I came to Oklahoma Christian University because my grandmother came here when it was still in Bartlesville, my parents met here, all my siblings came here, my cousins went here and I grew up on campus. I saw the greatness that is Spring Sing, First Week Follies and Homecoming from a very early age. I always knew this would be where I would end up, because I wanted the “OC Experience.”
I wanted the Christian atmosphere, the positive students and kind people.
The reason I was able to come to such a university and get the great experience I have received so far is not because of the students, Spring Sing, First Week Follies or the homecoming musical. It was because over sixty years ago, a group of people started a university that truly cares about its students. Since then, the leadership has changed a great deal, but their ideals have not.
Because of the way the first president, L.R. Wilson, on down to our current president, John deSteiguer, have chosen to run the university, I have had the opportunity to attend school here.
Recently, our school has gone through a large round of budget cuts. This is nothing new, every year the administration evaluates the budget and decides what is best for the university. However, this semester, budget cuts were heavier than usual, seeping into the student vision in almost every department.
In response to these cuts, students have reacted negatively. In the past, and even earlier this semester, when I heard about these budget cuts, I was upset. Hurt, even. Offended that the school I admired so greatly would do these nasty things to me.
But then, I was told to write a story for the Talon, regarding a facet of the budget cuts. I sat down in professors’ offices and spoke openly about these cuts. Since the article, I had a professor call me into her office to discuss the exact thing in more depth.
This made me realize something.
Budget cuts are horrible things, yes. But they are an absolutely necessary part of life.
Think of Oklahoma Christian for a moment as your family, as if John deSteiguer was your father. He might sit down with you one day and tell you that he and your mother are facing financial struggles. Maybe the economy turned, maybe he lost his job, maybe they spent too much on something they thought wouldn’t put them over the edge. Whatever the case may be, your family has to cut back, get rid of a few things you usually have, even if they seemed pretty important before.
In the grand scheme of things, you will be thankful your parents had the foresight to cut back before it was too late and you lost something big, like your home.
In the same way, Oklahoma Christian is merely trying to do what is best for us in the long run. They aren’t trying to hurt our feelings and they aren’t sitting in their big offices, taking things away from us and laughing at our Facebook posts. In fact, I imagine many of them might be stressing more about this than you or I are.
If the higher-ups decided not to do these cuts, there’s a possibility the dorms and apartments you are living in won’t be around in ten years. The chapel bells would no longer ring and there would be no place to take your children and say, “Look, this is where I went to school,” secretly hoping they’ll follow in your footsteps.
The attitude around campus needs to change. Oklahoma Christian is not, and never will be, out to get you. Instead, we should support our home and do our best to help in difficult times, however we can.
Leah Sikes is the Features Editor for the Talon.
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