Final Project

  

Gretchen Nicholson, Norman resident, buys her groceries at local markets like Forward Foods and cooks with locally grown produce Saturday, May 5, 2012 in Norman, Okla. She owns a Keep It Local OK card, which benefits its users by giving discounts at close to 90 local businesses in Norman and Oklahoma City, according to the Keep It Local OK card website. 

In recent years, the local food market in Oklahoma has increased, marked by expanded farmers markets, new local food stores and a positive trend for the Keep It Local OK card.

Local vendors that are part of the Keep It Local OK program, started in 2010, offer discounts, generally some variation of 10 percent off a purchase, to customers who use the Keep It Local OK card in their stores.

Oklahoma vendors pay $500 per year to join the Keep It Local OK card program. Customers pay only $10 per year to enjoy benefits offered by all businesses that have opted into the Keep It Local OK program, according to the Keep It Local OK website.

Native Roots Market joined the program last year after garnering enough customer support to merit investing in Keep It Local OK.

“We realized we would have people buy more local stuff if we bought [or used] the Keep It Local program and then we used it for local things,” said Joel Blackmon, Native Roots Market manager.

This year alone, local food businesses have been opening up and expanding in Norman. In January, local restaurant The Earth Café and Deli moved into a larger space on Campus Corner. In March, local restaurant Local opened up in Normandy Creek Shopping Center. In 2013, Oklahoma grocery store chain, Crest, plans to open its first Norman store.

“. . . I have a feeling the local movement is . . . becoming more important around this area because we’ve been telling people keeping money in the state is a much better thing than sending money everywhere else,” Blackmon said.

In addition to local shops, the Norman farmers markets have seen an increase in traffic and numbers. Between 2009 and 2010, Cleveland County’s total number of farmers markets doubled from 1 to 2 markets, according to the USDA’s Food Environment Atlas.

“It’s just packed and it’s filled out, it’s just huge now, and everybody you know, it’s more like social hour than just getting your veggies for the week,” said Gretchen Nicholson, Norman resident.

Nicholson said she buys local food as often as possible to support the local merchants.

“Because local merchants support our community, and if you support your community, then you’re gonna have a better community and you’re gonna get better shops and things like that,” Nicholson said.

With a recent upsurge in the eating local trend, noticed by consumers and merchants alike, Norman is likely to continue to see new additions to the local food market and the Keep It Local OK program.

Blog 8

The Annual Norman Farmers Market has made its way back into town. Shoppers looking to purchase locally grown produce are now able to visit the market again after it was closed for the winter. The market has been a Norman staple every summer since 1980, according to the Cleveland County website. The once only indoor market has now grown into an indoor and outdoor shopping event that happens every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Each seller has decals amongst their produce that tell buyers where the plants or vegetables came from, making it easier to find local goods. The fresh produce stalls are set up on the Cleveland County Fairgrounds and will be available for business until October. 

Blog 7

Lead-in: Kaylin Despain and other members of the local Mormon Church help Sarah Capshaw clear the debris from her home after the tornado, in Norman, Okla. on Saturday, April 14, 2012. 

Men and women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) came out Saturday morning to help Norman residents clean up the destruction left behind from Friday’s tornado. 

Kaylin Despain was amongst the helpers cutting down multiple trees at a house across the street from Andrew’s Park. Almost every tree in the front and backyard of the home was uprooted or had sustained serious damage by the tornado. The tornado was rated as an EF-2, according to the National Weather Service. 

According to Sarah Capshaw, a renter at the property, very little damage was done to the house. Most of the damage occurred to the yard and the cars. Three trees in the front yard were uprooted, falling across Capshaw’s car and blocking the front door. 

“When the storm was over you couldn’t even see the house because the trees were blocking it. We had to crawl over one and under the other to get to the front door,” Capshaw said. 

The volunteers from the LDS church described the house as one of the worst houses in the area, so they stopped to lend a hand. Ropes, ladders, chainsaws and tethers were all put to use to help clear the trees from the front and back yards. 

“So far we have cleared two trees and are working on the third, which is laying on the roof,” said Despain.

Members of the LDS Church didn’t stop at Capshaw’s home, but scoured the neighborhood helping multiple families clean the debris from their yards. 

Despite the effort to clear the front of the house, Capshaw and her roommate cannot live in the home just yet. The power was still disconnected and a window, which was shattered by the high-speed winds, still needed to be repaired. 

Blog 6

With spring in full bloom, The University of Oklahoma’s landscaping team has been hard at work filling the flower beds. Angel Mejia has worked as a landscaper for the university for 24 years. Mejia works to cultivate most of the flower beds on campus. 

“My main job is feeding the flowers,” Mejia said while fertilizing the beds near the Bizzell Library. 

Meija expects the flowers to spread out and fill in the empty spaces. According to Meija the flowers planted are relatively the same each year. 

Many plants and flowers this year are blooming a month earlier than normal, according to the National Gardening Association (NGA). Due to spring coming early the crews had to get to work that much faster. 

“Right now it is the time of the year things are picking up. We are getting ready for graduation and everything has to be done at once,” Meija said. 

Kayla Senn has been working in the landscaping department for almost a year. This spring her main job has been replanting flowers in the South Oval beds. 

“My favorite flower bed is by the library where the flowers make an OU,” Senn said. 

With graduation fast approaching and campus tours in full swing, the beds are continually cared for. 

The landscaping on campus is what made Lauren Young decide to attend The University of Oklahoma. Young said that during her campus tour she loved how the campus looked. 

“I think it’s a great way to get students to come to this school,” Young said. 

The flower beds on campus are updated regularly and the South Oval is home to multiple new trees. Graduation is four weeks away and the landscaping crews will continue to work until the flower beds reach perfection. 

Midterm

One OU student plans to compete in the National Twirling Competition, which will be held at the University of Notre Dame in July. Trenton Haltom began twirling as a junior in high school and has worked his way to almost making the U.S. team for the world’s competition in Switzerland. Haltom was three spots away from making the team, but his passion for the sport has not faded and he plans to continue twirling and place at nationals. The first World’s competition was in 1980, according to the World Baton Twirling Federation website. 

There are 15 men from all over the U.S that compete in Haltom’s category. The amount of men twirlers is relatively small compared to the amount of women that take part in the sport. At the competitions, first and second usually go to the same people, leaving third through sixth place up for grabs, according to Haltom. While every competition is usually between the same 15 men, there is little animosity. “We all have different styles,” said Haltom.

Haltom’s twirling career consists of two coaches, 11 batons and his dance routine music, which right now is the Westside Story Soundtrack. When it comes to his preference of baton, Haltom doesn’t play favorites. “I usually use the one with the best grip or the cleanest ends,” Haltom said. 

His grip of choice is resistance bands, he cuts the tubing, usually used for strengthening muscles, and slides it over the baton. Other common grips used by his competitors, include electrical or hockey tape, wax or resin. “I like to use the resistance bands because it makes the baton heavier,” Haltom said. 

Haltom’s friends love his twirling, he even teaches some of them like Brett Uram. Uram is a Musical Theater major and hopes to use the skill as a resume builder. “I want to be able to do an illusion,” Uram said. An illusion is a trick in which the twirler ducks under the baton, while kicking one leg in the air. 

Emma Smreker met Haltom freshman year in a ballet class. “I love that he twirls. There are not a lot of guys that do,” said Smreker.

The sport of twirling spans 20 countries, according to Twirling.org. Haltom is thinking about trying out the world’s team again in three years, but for the time being he is focused on placing at nationals. While he saves up his money, he will be listening to Westside story on repeat and saving his money, preparing for the long drive to Notre Dame. 

LEAD IN: Trenton Haltom practices twirling, on the basketball court in the Walker-Adams Mall on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 in Norman, Okla. 

Sense of Place Slideshow

Blog 3

A bill circulating through Oklahoma legislature could potentially increase the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 20. Republican Representative Ann Coody presented the bill to the Oklahoma Committee of Public Health Feb. 14, 2012, where it passed with two-vote majority.

If the bill became law,  the legal age to purchase and possess tobacco would increase gradually each year. Coody has proposed that every Nov. 1 the age would increase until it reached 21 in 2015. Adults who have already reached the legal age would not be affected by the bill because the gradual increase would rise as they aged. 

Other states like Alabama, Alaska and New Jersey have raised the tobacco age to 19. Oklahoma would be the first state in the U.S. to raise the legal age to buy tobacco to 21, according drugfree.org. 

Coody told the Oklahoma Committee of Public Health she put the bill together after a request from a doctor she visited. She hopes this request bill will allow young adults more time to decide whether or not to use tobacco products. People between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most easily addicted to tobacco, said Coody in an audio clip of the meeting. 

“I think it is a good thing,” Bill Zhou, a graduate assistant at OU said.

“The main purpose is to protect the minors, after all smoking is not really something you have to do.”

It was made clear at the meeting that the bill would not affect the sell of tobacco on American Indian reservations. The legislation has no control over what the reservations do or sell. This could give the reservations the ability to sell tobacco to those still under the desired 21 year age limit. However, the reservations usually try to abide by the U.S. laws when selling to non-reservation citizens, Coody said.

Those opposing the bill are worried about the amount of income the state would lose. The state already loses taxes to smokers who chose to buy cigarettes at the tax-free reservation stores and many worry that loss would become much more. Cigarettes and many other tobacco products are taxed in the rest of the state, therefore raising the age by three years could lead to a large loss in taxes for Oklahoma.

Coody believes that the deficit in taxes would be made up for by the lessened need for tobacco related healthcare. Tobacco is the most preventable cause for disease, affecting over 440,000 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Representatives backing the bill believe that the long term savings in healthcare costs would overshadow the tax losses. 

University of Oklahoma freshman Charlie Lamb began smoking at 18. Lamb, now 19 and still smoking, does not agree with the bill.

 “We can go fight in a war at 18, but can’t smoke until we are 21? That seems kind of ridiculous, I think 21 for anything is crazy,” Lamb said. 

The bill is still working its way through Oklahoma legislation and has not yet become a law. While healthcare and tax losses come into play for those voting for or against the bill, it seems that there is a lot more in the air than secondhand smoke. 

LEAD IN: University of Oklahoma freshman David Beard gives his opinion on the proposed bill to raise the age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21 on Feb. 19, 2012. (0:20)

Clockwise: University of Oklahoma freshman Charlie Lamb smokes a cigarette outside his dorm Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. University of Oklahoma freshman David Beard smokes a Marlboro cigarette with his roommate Charlie Lamb on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.Beard holds his Marlboro box after lighting a cigarette Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012.

Blog Post 2

Third floor construction in the Oklahoma Memorial Union forced the Pink and Black Ball to relocate from the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom to the Sam Noble Museum. Construction began on Monday, December 19, 2011 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, March 18, according to the Oklahoma Memorial Union website.

All events that usually take place in the Associates room, the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, the Frontier, the Governors, Heritage, Pioneer, Regents and Scholars rooms, the Dr. David F. Schrage OU Traditions room or the Weitzenhoffer room have been relocated, many finding a new home at the Sam Noble Museum.

Planning began around 18 months ago to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC systems on the third floor. The HVAC units being replaced were from around 1950 and finding parts to repair them had become difficult, said Laura Tontz, director of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. There are also plans to give the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom and atheistic upgrade, with refinished flooring, new wallpaper and paint.

When the construction plans were finalized, arrangements were made with all the usual spring clients, who rent the rooms for events during the semester, said Tontz.

“We worked hard to try to help people find things even outside of the Union,” Tontz said. “We tried to be really proactive ahead of time.”

The Pink and Black Ball celebrated its eighth annual event this year, according to the Pink and Black Ball website. However the big change this year was that the black and pink decorations were set up amongst the dinosaur skeletons and the mammoth statue in the main hall of the Sam Noble Museum. While the event is usually on campus, thecoordinators were happy to host the Susan G. Komen fundraising event at a different venue.

“We love the Union, it is a beautiful ballroom and we are sad itʼs not available to us, but we are excited to do something totally different this year,” said Kathy Moxley, director of the Womenʼs Outreach Center.

Although the event was not on campus, ticket sales were up from last year and they were expecting a good turn out, said Moxley.

Hosting the event at the Sam Noble museum brought its own strengths and weaknesses according to the Susan G. Komen Undergraduate Intern and Pink and Black Ball Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Lobaugh.

“The advantage, of course, of having it at the Union is that is is on campus. On the other hand, though, there is more parking here,” said Lobaugh.

There will not be a reopening ceremony for the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom or any of the other rooms undergoing upgrades. The rooms have already been booked for events right when the construction is scheduled to end. The Oklahoma Memorial Union third floor is planned to reopen the week after spring break. All the construction is on schedule up to this point, said Tontz.

Clockwise: Christopher Gutierrez, aerospace engineering senior, helps to finish the table decorations. The Pink and Black Ball volunteers decorate the main hall of the Sam Noble Museum. Cassie Ketrick, a Pink and Black Ball volunteer, sets up extra chairs around the tables. 

Blog Post 1

Two University of Oklahoma student organizations hosted an event Thursday to mark the end of their three month campaign to raise money for UNICEF.

Students were asked to wear internationally themed T-shirts to Thursday’s “Tee Party” in Hester Hall, where they turned in their donations and ate pizzas donated by Papa John’s Pizza. The event was sponsored by the Arabic Language Flagship Partner Program and the Model United Nations of the Southwest. 

“I love the fact that these two groups that care about the world sort of came together independently to have a fundraising event, to have this drive to help UNICEF,” said Zach Messitte, dean of the College of International Studies.

Fundraising for UNICEF has been a long time tradition for the College of International Studies. But, this year the two student groups decided to take the project and make it their own. 

The organizations distributed orange “trick-or-treat for UNICEF” boxes in late October. OU Arabic Flagship Coordinator Heidi Logsdon said that the national fundraiser usually ends after Halloween, but this year the groups extended fundraising through January. 

“Charitable giving can happen year round, it is not a seasonal thing necessarily,” Logsdon said. 

Unlike other organizations, the goal of these groups was not to raise huge amounts of money but to raise a sense of community. 

“While I think most students are really good about the idea that they are part of a community here in Norman, sometimes it is harder to have that same ‘give back’ internationally,” Messitte said. “So, this is an opportunity for people, who care about people in need all around the world, to give something back.”

UNICEF was created after World War II in December 1946 to help European children obtain food, clothing and necessary medical supplies, according to the UNICEF website. The organization now operates in 190 countries around the world helping children in need. 

“UNICEF is one of the older and well-established nonprofit international aid organizations,” Logsdon said. “They have the ability to reach a very wide scope, a very broad scope of vulnerable populations.”

The trick-or-treat themed change boxes feature facts about the impact of financial contributions to UNICEF. A quarter can provide 10 children with clean drinking water for a day, while $17 can provide a child with the immunizations to protect them from six deadly diseases. 

“The thing is even 25 cents makes a difference. We don’t expect college students to have deep pockets, it is just the idea of community service,” Logsdon said.

 Students lined the walls and formed groups waiting for the pizza to arrive after they dropped of their collection boxes. 

“I think it is really good that people are getting together and getting to know each other and enjoying the success of raising money for UNICEF,” said Cindy Coffin, a member of the Model United Nations of the Southwest. 

 Students who were not able to attend the event are still able to bring their donations in through the weekend. The money will be counted on Monday and then donated to UNICEF. Logsdon said that although the donations won’t be counted until Monday, the drive was successful.

“It’s probably too heavy of a load of change for me to lift up,” she said.