OU Organiztions

Sooners enjoy helping people.

Students at the University of Oklahoma create organizations that help each other and people in different communities.

“I think it’s wonderful that students have made it a priority to help others, it just goes to show how amazing our school truly is,” OU student Alexandria Long said.

There are several active organizations at OU that want to make a difference.

This mission of the Campus Cursive organization is to unify students and faculty at OU by composing handwritten love letters to people in need.

“We are going to write letters to the people in Colorado that lost their homes in the flood last month,” president of Campus Cursive Madison Hake said. “We want to give them words of encouragement in this difficult time.”

Sooners Helping Sooners is a new organization that raises money for people in emergency financial situations at the University, according to the SHS website.

“The hope of SHS is to drive this campaign of compassion so that every Sooner has an opportunity to succeed at OU, despite extenuating circumstances,” Chairman Beth Huggins said.

Youth Empowering Society wants to create opportunities for those wishing to give back to their community, and to make society a better place with more enthusiastic, active individuals, according to the OU student organizations website.

Friends and Friends is an organization promoting social change based on Quaker principles of peace, equality, simplicity, stewardship and truth, according to the OU student life website.

Members of Friends of Friends are a part of the community, and they believe that people a part of a community must take care of one another in order for a community to flourish and remain enjoyable community, according to members of Friends and Friends.

            

          Members in each of these organizations have gone through difficult situations in life, and would like to help others cope with similar situations.

            

          Hake was struggling with depression during her early semesters at OU, and when she was able to overcome this obstacle, she learned the healing power of words.

            

         She was inspired to start Campus Cursive because she wanted to help people they way she was helped by using the strength of words.

            

         “For me personally I know that life happens, and sometimes it happens when you least expect it, that’s why I’m so excited about Sooners Helping Sooners,” testimonial speaker for SHS Emma Lindgren said.

            

          Lindgren was struggling financially because of outstanding medical bills, but SHS helped her on her feet, and she was finally able to focus on school.

           

          SHS uses 100 percent of its donations to help the students of OU, according to the SHS website.

         Students at OU believe in doing positive things to make a difference. 

Love Your Body Day

       
           The Women's Outreach Center hosted “Love Your Body Day” Wednesday evening at the University of Oklahoma in Gould Hall.

Love Your Body Day began with a brief documentary explaining why young girls want to look like Disney princesses and Barbie dolls. After the documentary ended, there was a panel discussion with three experts on this topic.

The documentary explains how kid shows are effecting how young girls think they should look, and they are also given the message that image is a source of empowerment.

“Specifically I worry about children’s toys and specifically the toys that are marketed towards little girls and the messages that are bring sent,” panelist expert Lisa Funnel said during panel discussion. “We’re just going to buy a toy and we don’t think about the messages that are being relayed or the actives that are bring socialized into our children in that way.”

Barbie and Bratz dolls portray an image of an unrealistic female figure. Young girls want to look like something that’s impossible to reach, according to experts in the documentary. It’s not a healthy for children.

“Children watch180 minutes of television per day,” panelist expert Yarisa Mann said.

 Children and adolescents view 40,000 ads per year on TV alone, according to the pediatrics website.

“When you look at the big picture it’s alarming,” panelist expert Alavi said.

            
            The documentary also shows how these ideas on body image also effects the way young boys view women.

“It’s a two way message it kind of tells this is what women should look like and if you don’t have that then you’re inadequate, and then you tell men this is what a real woman is and if you don’t have that then obviously you didn’t hit the jackpot,” Roksana Alavi said.

The audience was very engaged in the documentary. Laughter and sounds of shock could be heard from the audience as they reacted to what they saw on the screen.

They were also very active in discussion, asking questions to the panelist about the documentary, and what the panelist’s thoughts were on the message pop culture has given the new generation.

Inspirational sticky notes were placed in front of each audience member to read.

 One of the notes read, “Your confidence makes you beautiful.”

The Women’s Outreach Center hosts “Love Your Body” once a year, according to Women’s Outreach intern Bliss Brown.

The goal of Love Your Body Day is to help women love themselves for who they are, and to help them learn how to feel comfortable in their own skin.

“I really enjoyed the entire thing,” audience member Tracie Lee said. “I never realized how bad Disney and dolls were for kids.”

Japanese Foreign Exchange Studnet

Akahoshi Ikaru is a 20-year-old Japanese foreign exchange student at the University of Oklahoma, and he enjoys everything about studying and living in America.

            Ikaru is from Fukuoka Japan, and has always wanted to study abroad. When he was finally nominated by his school’s international office, he was excited.

            A student must be nominated by their home institution’s International Office first before they can apply for an exchange program at the University of Oklahoma, according to the OU International Student Services website.

            Ikaru says the most difficult thing about coming here was taking the TOEFL exam.

            The TOEFL exam is an English language test that foreign exchange students are required to take to test their English proficiency, according to the OU International Student Services.

            Ikaru has made a lot of friends since he’s been here. He loves the people here and says that they all have been nice to him. There is nothing here in Oklahoma that he dislikes.

            The International Student Services has a program called “Friends to International Students.”

            “The goal of Friends to International Students is to ensure that students enrolled from other countries at The University of Oklahoma come to know the Norman community,” according to International Student Services of OU.

Nao Kawasugi is a Japanese international student who has become friends with Ikaru.

Kawasugi says that she’s happy that she’s become friends with him and she always makes sure that he’s having a good time.

There were 13 Japanese international students enrolled at OU in the Fall 2012 semester, according to OU fact book.

Ikaru is looking forward to going back home and telling his friends and family about his time here.

He wants them to know that Oklahoma is a fun and a good place to be.

Ikaru would like to live in America in the future, but he wants to improve his English first.

When Ikaru isn’t studying for his classes, he likes to practice his hip-hop dances and eat all the delicious food that’s in Oklahoma.

He also says that he wants people in America to know that he doesn’t eat sushi everyday.