Letter from the editor: An Oracle Farewell

Amy Lecza To some, the Oracle is the way you get your news.

To others, it’s a means of measuring popularity. Some use the Oracle for last-minute birthday gift-wrapping or as a hasty coaster for a dripping cup of coffee. And still others (the majority, I suspect) politely receive the Oracle from my staff every other Friday following chapel, browse through for interesting pictures and promptly discard it in the Deli or Hava Java.

To me, the Oracle is much more than an ongoing school project or a means to attain skills that make me a marketable hire. It’s more than the temporary thrill of seeing my name at the top of the masthead.

It’s cliché, but it’s true: the Oracle is my family. I’ve made inimitable relationships with my coworkers. It’s the thing I’ll miss most about ORU when I graduate in a few weeks.

Subjectively Objective: A Final Metaphor

Nathan Porter I think one of the great ironies of graduation season is that the unique possibilities of our futures are often described using clichéd metaphors.

We’ve all heard these overused expressions countless times.

We’re told that as we “close one chapter of our lives,” and stare at the “vast ocean of our future,” we must remember that “the world is our oyster” and “the journey is the destination.”

Poetic, right?

Senior trio looks ahead to their lives after ORU

Senior women's basketball trio The season may have ended for the ORU women’s basketball senior trio, but their story isn’t over.

However, the next step differs depending on which senior you ask. Kevi Luper, Jaci Bigham and Savanna Buck are all graduating in May.

Birthday Fun Run honors Coach Duke

Coach Bernis Duke shows off the 2013 Fun Run shirt. This year’s design paid homage to Coach Duke’s birthday, who started teaching at ORu in 1965. Courtesy Photo As students gathered in Upper Lot to start the annual 2-mile Fun Run, gray clouds dripped a chilled drizzle on a mass of powder blue shirts that read: “Coach Duke’s Birthday Run, April 13, 2013.”

Not even the mist and 8 a.m. start time could rain on Coach Duke’s parade as he mingled with students before the run.

One would hardly be able to tell he stayed out until 1 a.m. celebrating his birthday the night before. But this isn’t his first Fun Run, not even by a long shot.

Now in his 38th year at ORU, Duke has become as much of a staple at the university as the health and physical education (HPE) requirements.

“I have taught long enough for Chuck Taylor Converse to go out of style and back in again,” Duke said.

Locked and Reloaded tour continues at BOK Center

“I SKIPPED PROM FOR THIS,” declared a neon yellow sign decorated with black Sharpie. Held up by two teenage girls clad in denim and plaid, the sign expressed the excitement of the younger sector of the audience to see Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert.

It was multicolored cowboy boots, big blonde curls and asymmetric, floral skirts as far as the eye could see. The anticipation was palpable as thousands of fans crowded the entryway of the BOK Center at dusk on April 13.

Although I was high up in the nosebleed section (seriously, the performers were tiny, Indian-in-the-Cupboard-size blips in my vision), I had a clear view of two big screens that projected the three-hour show for even the most elevated eyes to see.

Why Knicks fans have reason for hope in playoffs

Through the course of an 18-5 start, followed by an inconsistent 20-21 stretch, and then a 13-game winning streak that clinched their first division title in 19 years, the New York Knicks have taken their fans on a bumpy ride this season.

Yet, through it all, the Knicks appear to be playing some of their best basketball at just the right time. Poised to lock up the two seed in the Eastern Conference, they’re starting to give their fans ample reasons to believe that they can legitimately challenge for an NBA title this year, even with the imposing defending champion Miami Heat standing in the way. Here are four reasons for optimism:

Boston bombings: uniting through tragedy

Chicago Tribune cover. Internet photo

The morning of April 15th was just another morning for the sports world of Boston.

Fans of the New England Patriots were panicking after missing out on getting a new receiver. The Boston Celtics and Boston Red Sox were both celebrating wins during the past weekend and preparing for their next games. The Boston Bruins were getting ready for a game later in the afternoon.

Suddenly, none of that mattered.

The explosions that rocked the Boston Marathon also rocked the sports world.