Studying abroad at OU: international exchange students talk about their experience

The University of Oklahoma, by the means of the Education Abroad Office, offers the opportunity to foreign students to spend a semester or an academic year in the college, also benefitting by services provided to the American students.

For the past academic year, the university hosted 283 exchange students from 29 different countries; China and France are the nations where most of the exchange students come from. During the exchange period, tuition and fees for OU are waived for the students, but they continue to pay them regularly to their home universities.

The program started in 1986, with President Frank E. Horton and Millie Audas, then associated adviser for special students, when a specific office for the exchange program hadn’t been yet found.

Tina Henderson, exchange student adviser at OU, explained that the number of exchange students has increased over the years.

“When President Boren arrived at OU in 1994, the program developed significantly,” Henderson said. “He’s very internationally-minded, and it is his merit if the program is growing so fast.”

Foreign students arrive to OU from all over the world; some of them were interested in experiencing life in U.S., others made their choice valuating the academic programs offered by the university.

“I came to U.S. because I had already been here for travelling and I like the American lifestyle, I chose OU mainly for my passion for the Sooners football team,” said Kevin Haensel, exchange student from Germany.

Being an exchange student means also appreciating differences in habits and attitudes:

“People here are very helpful and civil,” said Chen Wanjing from China. “My professor gave me important suggestions about doctorates, since I want to do one here in future.”

Yet, some of these students can face hurdles:

“Everything here is so spread out, if you haven’t a car it’s hard to reach many places. Unfortunately, public transportation here is poor,” said Laura Bueno from Colombia.

As the Exchange Student Program grew, the city of Norman saw an increase in the flux of international students benefitting in social, cultural and economic terms.

Exchange students Baptiste Agulhon, Michael McLaughlin and Carla Sandoval talk about their life at OU and Tina Henderson explains what her tasks are as well as what the university offers during the academic year, in Norman, Oklahoma: Vestito, 2:58

Obama reelected presidents of US: the OU students’ opinions

Barack Obama was elected 44th president of United States on Nov. 6, 2012. Of the 538 total electoral votes, the Democratic candidate gained 332 votes defeating the Republican Mitt Romney who received 206 votes.

The battle for presidency was fought principally in some swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. In these tossup states, the struggle between the candidates was considered to be tighter but eventually, North Carolina has been the only state where Romney won. Florida was considered crucial for the race, but the outcome of the elections was revealed before the counting in the state was completed; however Obama turned out to be the winner even there.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney already encountered in three public television debates during the month of October. The first debate was held in the University of Denver, in Colorado, and its main topic was domestic policy. The second one took place at the Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York and it was focused on foreign and domestic policy, it had the format of a town meeting where citizens had the chance to ask the candidates questions. The third and last debate was in  Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida and it was again focused on foreign policy.

The presidential campaign has been followed with great interest and participation by the students of the University of Oklahoma. A watch party for the debate was organized in the Gaylord Hall’s Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation Auditorium, the students who attended  were also given the chance to register to vote. The partners that hosted the event were the Faculty-in-Residence program, UOSA, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Political Science Club.

Plus, the political organization OU Young Democrats organized an election watch party in the Seve47 club in Campus Corner, the event was totally free and open to students. 

Nicolas Nackphouminh, an exchange student from France talked about how he experienced the elections:

“We had the chance to vote at the clubhouse at that time, even if that didn’t count for the results it was cool to be a part of it, as exchange students.” He also said that for him it has been very interesting to be in U.S. during such an important event.

Barack Obama during his acceptance speech, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, Norman, Oklahoma

Students from OU give their opinion about Obama's reelection, Vestito, 1:29

At OU a special pumpkin carving promotes international friendships

A gathering for the OU Cousins program has been held at Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center on campus, on Thursday, Oct. 26. Young students from all over the world met their American friends enjoy together an evening where it took place one of the most typical American habits: the pumpkin carving.

The OU Cousins program was created in 1996 by President David Boren in order to promote and foster friendship and cultural bounds among American students and international students at the University of Oklahoma.

They are invited to submit their application for the program and successively, the schedule plans a Matching Party where all the students can look for the person who could be their cousin. If they don’t find him or here in that day, they can always rely on a special software that matches students according to their hobbies, majors, and countries of interest.

Not only they are invited to attend these social events punctually programmed, but they can also meet outside, in normal daily life.

On Thursday, students enjoyed free food and drinks and after that, they were given blades and various stencils to carve their own pumpkin with the shape they preferred. Then, pumpkins had been collected and disposed in a row on a table, in order to give the people the chance to name the best one. In each of them, students put some candles and after that the lights went off, they enjoyed the effects of the pumpkins glowing in the dark.

Isa Paglicci Reattelli, an Italian exchange student who is staying at OU for one semester, is happy for meeting again her American “cousin”:

“OU Cousins is a very interesting effort, it allows to know American students because usually international students tend to hang out among themselves,” she said. Plus, she found the pumpkin carving extremely funny since Halloween is not celebrated in Italy.

“These series of events promoted by OU Cousins is positive for the integration among cultures, unfortunately my university’s exchange program doesn’t offer these kind of things,” she said.

The next event will be the Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, there American and international students will enjoy another typical moment of the American traditions. 

American students Robert Shoup and Karolina Koziol give their impressions about OU Cousins program and the Pumpkin Carving event.

KGOU: the National Public Radio source on OU campus

Since 1983, the KGOU radio station has been broadcasting over the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City metropolitan area as public radio. Based in Copeland Hall, the station operates a full service, airing news and music programs.

During the current week, KGOU is running its membership drive to collect pledges of support, another drive is held during April. As a non-commercial radio, it is not allowed to sell advertising space; consequently, private donations from listeners are the most precious source of funding for the radio. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting devolves to KGOU $15 per hour of service while the University of Oklahoma gives about $36 per hour, on the other hand the operating expenses for the radio are $125 per hour. According to its 2011 financial statement, KGOU collected more than $450,000 in memberships.

The radio relies on syndicated programs produced by other local or national public radio such as NPR and PRI, homemade shows concern in large part the Oklahoma community. KGOU’s programming schedule comprises three local newscasts and two music shows. Moreover, the radio is also committed in foreign affairs reporting:

“Although our newscasts are principally locally oriented, the tight links of KGOU with the College of International Studies allow us to provide thorough international news,” said Jim Johnson, program manager at KGOU.

The audience making pledges of support is not the only one regarding the radio’s service, Kate Carlton, trainee at KGOU, expressed her enthusiasm working there.

“I’ve always been a great fan of national public radio and I’d like to work there in the future.” She added that she strongly believes in public radio’s value because it is unbiased and accurate in giving the news.

Though KGOU is run by a small group of people, their perseverance and professionalism made possible the radio to grow up and reach 64,000 listeners.

Overview of KGOU Radio's activities with sound bite by KGOU General Manager Karen Holp, 1:58 

Texas State Fair slideshow

Homosexuals still struggling for total equality in Oklahoma

The gay cause has been gaining more acknowledgement in society over the past two of decades, but the way towards full legitimacy and acceptance is far from being over. According to a Census, between 2000 and 2010 there has been an 80 percent increase in same-sex households; yet, there are still some areas where being homosexual is particularly difficult. Coming out in Southern States is harder to do than in Northern States. This issue is getting a lot of attention, since the two presidential candidates will deal with it in different ways.

Matt Beasley, a freshman at OU from Austin, TX said he experienced some hard times after coming out when he was 15. He was relieved when he turned 18 as he could finally enter gay clubs. Hanging out at these clubs gave him the chance to meet other gay people and find comfort with them. Beasley encountered the major contrapositions within his own family. His parents were very conservative and once they knew about his  sexual orientation they sent him to a Christian consulting room. But there are homosexuals who encountered the greatest hurdles out of their families.
Brian Ward, a senior student at the University of Oklahoma, thinks of himself as an exception. Ward had no problems at home when he came out to his family. The biggest struggles he faced were at school, where he felt alone because he was the only declared gay and he felt like he couldn't openly talk with nobody.

"Many people come out in college years because they’re far from their families", Ward said. Plus, he recognized that a lot of people coming from small towns in Oklahoma are in very uncomfortable situations since they can’t express their sexuality without receiving discriminations and prejudices. 
James Harris, a sociology student at OU, came out when he was 13, "It is a very early age since a large part of homosexuals do it once in college, as they feel freer to express their sexuality here rather than in their hometowns."

Harris said when he was in high school his locker and car were vandalized many times. "Even my teacher teased me addressing me as “she”", he said. Harris moved on his own to Oklahoma City as soon as he finished the high school in search of a more welcoming gay community. Harris is a student intern of the Safe Sex Education Program, a group committed in promoting safe sexual habits among younger students.

When asked about gay marriage, Harris said in the future, gay marriage will become legal in the U.S., thanks to Obama's support. 

James Harris while working at the Women's Outreach Center in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Friday. Oct. 5, 2012, Norman, Oklahoma. As as a student intern, Harris promotes the Safe Sex Education Program.

               

                                                                                                                                                    Brian Ward talks about the gay marriage issue at Crossroads, in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

In US bad alimentation habits, Oklahoma among the “fattest” states

According to a report issued by the Oklahoma State Department of Health in January, Oklahoma state is among the “fattest” of the country. The research paper, titled “Obesity in Oklahoma”, shows precise data regarding the status of obesity in the state, and the main factors that cause this. The United States are among the countries with the highest rate of obesity/overweight in the world; Oklahoma specifically has 31.3 percent of obese adults, ranking 39^th in the nation; among youths obesity reaches 17 percent. Linked to this another data shows that 30 percent of high school students spend three hours or more per day watching TV. Another report named “Physical Activity in Oklahoma” provides a research related to the ratio of physical activities in the state: Oklahoma is 40^th in meeting the physical activities recommendation; plus, forty-two counties are received the grade “F” for physical activity. These survey reflects a general situation that has been worsening  during the last three decades in the whole country.

Allen Knehans, professor at the College of Allied Sciences at the University of Oklahoma said that the causes can be traced back to ‘80s when cigarettes advertising was banned on TV and the food and drink industry took advantage of that lack left on the medium. Food advertising revealed to be powerful as people went through a real “brainwashing”, bringing them to eat more and more. Then, fast food chains began to raise the prices of the food portions increasing at the same time their dimension, Knehans talked about “portion distortion”. He also commented specifically the data regarding Oklahoma. 

This situation seems to be limited to United States, Timothy Taylor, an English exchange student at the University of Oklahoma is astonished by the local diet costumes. He said that the food culture is different and that you can find lots of fast food outlets in US. According to his experience in Norman, he said that people seem not to walk. “Junk food here is cheaper than healthy produce”, he said. He added that the United Kingdom started a massive food campaign to make people aware about correct and healthy alimentation, it promotes the consume of fruits and vegetables and it has banned fried food and fizzy drinks in school canteens.

Hopefully, the United States government, and the Oklahoma community will follow this path by promoting new models of alimentation and healthier lifestyles for citizens. 

Prof. Allen Knehans analyzes a report about obesity in Oklahoma, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012, Norman, Oklahoma. The research includes a map where it is possible to see the evolution of obesity percentage in the state.

A dish with sausage and sauced steak, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012, Norman, Oklahoma. A portion like this does exceed the maximum amount of the suggested calories daily ratio.

People getting food at the "Golden Corral", Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.  "Golden Corral" is a all-you-can-eat restaurant where you can eat unlimited food paying a fixed price.

                                  Prof. Allen Knehans comments the Oklahoma State Department of Health's research papers.