June 2014

by Destiny Smith Because she is pregnant and 15, the future may be different for Reyna Rodriguez. In September, she is expecting a girl. Unlike many pregnant teens, Reyna said she and her boyfriend, 16, had planned to have a baby, though not necessarily so soon. She said her parents were disappointed. Her birth father suggested she have an abortion. Her stepfather and her mother offered to keep the child if Reyna did not. Reyna is an upcoming sophomore at U.S. Grant High School in Oklahoma City. At nearby Capitol Hill High, Alex Souza, principal for five years, has witnessed…

by Ronnie Rhodes College coaches recruit fewer than 7 percent of high school athletes each year, according to the NCAA, Some athletes go to well-known schools with large sports programs. They succeed in the spotlight and have a better chance of making it in professional sports. The rest go to smaller schools. They get less recognition but might be as talented as those who go to big-name institutions. All this fight for recognition comes with a price, however. More and more athletes are competing for the top spot at a school. The competition has increased over the years with the…

by Ronnie Rhodes We see commercials for Hollywood blockbusters almost every day, wondering what big installment of a franchise will come next and who will be the next big actor. Now, the rise of a totally different entity – the independent film – is giving Hollywood a run for its money. OU senior Kyle Whalen has been in multiple independent movies and defines independent film as its own genre and style. “Something that has a lot of quirk. Something a big production company wouldn’t bank their summer revenue on,” Whalen said. Independent films did not come into the world unexpectedly…

by Caitlyn Minton Sixteen high school journalists were put to the test during the 2014 Oklahoma Institute for Diversity in Journalism. “Journalists don’t get a lot of sleep,” said sophomore Camila Gonzalez of Harding Charter Preparatory High School in Oklahoma City. The University of Oklahoma hosted the OIDJ workshop for the 11th  consecutive year.  This year’s eight-day workshop was overseen by Melanie Wilderman, director of Oklahoma Scholastic Media at OU. “I believe in OIDJ. We are cultivating the next generation of journalists,” Wilderman said. All the students attend high school in Oklahoma. But they represented different ethnic groups, races and…

by Dyneisha Kornegay Staying in the wrong major can be catastrophic. Students change their majors for a variety of reasons and often realize what they’re learning isn’t what they want to study. For some students, this happens more often. According to collegeparents.org, 66 percent of students base their major of a career they are interested in. Students are encouraged to explore their options and figure out what they want to do. Brittney Johnson, an academic counselor at OU, said she starts by speaking with unsure students to get a feel for what they can see themselves doing in life. Next,…

by Dyneisha Kornegay As students leave for college, choosing a major isn’t the only concern. Where the student will live can also be a huge anxiety. Students’ social lives are affected by where they live during their college careers. Students have options for housing in college. Some colleges require freshmen to live in the dorms though students can get waivers to live elsewhere. While living in the dorms, students find themselves surrounded by others all the time. Friendships form between roommates and dorm mates living down the hall. OU student Drew Howard said he formed close bonds with his roommate…