The Black Student Association hosted a chili and bake sale on Jan. 20 and 21 in front of the Communications Lab to raise funds for the 35th Annual Conference on Black Student Government.

Members of the BSA set up a booth and prepared three tables of food for purchase, ranging from chili to cupcakes to collect money for a conference being held on Feb. 23 through 25, at the University of Oklahoma.

The Big XII, known for its football and basketball ties, is hosting the conference, but will allow students from any college to attend.

The theme for this years conference is “Renaissance: Reawakening Black Excellence.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, the OCCC Cultural Programs office will be hosting a Valentine’s dinner and concert they are billing on the ticket form as a “hassle free” evening.

The event will start at 6 p.m. in College Union Rooms 1, 2 and 3 with a banquet-style dinner and a performance of Strolling Serenade by the Silver Strings of Putnam City.

“Carson’s will be catering [the event],” Scott Tigert, Cultural Programs assistant, said.

The first day of the Black Student Association Chili and Bake Sale took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 23 in front of the Communications Lab.

BSA President Renitta Server said the chili and baked goods were all homemade by the members and officers of the association.

Occurring once at the beginning of every semester, Server said, the average profit nets between $300 and $400.

The first Brown Bag session is to take place at noon Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the College Union.

First Year Experience and Student Life Programs Coordinator Amy Reynolds said the theme is going to be study skills.

Occurring once at the beginning of every semester, Reynolds said the purpose is to help students prepare for and get through their courses successfully.

Nurses have to be able to insert chest tubes, administer fluids and anesthesia, even measure urine output.

Before they perform these procedures on patients, OCCC’s student nurses practice on Dan the Human Patient Simulator, and other simulators in the health professions labs, said Monica Holland, nursing lab coordinator. These include Gabby and Hal, Fred and Noelle.

For just under $200,000, OCCC’s first human patient simulator was purchased in 2004. Dan is a high fidelity, or life-like, robot that comes with technologically advanced features such as pupil dilation, voice response, and a pulse.

This robot, from Medical Education Technologies, Inc., or METI, has proven to be an invaluable resource for the nursing and EMS programs, Holland said.

Nervousness, apprehension, and fear may be preventing native and international students from interacting with each other, said Communications Lab Assistant Lydia Rucker. She said there’s an easy way for the two groups to get together and talk.

Rucker, who also is a writing tutor in the Communications Lab, directs conversation groups twice a week with both international and American students in an effort to change any misconceptions and also help internationals improve their verbal skills.

“Our fear stems from our want to understand but our inability to do so,” she said. “So with anything that you don’t really understand, or anything that makes you somewhat uncomfortable, you tend to avoid it.”

Student Life is hosting many of their traditional programs in addition to plenty of new ones this spring semester, said Amy Reynolds, First Year Experience and Student Life Programs coordinator.

Presently, a handful of New Student Orientation sessions are being held.

And, coming up next week, is a set of activities planned for Welcome Week.

Looking for a way to get into the holiday spirit?

Until Dec. 22, students, staff members, and visitors to OCCC can donate used or new coats to those who cannot afford them by stopping by a drop box located on the first floor of the Main Building between the atrium and Coffee Shop.

In an email sent out Dec. 13, President Paul Sechrist said OCCC is partnering with the South Oklahoma City Rotary Club, News Channel 4, County Commissioner Brian Maughan, and the Salvation Army to collect coats for those who cannot afford them.

OCCC has 33 active clubs that a student can participate in. These clubs are divided into categories, on the Student Life website, that include: religious, department, special interest, cultural, and honors.

The Religious student organizations include Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Chi Alpha, Christ Campus Fellowship and Christians on Campus.

Karlen Grayson, the student clubs and organizations assistant in the office of Student Life, said Baptist Collegiate Ministries has the most meetings of any student organization with two meetings every week.

OCCC’s College Democrats took politics from theory into practice this semester.

In October former president of the College Democrats, Kenneth Meador, ran for State Senate on the Democratic Party ticket for district 43. He lost in a special election on Oct. 11, but won nearly 40 percent of the total vote.

Since Oklahoma is widely known as a Republican state, when Meador ran, no one thought he had a fighting chance, said Javier Mabrey, current president of the College Democrats, who served as Meador’s deputy field director during his campaign.

Mabrey said the race was a toss-up to the very end. In his mind, it was about as close to a victory as one could get.

Mabrey said this campaign really helped him as far as experience goes, toward his goal of going to law school.