Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism

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OIDJ Editor - page 7

OIDJ Editor has 297 articles published.

School Safety and Security

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Photo by, Katie Godowski: https://www.pexels.com/photo/end-gun-violence-12255889/

By Andi Anthony, Putnam City High School Parents send their kids to school every day with the assumption they’ll safely learn while they are there, but for the past several years that assumption has started to fade.  According to data from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, there have been more than 2,000 school shootings in the United States since 1970. The center is the Naval Postgraduate School sponsored by FEMA. In this era of school shootings, some people have questioned whether teachers should be able to protect themselves and their students with guns in school.  Some states, including Oklahoma…

OU freshman QB already making an impact in his community

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Photo courtesy of Shevaun Williams and Associates/OU Athletics

By Nora Neville, Vandegrift High School, Austin, Texas  Nick Evers, a freshman quarterback on the University of Oklahoma football team, is by all accounts an incredible athlete. He is the former quarterback of Flower Mound High School and was invited to the Elite 11 finals before the start of his senior year. Even though Evers hasn’t yet played a regular season game as a Sooner, he is already making an impact in the community around him. Evers has agreed to donate 100% of his earnings from his first NIL (name image and likeness)  deal to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He plans to…

Why I think 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote

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By Claire Ash, Edmond Santa Fe High School Should people under the age of 18 be allowed to vote? That question rose in my mind this spring in connection to an election in my hometown of Edmond in which a position on the local school board was in voters’ hands.  Two candidates were running for District 2, Cheryl Williams and Courtney Hobgood. Williams campaigned against diversity in schools.  “The political indoctrination in the classroom has to stop,” she said on camera in a Feb. 8 school board meeting. “We have seen LGBT flags, paraphernalia and stuff in a classroom, that…

Supreme Court decision’s impact on tribal sovereignty draws particular scrutiny in Oklahoma

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By Cate Slabotsky, Bethany High School With its recent landmark rulings, the Supreme Court is a hot topic of discussion. One ruling in particular sparking controversy in Oklahoma is the court’s 5-4 ruling on Castro-Huerta v. Oklahoma. This decision by the conservative majority grants greater power to state governments by allowing them to prosecute non-Native Americans for crimes committed on tribal land.  Described by The Nation as “a bizarre and horrifying decision,” some view this ruling as a step in the wrong direction. To many it comes off as a power grab, one of possibly multiple rulings that target tribal autonomy. But…

A Q&A with Ukrainian student Karolina Yaschenko

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Karolina Yaschenko

By Karolina Yaschenko, Ukrainian Academy of Leadership For the second consecutive year, OIDJ virtually hosted international students as participants. Despite a time difference that kept them working late into the night, these students learned from the OIDJ instructors, connected with the Oklahoma students and produced media work for the website. In this Q&A, Karolina Yaschenko answers a series of questions.  Q: Where were you born? A: I was born in the city of Chudniv, Zhytomyr region Q: Do you have brothers or sisters? If so, are they older or younger than you? A: I have a younger sister who is 10 years…

The future of esports at OU is bright, growing

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Mike “Moog” Aguilar gives a Ted Talk in 2019 about leveraging the innovation of higher education with esports as a focus of development. Screengrab from YouTube.

By Bohdan James, Norman High School Esports at the University of Oklahoma continues to evolve, with the creation of a new facility in Couch Towers and the expansion of scholarships and games.  It’s all part of a large vision Michael “Moog” Aguilar, the director of Esports and co-curricular innovation, has for the OU Esports organization.  “The next chapter, which is this school year, we’ll see the birth of physical space on campus which is a separate facility,” he said. Aguilar said the facility will have a space for all six pillars, or branches, of OU Esports, which are community, leadership,…

Escaping, surviving and thriving

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Here is a snapshot of data from the YWCA Oklahoma City’s 2021 Impact Report

By Thalia Henry, MacArthur High School  Oklahoma is known as one of the top-ranking states for domestic abuse and violence in the country. More than 27,000 abuse cases were reported in 2020, according to OklahomaWatch.org. Although domestic abuse plays a role in numerous families in Oklahoma, many resources and organizations are available to help people overcome domestic abuse, such as the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault and the YWCA.  This is the story of one survivor who found resources that changed her life. Lee, who asked that only her first name be used, is from Oklahoma City.…

Feb. 24 in Ukraine: Inside the lives of three 18-year-old friends left scattered by war

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Stephanie Avtonomova submitted a photo of her group of friends--two are featured in the article below. (First from the left is Paulo, Stephanie is fourth from the left, and Ruslana is sixth from the left). “This photo was taken on January 8, before the full-scale invasion. It was the last time we saw each other,” Avtonomova said.

by Stephanie Avtonomova, Ukrainian Catholic University The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing war between Russia, together with pro-Russian separatist forces, and Ukraine.It was started by Russia in February 2014 following the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, and initially focused on the status of Crimea and the Donbas, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. The first eight years of the conflict included the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists, as well as naval incidents, cyberwarfare and political tensions. Following a Russian military build-up on the Russia-Ukraine border from late 2021, the conflict expanded significantly when Russia…

Conference realignment remaking landscape of college sports — again

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By Dalton Davis, School of Business and Management in Dallas The NCAA is an ever-changing world. The pace of that change is rapidly accelerating as many college athletic departments are now battling to secure the most lucrative homes they can in the college sports landscape.  In the past year, Oklahoma and Texas accepted invitations to join the Southeastern Conference, and this summer USC and UCLA bolted for the Big Ten Conference.  In the wake of those moves, others are evaluating the pros and cons of staying with their current conferences or jumping to new ones to achieve the same goals. …

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