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.