Katelyn Fights Cancer

            In December of 2009 Katelyn Mayberry received news that forever altered her life.

            Mayberry started to feel sick right around the time of Christmas. When her sickness started to get worse her parents decided that it was time to take her to the doctor to see what was wrong. Katelyn’s mom Kellie, was shocked at the news they received that her daughter had Leukemia.

            “I didn’t know what we were going to do,” Kellie said. “I was afraid that I wasn’t going to see my oldest daughter grow up.”

            Katlelyn was very active in High school by being a football trainer and was a member in many different clubs. When she decided to go to college at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond she decided to be in a sorority and live a normal college life. But when she received the news of her cancer, all of that had to change.

“I got a new look on life and I realized that there was going to be a big fight that I would have to put up.  The first thing that I thought of when I understood what was happening and why I was getting sick is that I wasn't going to be able to see my friends and hang out with them like I had planned to,” Katelyn said. “I was also scared that I was going to lose all of my hair.”

            A couple weeks after Katelyn found out she had cancer, her friends decided to make an orange bracelets in honor of Katelyn. They sold the bracelets for five dollars each and the money went to help pay the hospital bills. On the bracelets was a bible verse, Joshua 1:9.  Katelyn used that verse as motivation for the rest of her fight with cancer.

            Leukemia is a cancer that occurs in the blood in which there is an abnormal increase in white blood cells. It is estimated that 47,150 men and women will be diagnosed with and 23,540 men and women will die because of Leukemia in 2012 according to the National Cancer Institute. A total of 1,638,910 new cancer cases are projected to occur in 2012 according to the US National Library of Medicine.

            Katelyn found out that she would be able to have a bone marrow transfer if she could find the right person that matched her type. Luckily her younger sister Kyleigh was the perfect match. Kyleigh who was a senior in high school at the time didn’t hesitate making the decision to give her sister the bone marrow.

            “When I found out that I was a match I knew that it was something that I wanted to do because I care about my sister so much,” Kyleigh said.

            The bone marrow transplant was successful and April 2012 marks two years cancer free for Mayberry.

           

            “Now that I am cancer free, my life is pretty much back to normal,” Katelyn said. “There are a few things that I am going to have to do for the rest of my life to help keep myself healthy, but seeing that I got another chance at life, I know I can deal with those few things.”

Underwater Basket Weaving

            Underwater basket weaving is an craft that seems like it could almost be make-believe but is actually a reality, and is done on the University of Oklahoma campus.

            In Mrs. Armour’s Cherokee class, the students took a break from the normal grudge of learning the language and homework assignments to learn how to make the baskets.

            One of her students and OU junior Brad Balke didn’t know what to think when the class was told they would be underwater basket weaving.

            “When I first heard Mrs. Armour tell us that we would be weaving baskets in water I thought that she had to be joking around with us,” Balke said.

            The name for the craft is almost deceiving. While you do have to get the string wet in order to weave the baskets, you are not actually under water while making them.

            You begin making the baskets by cutting the right amount of string. Once you do that you are supposed to soak the string until it is more flexible so it’s easier to weave without breaking. That’s how the craft got it’s odd name. The weaving pattern is almost so simple that an elementary school kid could master the craft.

            “I definitely enjoyed weaving the baskets in class and it definitely gave me a more hands on opportunity to learn more about the Cherokee culture,” Balke said. “It was an easy thing for me to remember how to do and I would definitely rather weave the baskets than write a paper.”

Live Music in the Union Provides Relaxing Atmosphere

Live music being played in the Union

If you’re sitting in the Union close to the food court on most Tuesdays and Thursdays, there’s a good chance that you will be serenaded with live music.

            The Union Programming board sets up different artists to come play music in the Union during lunch hours two days a week as a treat to students either studying or eating in the Union. It was originally President David Boren’s idea to start the live performances because he wanted to make the Union a friendlier place, and it would be an incentive to get people involved.

            University of Oklahoma Senior, Stephen Pittman performs in the Union at least two times a month.

            “I definitely enjoy being able to have a chance to perform in front of a large group of people and it’s a fun easy way to make some cash,” Pittman said.

            Artists are able to play any type of music that they would like, but it must be edited and be appropriate. It’s also a good chance for some artists to play some of the music that they wrote and get their name out.

            “I play some John Mayer and Ben Rector songs and they seem to be really popular,” Pittman said. “But I really enjoy being able to play some things that I have spent my own time writing.”

            Some students that are in the Union during the day really appreciate the free music, especially while eating lunch. University of Oklahoma junior Jake Smith is one of those people.

            “I think it’s a pretty big stress relief when I’m able to eat lunch while listening to relaxing music when I’m in between classes,” Smith said.

            If you’re interested in listening to the live music then go to the Union around noon on most Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Relay for Life: Cancer Never Sleeps

On Saturday April 21 the University of Oklahoma will hold an event to help fight pancreatic cancer called Relay for Life. This relay will earn money that will go towards cancer research and awareness.

Along with earning money, the relay will celebrate the lives of people that have survived cancer and also remember those who have perished because of the terrible disease. The relay will have many teams with numerous people on each team. The goal is to keep at least one person from each team on the track walking around the entire time to show that cancer never sleeps.

Before the race begins there is a survival lap where cancer survivors walk around and show the victories they have achieved over cancer. In most Relays’ for Life there is a Luminaria Ceremony, which happens after dark where they honor people who have died from cancer.

University of Oklahoma freshman, Logan Eller is participating in Relay for Life this year.

“I decided to do relay for life because one of my sorority sisters was very involved in it. She was not personally affected by pancreatic cancer but 3 of her family members have passed away because of it. More importantly she lost her mom this year to pancreatic cancer,” Eller said.

Eller also thinks that it will be something that she will continue to be involved with in throughout her life.

“I think I will continue to participate in Relay for Life because the money goes to a good cause and so many people are affected by this disease but not many people are aware of what it is,” Eller said.

Logan Eller
Relay for Life Participant

The Big Event for a Big Heart

            On Saturday April 21, the University of Oklahoma will put on the Big Event; a campus wide community service event that any student can participate in. But for OU sophomore Cale Curtain, Big Event means so much more.

            Curtain is on the Big Event executive community and is in charge of recruitment for the well-known event. This event isn’t the first time Curtain has been involved with big time community service. In the fall, he was co-philanthropy chair for a 5K-diabetes run that was put on by the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

             “I was in charge of putting up flyers all around Norman, getting volunteers, putting out ads on the sports animal and just letting anyone and everyone know about the event we were putting on,” Curtain said.

            Big Event and the 5K are two of the bigger philanthropy events that are held at the University of Oklahoma and Curtain had a big hand in both of them. Curtain’s co chair for the diabetes run, Zane Simmons had a lot of good things to say about Curtain.

            “Cale is a very caring guy that is genuine about wanting to see peoples lives get better by helping them,” Simmons said.

            Curtain has been involved with community service since high school and plans on continuing to help other people for the rest of his life.

            “I had an interest in leadership in high school and kind of found my niche in community service,” Curtain said. “I found out that I was good at organizing events and organizing people and what made it better is that I was helping out people.”

Hank Holland Perseveres

Hank Holland is interesting because he perseveres through struggle and strife, no matter the odds.

            When Hank Holland was in his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, his life changed forever.

           

            Holland grew up in Oklahoma City playing all different types of sports. His three favorites, and the ones he excelled at most were basketball soccer and golf.

            “I’ve loved playing sports ever since I can remember. They just came natural to me,” Holland said.

            Sports took an even bigger role in Holland’s life when he got to High school where he attended Oklahoma Christian School. He was on the varsity teams in both basketball and soccer as a freshman.

            When Holland graduated high school he decided that he wanted to attend the University of Oklahoma where he would major in business. He also decided that he wanted to join a fraternity, so he signed with Sigma Phi Epsilon.

            “I wanted to be involved with something when I got to college, and when I met a lot of the guys in Sig Ep, I knew it was a good fit,” Holland said.

            On OU’s campus, intramural sports are very popular among the fraternity houses. Each house tries to get as many wins as possible and accumulate points  throughout the whole school year. Holland was excited for another opportunity to compete in the sports he loves so much.

            On march 28^th, during intramural soccer season; Holland was playing forward for his Sig Ep team when the worst happened.

            “I was running towards the ball and collided with the goalie,” Holland said. “When I started falling backwards, I tried to use my hand to catch myself and that’s when it broke.”

            His arm was broken to where you could see the bone almost breaking through the skin. Holland was immediately taken to the hospital where he had surgery soon after.

           

            What was supposed to be a normal procedure turned into something worse. After the surgery his arm was wrapped incorrectly and it pinched a nerve. Immediately his hand swelled up to the size of a softball.

            “I could tell by the doctors face that he didn’t even know what had happened. After he examined it he told me I may never have feeling in my right hand again and that sports would be almost impossible,” Holland said.

            After the swelling went down, his fingers were curled over and he was unable to open them. His forearm was covered with a bright red scar and he had severe nerve damage.

            One percent of all hospital patients are victims of malpractice according to the Civil Justice Resource Group. The most common broken bone is the wrist for people under 75 years old. About one in every twenty fractures involves the humerus according to Midwest Orthopaedics. In 2006 there were over 160,000 injuries from playing soccer according to the National Center for Sports Safety.

Basketball isn’t the only thing that Holland would not be able to do easily. Simple tasks such as texting, typing, eating and playing video games were now difficult.

            “At first when I looked at my hand I didn’t see how it would be possible to pick up a golf club or shoot a basketball again,” Holland said. “After awhile I was tired of not being able to do what I wanted to do, so I decided to change that.”

Brittany Bates is Holland’s girlfriend and she had a hard time seeing her boyfriend not be able to do everyday tasks.

            “It was really difficult seeing him so upset at first,” Bates said. “I knew he wouldn’t sit around for long though, he’s too much of a motivated person.”

            Holland wasn’t the type of person who didn’t like hearing what he could and couldn’t do. He was determined to prove people wrong so he could live his life the way he had planned before his injury.

            Playing video games again was the first thing he mastered one handed. Then he was able find a way to type efficiently with one hand. But there was another thing that Holland wanted to try out again: basketball.

            Holland made a name for himself for being a great ball handler that could play great defense. Those things are a lot harder when you only have one good hand and the other hand is sensitive when touched.  He wasn’t going to let his hand hold him back from playing the game he knew so well.

“I loved the game of basketball way too much to never be able to play again. I had to find a way,” Holland said.

            Holland bought a pad that he could wear on his arm for protection and the rest is history. He started going up to the Houston Huffman center on OU’s campus and began teaching himself the fundamentals of basketball again.

            “I just started by dribbling and learning how to go different directions with just one good hand. I also had to change up the shooting form that I had used for so long,” Holland said. “I wasn’t able to use the right hand for support anymore. It completely changed my style of play.”

            Holland was able to keep working at it and started playing pick up games again. He continues to get better and better and is even playing intramural sports again.

            “I didn’t like just sitting and watching people do what I wanted to do,” Holland said. “I wasn’t going to let my injury hold me back from living my life.”

Controversial

When former New York Knick head coach Mike Dantoni told Jeremy Lin to get ready to go in the game against the Nets, no one knew what was ahead for Lin.

The Asian American point guard out of Harvard was undrafted and was released by numerous NBA teams before the Knicks took a chance on him. Lin became a national phenomenon shortly after making a memorable appearance against the New Jersey Nets where he scored 25 points and had 7 assists along with 5 rebounds. He has gone on to start every game since for the New York Knicks and has flourished with his new role.

While Lin was getting some recognition for being the underdog who suddenly sprung up as an NBA star, he was also getting attention for other reasons. Lin started to hear remarks about him being Asian American and not all of the remarks were complimentary. Boxing star Floyd Mayweather Jr. had a lot to say from his twitter account on the subject of Lin.

”Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night but don’t get the same praise,” Mayweather said.

This wasn’t the only remark on Lin’s race that came to national attention. An article which was titled, “A Chink in the Armor” was posted on the homepage of ESPN’s website, and received plenty of criticism for using the racial slur intended towards people of Asian descent.

Even little remarks such as “surprisingly athletic” have caught people’s attention merely for the fact that it’s looked as surprising because of his race. Lin himself hasn’t been very vocal about the remarks and has been good about keeping his composure.

University of Central Oklahoma sophomore, Jackie Nguyen is asian American, but she doesn’t get too caught up in the controversy.

“I think that people shouldn’t say offensive things about other peoples race, but I think some people are making it a bigger deal of it than it is,” Nguyen said. “The fact that an Asian American is excelling in athletics shouldn’t be a surprise to people though.”