Apr
8
What’s up guys! My name is Sam Marino, and I am on the Events Committee for the Class of 2017 Council. These past couple weeks have been pretty exciting here at the University! Two weeks ago we had Sooner Scandals, and it was an awesome show. The results are as follows:
1st place: “House of Stone” performed by Delta Delta Delta and Beta Theta Pi
2nd place: “Sherlock Holmes” performed by Alpha Phi, Sigma Nu and Phi Psi
3rd place: “1789” performed by Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Upsilon
I hope you had the chance to go watch. If not, there is always next year! But just a tip of advice, the tickets sell out fast, so make sure to get them early.
This past weekend we had the Big Event, and it was a huge success. Hundreds of students with countless number of organizations went out to do service around all the community in central Oklahoma. It is awesome that so many people here at the University care so much about the community. This is just one of the many reasons why the University of Oklahoma is the best university in the nation!
I know I’m not the only one who can’t believe that semester is almost over. It seems just like yesterday that we came back from Christmas break. Classes are starting to get tougher, and many students are starting to lose motivation. BUT DON’T GIVE UP! We are almost to summer break, and we all know that is the best time of the year (besides college football season). Speaking of football season, the Red and White game is this Saturday, April 12th at the football stadium! Just in case you forgot how last season ended, here are a few pictures to jog your memory:
If those pictures don’t motivate you to succeed, then I don’t know what will. Once again my friends, stay strong in the classroom. The school year is coming to a close, so give it all you’ve got! If you do, your summer break will be that much better. I’ll leave you with a motivational quote:
“Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it. Period.”
-Chris Gardner, The Pursuit of Happyness
Apr
1
Hey everyone, I’m Daniel Moreno and I’m on the Traditions Committee for the Class of 2017 Council! How was that first week back from Spring break? I know mine went by soooo slooowww! It made me think, do we appreciate the times when things are slow? I know I didn’t last week and man is this week BUSY!!! Apart from being on Council, I’m also on the Big Event Executive Team and this week is Kick-Off Week which means I’m going to help a lot of students register for Big Event and help pass out a lot of t-shirts! Apart from Big Event, which is this Saturday, here’s a list of other events going on at OUr university:
• Coffee House, Tuesday 8 pm – 10 pm
• Stand For Freedom, Thursday 6 am
• Frozen Screening in the Union, Friday 6 pm
• Big Event, Saturday 8 am – 2 pm
• Stompdown, Saturday 7:30 pm
• Must Stay Weekend, Saturday 8pm
Also, elections for SGA President and Vice President, CAC Chair, and HCSA Chair are happening April 1st and 2nd! With all of these things going on and having classes it can be easy to be overwhelmed. Here’s a word of advice that I should’ve listened to earlier in the year: Don’t try to take everything on. You can do whatever you put your mind to but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything. Devote the proper amount of time that your classes need, you’re here for an education after all, then prioritize what you want to do. Carefully pick what organizations you join, what committees and executive positions you’re applying for, and when you’re able to hang out with your friends.
It’s so close to the end of our first year as a Sooner so make sure to go out with a bang! Make the grades, apply for what you love, and spend time with the friends you made just a short 8 months ago.
BOOMER SOONER,
Daniel Moreno
Class of 2017 Council | Traditions Committee
Twitter and Instagram: @DanMoreno_
Mar
24
Hey there SOONERS! My name is Kendal Nichols, I am the Events Director for the Class of 2017 Council. Did ya’ll have an amazing #SB14? I spent my Spring Break in the warm and toasty state of Wisconsin! Just kidding, it was below forty degrees and snowing most of the time. Unfortunately, it was not like the pretty “let’s build a snowman” kind of snow, rather it was the dirty mud that had been there all winter, snow! The only good thing about my break was that I got to be with my family, who choose, for some unknown crazy reason, to all live in the North! Oh and the doughnuts– they have some amazing doughnuts (see pic below and yes that is an Oreo doughnut). 
But now as I am driving back to Norman and thinking about being back, I realize how I have missed the weather and the welcome home feel that Norman gives off. You may have felt that feeling too, if not, the next time you are driving into town and coming down Lindsey (if it is not packed) just look around you and notice everything like Classics, Donut King (haha can you tell doughnuts are important to me?), then you see campus and it is like you are home again!
Well, that is until you get to your dorm and realize since you cannot find a parking spot you will have to lug your stuff all the way from your car to your room. Ultimately ending with all your stuff on the floor and you want a nap. If you did not go anywhere for spring break, I hope Norman treated you well and you got to indulge in a nice relaxing break!
Now that we will all be back soon I know we only have 6ish more weeks of school! GET PUMPED! I am so excited to say I have completed my first year at OU. We have to remember in order to keep climbing to reach the top of the food chain we have to realize it is not over yet! So here are some tips to get through the rest of the semester…
1. STUDY! I know “duh I know I need to study” Well I am telling you that it study more then you have studied before this is the time were you will see if you need to drop a class or seek tutoring!
a. http://www.ou.edu/classof2017 has some great information if you need it! This has been a great resource for me!
2. Check how many meal points you have left! If you’re like me you have around a hundred points left. If this is the case spend them on things you can reuse like water bottles or chips that you can reseal! If you have a ton left remember snack foods can help you study, and mints help you remember things for test!
3. HAVE FUN! OU is an amazing place with amazing opportunities! Do not be afraid to go out and apply for something new like Class Council whose applications go up this week! Or CAC there are so many ways to get involved and meet new people by just turning in a short application!
We are almost done guys! Together we can conquer it all just keep your head up and do not let the Spring Break you just had hold you down! We as OU students can do anything we set our minds to! And remember the Class of 2017 Council is always here to just hang out or hear your ideas so SPEAK UP we will always listen!
Boomer Sooner!
Kendal Nichols
Events Director
Class of 2017 Council
Mar
10
We started last week off with a snow day and no complaints because Monday is everyone’s least favorite day of the week. The snow was pretty intense and caused the campus to close until ten o’clock on Tuesday morning. Many people were excited to get a miniature break from classes but unfortunately for me, my first class on Tuesdays is at noon. The several inches of snow brought back the warm wardrobe consisting of pea coats, snow boots, for everyone who wanted to be comfortable, or rain boots, for those who are a little more practical, and of course leggings. A major event last week was Graduation Gear up. During this event the Graduation Office hosted various vendors to help graduating seniors prepare for graduation and life after college. Last week was also a great week for interviews. I was excited to interview for the Resident Advisor position on Thursday and I am now burdened with waiting until after spring break to hear the back from the Housing and Food office. If you are like me and you interviewed for the Camp Crimson small group leader position, don’t worry if you haven’t heard back from anyone yet. Over eight hundred students applied for small group leader positions alone and it will take two or three weeks for exec to narrow down the applicant pool. I got the awesome opportunity to do a post interview, interview with a student in a Mass Communications course. This post interview gave me the opportunity to reflect on the interview process and share my experience with others as well. In addition, last week was Big Event awareness week. I’m sure you were handed a flyer by a friendly face in a neon shirt but just in case you didn’t know Big Event 2014 is on April 5th. Big Event is OU’s official day of service where over 5,000 students serve the community in whatever way necessary. The Exec board and operations staff members work year round to ensure that this day is a day that uses our time and man power to the fullest! This year Class council will have a team that is open to everyone, so sign up; it’s kind of a BIG deal. The week went out with a bang with the help of Soonerthon. This past Saturday, several thousand students stood, and danced, for twelve hours straight. We stood for lunch, we stood for the entire carnival and we stood for all of the activity time but most importantly we stood FOR THE KIDS! My favorite part of the day was getting to perform the Morale dance with the miracle kids. In a way the Morale dance represented Soonerthon; we all worked for a very long time towards something that seemed impossible, but at the end of the day the dance looked great because everyone contributed, just like Soonerthon. It was a day full of emotion and like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Saturday was one of those days that we’ll look back on and say, “I was a freshman at OU when Soonerthon rose over $318,000 all for the kids.” This week was a great way to start the month of March!
Cherrish Abinah
Class of 2017 Council Events Committee
Feb
25
Can you believe that we are almost to March? Spring Break is only three weeks away. If you’re anything like me, then I’m sure you are super ready for a vacation or a trip home to get away for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love OU; but we all need a break sometime!
With that being said, spring is literally right around the corner. It seems that every email I get is giving me an application for a leadership position or an award application to fill out. For me, it has been overwhelming with so much homework already and trying to produce solid scholarship or applications essays at the same time. Not that I am a master at applications or anything, but I have filled out my fair share of them this past year, so I have a few tips that others have shared with me and that I’ve discovered on my own:
- Be creative! Whoever is reviewing your application is also looking at dozens—maybe even hundreds—more. You want to show the reader that you are unique and irreplaceable, that you are perfect for the position or award.
- Be yourself! For some reason students think that they need to control who they are when they are writing an application. But within reason, you should be yourself. Yes, you need to keep it professional. But if you are a Whovian or a Potterhead and you can make that pertinent to the question you’re responding to, then go for it! This will make you seem real and not like some robot who is filling out these applications just because they have to.
- Be proactive. Give yourself plenty of time to get everything just right. Try not to wait until the day of a deadline to write an essay or fill out the application; that leaves too much room for little mistakes to happen.
- Be diligent. Before you turn in the application, my biggest piece of advice is to have someone you trust look over everything. Have a new set of eyes look for any grammar or spelling errors, but most importantly, let them make sure your response is fluid. If something is worded awkwardly or there are structural issues with your essay, hopefully it will show up here. Don’t take offense to any corrections that someone may make, if they are looking over this for you then they obviously want to help you win! Also make sure you didn’t write wrong address or something similar; that could be embarrassing!
These are basically the checklist I use anytime I fill out an application. I hope this is useful for you with so many things coming out to apply for in the next couple of weeks!
Just a tad bit of random advice for those of you in the Greek world… If your chapter has taken in Spring New Members, you should introduce yourself and get to know them! Being a new member right now myself, I know how nice it is for someone to simply introduce themselves! Get to know the new members in your chapter; you might find another great friend.
College is supposed to be lots of fun so make sure you aren’t stressing yourself out too much!
Boomer Sooner,
Taylor Freeman, Events Committee
Feb
22
College is where you become the person you always wanted to be, but how do you get there, you might ask? We redefine ourselves with our majors. Majors outline the person and career we will potentially have in the matter of 4 years. OU has a great program each spring to help every student, from every spectrum of life to see what major fits him or her. The Majors Minors fair, which happened this past week, was amazing. Talking to advisers passionate about their individual colleges and specialties made it apparent what college is all about: sparking our intellectual fire.
Even as a meek freshman, I have already changed my major three (THREE) times (history, public administration and finally public relations), but going to the fair I felt 100 times better about PR. Now it’s your turn! I found it helpful to major in something you’re passionate about. Love volunteerism? Maybe look at human resources. Do you love talking to yourself in the mirror? Then, broadcast journalism sounds like it could be right down your alley. I chose Public Relations because I love communicating an idea to people, and maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of Scandal, but I want to be a fixer. Now my fellow freshmen, the next step in this great life is to find some way to get an internship. Good thing OU has a great career services department for freshmen to take advantage of! From mock interviews, to career fairs each semesters, what more could an overachieving freshman want?
Now you’re thinking to yourself, who is actually writing this article? Is it some creep? Never fear my fellow freshmen, I am Maddie Wilson a freshmen at OU from Houston, TX (h-town proud for life). I am in your shoes too. College is scary, but getting these opportunities that OU offers helps tons! All you need to do is wake up in the morning remembering you earned your spot here at OU, now prove it; get that 4.0, go to the huff at least once! Try something different, put yourself out there. Believe me, I’m awkward, and my voice gets inhumanely high when I talk in public, but all you have to do is try.
These four years well go by in a blink, it honestly feels like yesterday I drove down Lindsey hyperventilating and wondering who I would eat lunch with. We are almost done with our freshmen year, we can do this because we are the Class of 2017, and nothing can stop us. Do you feel pumped? Maybe play some inspirational music while reading this (to add a more dramatic effect). Honestly, we have the potential to be an amazing class so let’s start showing everyone, let’s raise the most money for Soonerthon (you can join the Class of 2017 team), and let’s go to sporting events and cheer on our fellow sooners. We define what our college experiences are, so lets make it epic. BOOMER!
Maddie Wilson
Class of 2017 Public Relations Committee
Feb
11
5th week of school, isn’t this semester just flying by? For me I know it is. It feels like I just moved back to Norman for the semester only last week!
So what’s been going on? A LOT! In the last few weeks we have had many Class of 2017 and OU events. On February 8th OU Basketball hosted a class pride night during their game. There were tons of free t-shirts, class swag and food! We watched the Sooners beat the Bears 88-72 and Class of 2017 had one of the biggest attendances!
Now as we go into the next few weeks we have many things coming up. Something on going is the OU Cares Survey. The Graduation Office designed ‘17 an AWESOME Sooner magic shirt and all you have to do to get one is take a quick survey online on the Class of 2017 webpage! Easy right? Now if you are at OU and still unsure of what to study, you should definitely check out the Majors and Minors Fair, going on February 12th! There will be lots of people to talk to about all the programs offered here at OU. But one of the most exciting things happening here at OU this semester is SOONERTHON! And guess what, the class of 2017 has a team! You can sign up by going to the Soonerthon webpage and choosing Class of 2017 from the teams list. So as you see there are tons of activities for you to participate in this semester and I hope you take full advantage of them!
Now, if you’re like me you have probably started to see quite an increase in the difficulty of your classes. Sometimes it seems like my teachers plan for everything in the semester to be due in the same week! So what’s the best way to not get stressed? I don’t have the perfect answer, but I have some tips!
- Get plenty of rest. Yeah, yeah you probably hear this a lot, but I’m serious! Your brain needs rest to do well so don’t push it or you’ll end up feeling brain dead!
- Relax! How ever feels best for you, weather that’s taking an hour study break to watch some Netflix, or taking a quick nap, do it often so you can recharge when you go back to studying.(But make sure you actually go back to studying!)
- Exercise, you will feel great, look great, and I know for me I get some of my best work done when I have that adrenaline boost after working out. Stress is totally avoidable if you know how to manage your time.
Avoiding stress can be simple, but how do I make sure I’m doing my best in class, and getting good grades?
- Study often, sounds simple I know but really it is one of the most important things you can do to make good grades. Take time every night to review what you learned in class that day, and daily make lists of things you don’t understand and questions you have. The more you study, the better you will do.
- Be organized. There is nothing worse than struggling to find your homework you did last night because your binder (or room) is a mess. Make sure you clean out your binder (or room) weekly of papers you don’t need and trash, you will thank yourself when looking for important things.
- Use your resources. The University of Oklahoma has so many options for when you’re struggling in a class. For example: Action Tutoring! Located mainly in Wagner Hall there are tons of tutors and people willing to help you in those classes you find a little difficult. You can also take advantage of professor office hours! Professors are almost always willing to help students that don’t understand or are struggling in their class. Academic success is completely attainable!
This semester is flying by and I hope that all of you participate in campus events, make good grades, and love OU and the Class of 2017 even more than you already do!
Peace, Love, and Boomer Sooner
-Sarah Segner
Class of 2017, PR Council
Feb
6
Yo, my name is Molly Carroll and as you may have guessed, I am a member of the Class of 2017 Council. Introvert. You may have heard of this word before or you may even belong to this subgroup of humans, but I consider myself the poster child for this term. If there was a professional introvert league, I would be the number one draft pick. In other words, I am a person who does not thrive on sharing personal information, but I really will try my hardest.
I am from Johnson County, Kansas, the place where I went to school, church, met my best friends, became an adult, found myself, and so on whatever. But it really is the greatest place to call home. “So why did you choose OU,” you may ask. Well, great question! My first love in life was art, and is still my passion. Singing, drawing, music- I love them all- but most of all, I love to dance. Now going back to the introvert thing, I never really ‘vent’ or tell people how I am feeling, but I don’t need to because I express myself through performing. Sounds super cheesy, I know, but its true. This is best described in the Hopi Indian saying, “To dance is to hear our hearts speak.” Now that is some deep stuff man, and it is so accurate.
Now, I do dance just for the sake of dance, but mostly for the thrill of the competition. Competitive dancers are hard core, and I’m not just saying that because I am one. It’s like a full time job consisting of conditioning, trying to stretch your body to the most unnatural lengths, stylizing, practicing for hours on end, plus having school and whatever you are involved in outside of dance. Forget a social life. But anyway, competition is what drives me, and that is why I looked at OU. I looked at OU Pom because there was a group of incredible athletes with the same competitive drive I had, and they were really hard core… not to mention the amazing traditions and athletics! So yes, from all of this blabber about me being a shy person and dancing around and being hard core, we come to my life in the present- OU Pom.
Buckle up because you are about to have a front row seat to the life of an OU Pom girl. Exciting right? Very. Coming in clueless and optimistic, I expected the time commitments to be serious and draining, but there was no way to prepare myself for the difficulty of those first few weeks (or months) of my college experience. Here starts my first week of school, and the word stress couldn’t be any less of an understatement. Going from 8-11 a.m. practice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to these classes in which I had no idea what was going on, or where I was, or who any of these strangers were was beyond stressful. On top of that I actually had to do homework and study and sleep? No way that was going to happen! I think the highlight of my first week of school was a nap in which I had a really weird dream. That was the highlight.
Little did I know, all of that stress would pay off. Sooner (boomer) than I expected, it was the week of our first football game. Forget school, all I cared about that week was practicing the routines over and over in my dorm room and “what time is my spray tan?!” Although I thought I was prepared, nothing could have prepared me for the moment I stepped out on that field for the first time. I began to feel like I was a part of something very very big, and I was overwhelmed with many emotions, mostly joy. The moment that I saw Bob Stoops standing ten feet from me it took all of my strength not to cry my false eyelashes off. Like what? How amazing is this university? Just thinking about stepping back out onto that field next fall gives me chills. But, in that moment, all of the hard work is worth it. All of that competition and drive that gets you through the week all pays off on Saturday when the first note of Crazy Train plays and pregame begins. Here at OU we are all a part of something way bigger than ourselves. We are a family. A family with strong tradition and overwhelming pride, and that is why I chose OU, and that is why I opened up my introverted self to the World Wide Web… so that I could spread the joy that comes with being a part of the University of Oklahoma.
Feb
3
Spring semester. Wow. It is still hard to believe how far I have come since I applied to OU. Three weeks in and it seems that I never took a break to begin with. I wish that I had all the answers and met all the expectations for the months to come. Unfortunately I do not. Yet a recurring theme surfaced in recent days that point to this semester being one of growth. Without the holidays and football games there is more time to evaluate what I am doing and searching for. The next semester is our chance as freshman to embark on new adventures and make strides in all aspects of life. It offers limitless opportunities at the very university built upon “oh, the possibilities!”
Over the past weekend, I attended a program put on by the Lead and Volunteer Office called Leader Summit. Throughout the day we listened to speakers, created boxes reflecting our own stories, and just spent time with fellow students and faculty. The Summit aimed to focus our abilities and passions by then translating them into aspirations for our leadership in the upcoming semester. The exercises and speakers relayed the importance of our positions as students. Now is the time for us to seek success not an abstract image of it in the future. Now is the time for us to look at the world with a sense of child-like wonder. Now is the time for us to figure out how we “play”. What lights me up and fuels me differs from the thing that you love to do. Instead of trying to change or correct that, I celebrate it because in doing so it allows each of us to rely on one another and build up a community. There is always a place for those that stand out and are courageous enough.
It turns out that the best remedy to the stress and challenges of the new semester was filling up Lloyd Noble stadium. Friends and I waited outside in the cold for two hours before tip off to secure our seats. Oddly enough the time waste proved crucial to my mental and social health. Being submerged in Sooner spirit reminded me of why I came to OU. The community and tradition of OU really can’t be measured. Banners made and voices ready to cheer the night away. I sat next to a complete stranger and after two halves left the game with a new friend. I reveled in the fact that our college years offer thousands of ways to connect to others. With that in mind I felt the lack of productivity for a few hours reaped much more than anticipated.
Growth is inescapable when esteemed faculty members, research studies, and students of all majors and ages surround us. Advancement on all fronts from social life to academics is daunting; honestly it is probably not for the lazy. Yet we are not meant to settle for mediocrity. Seize all of your strengths and experiences and utilize them to further your development hand–in-hand with friends. I am terrible about asking for help and guidance. Yet how stupid would it be for me to be in the midst of great minds or just people further along in life and not ask for opinions and secrets of their success. The philosophy of the semester boils down to ‘why not’. Why not study harder? Why not talk to the person next to you in class? Why not raise your expectations? Regardless of failure just the journey of attempting will be filled with more friends, stories and success than ever intended.
Taking into account the past several days, I hope to build an even stronger community on campus especially within the Class of 2017. The mission of this council is to connect and unite the class though tradition. I know that OU is the perfect place to let such dreams grow and develop. Focusing on these ideas and bringing them into reality is sobering for how I will face the next few months. My hope is that all of my class learns the balance of social and academic realms on their own terms and with their own unique flair.
Keep growing!
Hayley Struck
Class of 2017 PR Director
Jan
23
New textbooks- check!
First meal back at the Caf- check!
Reunited with old friends- check!
Syllabus week of second semester-check!
And where does this leave us? 15 weeks closer to the end of freshman year!
This is your vice Chair for the Class of 2017 Council, Annie Bradshaw. It’s crazy to think that only 5 months ago, we were wondering around the OU campus for the first time, making new friends and getting adjusted to college life. While the month long break at home was well spent (complete with home cooked meals, a normal sized bed, free laundry and no class), I began to realize how many memories I had made and how eager I was to come back. I was so eager that I started packing my stuff up 6 days before I left. And that Sunday, I loaded up my 8 bags and headed Northbound on I-35 for a traffic-less drive back to Norman.
After going home about 3 times last semester, therefore loading and unloading my bags 6 times, you would think I would’ve learned how to pack wiser. But no. There I was, on my 3rd trip from the parking lot to Couch, cutting off the circulation in my arms because of how many bags I was carrying that way I didn’t have to make a 4th trip. After I finally got all of my stuff out of the car and into my room, it came time to get all of the stuff from my bags and into my 4 dresser drawers and wardrobe. This was going to be the hardest part. As I was unloading my first bag, I heard the hall-door slam and someone yell “HELLO!” My suitemates were here! So I darted in their room and we spilled about our breaks. Forty-five minutes later, my roommate tried to stumble through my maze of bags with her bags and then she spilled about her break. After an hour and a half of stalling, we decided that we needed to hurry and unpack that way we could enjoy the rest of our night. So we did and then rewarded ourselves by going to our favorite Norman restaurant, Coolgreens, for dinner followed by Classic 50’s for dessert.
Wow- it felt so good to be back.
I woke up the next morning to six alarms, rolled out of bed, got ready and started my cold, windy trek to the Physical Sciences Center. On my way down the South Oval, I realized that I had forgotten to eat breakfast. Debating my food options for the day, I saw that CAC was on the South Oval with free breakfast for Winter Welcome Week- my lucky day! I grabbed a bagel and headed off to Calculus.
This first week back in Norman has already been filled with great memories! From the snowball fight on Walker-Adams mall, to the ice-skating rink in the Union Courtyard with our Miracle Child Zak Elshire, to finally going to see the movie Frozen, I am so happy to be back and I cannot wait to see what this semester holds! Be on the lookout for more updates from the Class of 2017 Council.
