture and takes it to a canvas, where she sketches it and starts the process of painting. She has currently finished two paintings in her project. The subject of one, Ted Wielinski, is thoroughly satisfied with the result. “I like Maria's style a lot so I was excited to volunteer. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but I like the finished product a lot and I'm glad I sent her my picture,” he said. The subject of Wood’s most recent painting within this project is a fellow artist and friend, Anika Major. Currently, Major has only seen the sketch of her selfie, but remains excited. “I love Maria's style! She paints in a really versatile way and I think it's really admirable of her to take on a project like this. I was really excited to send her my picture, mostly because I don't usually get painted since I'm a painter as well. My picture is still in the sketch process but it's looking good and I’m really, really excited to see how it goes!” Wood said that she was always interested in art, but she became serious about during the end of high school, when she started to earn college credit for taking art classes. She graduated from Midwest City High School in 2012 and went on to attend Rose State as a Liberal Arts major with a specialty in visual art. She has since completed several projects and is working to continue to grow in her craft.

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Slideshow- The best way to get the sound working is to just upload it to Youtube instead of tumblr.

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One University, the new store in the student union finally opened its doors to students on September 23, but many Sooners have found the store unhelpful to their daily student lives. One University most closely resembles an Apple Store, with many Macs, MacBooks and other Apple hardware on display. However, their inventory is not only limited to Apple products, as they keep a few Microsoft tablets and Alienware laptops. The store also boasts their 3D printers and has a Google Earth display in a room where students can approach and feel immersed in the program, surrounded by several TV screens. One University is very pleasing to the eye and does well to draw the attention of passerby. “I think it’s beneficial,” said Brian Staff, a father visiting his daughter, an OU student. “It’s showing things that normally the average person might be aware of, but they don’t know it works. For instance, 3D printing.”

However, some students have been less satisfied with the store mostly because it can’t fill the void left by the relocation of the store that previously took its place. Before One University, in its place, there was a store that sold various OU merchandise, such as shirts, pants, and hats, but also sold items such as pencils, batteries, blank discs, notebook paper, books, and flash drives. “It’s not as useful to me as a supply store,” said chemical engineering student Preston Carroway about One University, “but I definitely like the coolness factor of it.”

Many students see the store as nothing more than a nice place to window shop, but can’t see it helping them in their daily lives. Maxwell Moore, a freshman broadcast major said “the only way that I can think the store would help me is if my laptop broke down or something, but since that’s never happened, I’d rather have a place I can get supplies if I need them.” There are items in the store that people can buy other than new laptops or tablets, but most of them are accessories to their products, such as headphones and chargers. Many students continue to hope that One University can adapt to become more diverse in their inventory and offer items that will be more beneficial to the every day student life.

[knbou]

Sounds of the Union

The union is noisy around noon, during lunch. I expected it to be, but I wasn’t really familiar with the sounds. Normally, when I’m in the union, I’m hiding in my headphones or talking with a friend, which makes me ignore anything else I hear. It was nearly strange for me to really listen to what was surrounding the table where I chose to sit.

I was alone at my table, so there was nothing coming from my close area, but about ten feet away, a man was tutoring four students on algebra. Behind me, I heard the sound of paper tearing. Next to me, two friends were debating about sports. But near and far, I heard many other sounds. The room was loud with the sound of every conversation that was taking place. A janitor pushed a trashcan across the room, and the sound of the wheels on the tile was the loudest sound in the room.

These sounds alone would be strange out of the context of being able to look and see what they were. The wheels on the tile may have been mistaken for some sort of train- and the paper ripping behind me could be thought to be static. For everything I heard, I wanted to see the source of the noise, because the visual provided the context I needed to understand why the noise sounded the way it sounded.

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(Above) Gaylord Hall (Below) A fountain outside of Sarkeys Energy Center

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Reblogged from my personal account. Messed up and put on the wrong blog.

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(Above) Chris Phelps sets up to practice his balance. (Below) Haley Walters and friends enjoy themselves at the weekly meetings of the Animation Society.

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Cricket Invasion Causes Trouble for Sooner Life

Anyone who has taken a stroll through the OU stadium garage has surely noticed the incredible amount of crickets that are piled up along the walls. This autumn has brought a swarm of crickets to Oklahoma, and their presence is doing more than just annoying residents. OU students and workers have been effected by the problem. “It’s not as bad this year as it was last year,” said Steve Bailey, who has worked at the University of Oklahoma Bookstorefor six years. “But it’s pretty bad.” According to Bailey, the crickets cause cleaning work that would be otherwise unnecessary, because the crickets will creep into the store, and also pile outside the entrance. “It’s just part of the job. You just gotta sweep them up. On a busy day I see a couple hundred a day.”

The crickets have also been a problem for OU residents. According to David Nguyen, a resident of the Cate Center, they have been a problem for studies as well. “There’s crickets inside the study rooms. They get in when people open the doors. Sometimes, when you’re just walking around outside, the crickets jump on you to come inside.” He explained that because the crickets have been in the study rooms, their chirping has made concentration harder for those who study there.

According to sources, the late summer rainfall and that followed the very dry summer may be the cause of the crickets. OU residents and workers are hopeful that the crickets will soon die off with the coming of winter.

[knbou]

Obama plays a prank on his trip director while on a trip at the University of Texas.

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So this is a news blog and a place to post my projects. If I ever have to cover a sad story, I will pair the news with a picture of a cute puppy or a kitten. The sadder the story, the cuter the picture will be.