Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism

Category archive

2021 Archive

Russian Students Answer Local Students’ Questions

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This year for the first time OIDJ virtually hosted two Russian students as participants, Milana Khaikhan and Ekaterina “Kate” Kitova, both of Taganrog. Despite an eight-hour 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. For this video project, the Oklahoma students asked a series of questions they wanted to know about their Russian peers, and Milana and Kate kindly responded. 

Pet Adoption Photo Essay

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OIDJ student photographer Jason McDaniel shares the stories of many animals up for adoption in Norman. Currently many shelters are at capacity due to people returning pets they acquired during the 2020 quarantine.

The power of Normanites and their contributions to homelessness

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By Olivia Abdalla Holland Hall High School Originally started by a Methodist church and established in 1983, Food and Shelter of Norman began as a way for congregation members to reach out to their community and assist those who needed their help.  The church’s way of helping the Norman community was through distributing meals in community parks. These meals were specifically created for individuals experiencing homelessness in Norman. What was meant to be a kind gesture 38 years later has turned into an organization that has provided more than 180,000 meals to the community: Food and Shelter of Norman.  “McFarland,…

Animal shelters overwhelmed as pandemic adopters return pets as normalcy returns

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By Jensen McKey Epic Charter Schools When the pandemic hit in 2020, many people started working from home, and they adopted pets to pass the time. Animal adoption shelters like Second Chance Animal Sanctuary in Norman saw adoption rates soar.  However, as people began returning to work, they found they no longer had the time or energy to take care of their pets. Now, shelters around the country, such as in Cincinnati and Los Angeles, are experiencing increased pet surrenders and adoption slow-downs since 2020.  Over the past seven months of working at Second Chance, office manager Ireonna Glenn also…

Podcast: The Hot Hot Seat!!

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In a podcast episode with OIDJ student journalist Kaelyn Smith she and her guests talk movies, college life and . . . toes. Kaelyn will be a senior at Norman North High School in fall 2021, and she is very into reading and creative writing.

OU athletes adjust to new realities as NCAA starts to allow profiting off name, image and likeness

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By Harry Lymberopoulos Jenks High School The National Collegiate Athletic Association on July 1 enacted new policies to allowstudent-athletes to be compensated while in school for deals based on their name, image, and likeness. What happens next – for athletes, the college they play for and sports at large – will be one of the most watched outcomes in the college seasons ahead. The NCAA allowed student-athletes to pursue compensation because of a 2019 lawsuit in California. Multiple statehouses also pressured the NCAA to enable college athletes to capitalize on their fame. Also, college sports leaders started to discuss a…

As normalcy returns to schools, teachers and students gauge how pandemic affected learning

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By Alanna LaDeaux Edmond Santa Fe High School On an average day, most students wake up and get ready to go to school, but COVID-19 changed all that, leaving students at home with parents and making online learning the norm. Students had to adapt quickly, and the average day turned into opening a laptop for class instead of going to school. Oklahoma teachers and students were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic when the school year was interrupted by school closures followed by mask mandates and social distancing. Beginning in 2020, the pandemic interrupted three school semesters, affecting school in spring…

‘A total demonization of women’: Formerly incarcerated women face job discrimination in Oklahoma

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By Laurein DrummBixby High School After a lack of calls back from employers and rejected applications, a formerly incarcerated woman decided to do what many with felony convictions eventually do to find employment: lie on her job application.  This resulted in her getting a job at a popular fast-food chain where she worked for nearly a year. She put in long hours to support her and her family, and even was promoted to management.  Then the company began implementing background checks and her status as a felon was revealed.  Soon there were accusations that money had gone missing and the…

Move with the mayor initiative helps to promote physical and mental well-being

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By Kaelyn SmithEPIC Charter Schools The July event for Mayor Breea Clark’s Move with the Mayor Initiative will be a walk around the OU campus with Clark from 7-9 a.m. July 24. Clark started the program in February to promote physical and mental health and well-being throughout the Norman community. Clark said she was inspired for the initiative by her experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the availability of recreational spaces around Norman. “We also had several facilities, like sports facilities open and parks open that were paid for by taxpayer dollars,” said Clark, who works at OU…

Jensen McKey forges close connections in person and virtually, in Oklahoma and across the world

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This year for the first time OIDJ virtually hosted two Russian students as participants. Despite an eight-hour 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. By Ekaterina Kitova TAGANROG, Russia – I recently met an interesting girl on the other side of the world and had a short interview with her via Zoom. Jensen McKey, 15, lives in the suburb of Harrah, Oklahoma, with her parents, three sisters and four brothers, who she says are friendly, spend lots of…

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