OU Latin Dance Club hosts ball

OU Latin Dance Club is hosting a ball fiesta on November 9 that features authentic Latin dancing.

Heather Arnett, a French senior who is a member of Explosión Salsera, OU’s advanced Latin dance performing team, has been teaching a four-week salsa workshop especially for the ball. She said the goal of the ball is to raise awareness and interest in Latin dancing.

According to the OU Latin Dance Club’s Facebook page, this year marks the fifth year in a row to hold the ball. The group dedicates itself to “showcasing and teaching social partner dancing of vibrant Latin rhythm.”

An hour before the ball begins, attendees have to opportunity to take part in a mini dance lesson, Arnett said. In addition, Arnett’s group, a live band and other special guests will perform throughout the night.

“It's always exciting to teach new people and get people interested in salsa and Latin dance,” Arnett said. “It's also very rewarding to see them picking up the steps and turn patterns. The students make it very fun!”

The ball begins at 9 p.m. in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Admission is $5 but is free for students with an OU ID. 

Declaring a champion

From simple library competitions to full blown tournaments, defining a champion for a video game has become muddled in the mass of tournaments available to gamers.

Both gamers and companies, such as GameStop and Nintendo, can invest a great deal of time and money into a tournament.

“The [tournament] I went to in New Jersey was international, and people from Europe and Japan flew in,” said Bassem Hanna, a pre-med psychology senior. “There was about 400 attendees total.”

The winner of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl – a popular Wii game – tournament was Japanese and won $3,600, Hanna said.

Even though Bassem tied for 49 for the tournament, he is ranked third nationally for the character Wario on the Smashboards, a website that helps organize Super Smash Bros. tournaments and ranks gamers that play them.

According to the Smashboards rule page, The top five players for each character on Smashboards is determined by the ratio of competition wins and losses which each have a corresponding point value based on the type of competition.

Aside from Smashboards, other organizations declare their own champion.

In 2008, hours before Super Smash Bros. Brawl was released, GameStop hosted their own tournament to crown the Smash victor as an event that would go on with their midnight launch of the game, a press release provided by GameStop stated.

That same year, Nintendo organized an official Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament as well. According to the corresponding rule webpages, the Nintendo and GameStop competition had different rules, prizes and ultimately different winners.

Regardless of who is officially the champion, both the company hosting the tournament and the participants benefit from the event.

“It’s an effective way to get people to sample a product and also get them into the store,” James Ivory, an associate professor who studies the effects of games and other interactive media on society at Virginia Tech said.  

In addition to in-store sales for companies like GameStop, Ivory noted that organizations that have sponsors, such as Major League Gaming who is sponsored by companies like Dr. Pepper and NOS, receive money from the advertising.

For the gamers who compete in tournaments, they can be a way to earn money, if you win, and provide for a place to make new friends Hanna said.

The opportunities for gamers to meet new people and earn money are growing as more companies like the Cyberathlete Professional League and Major League Gaming continue to grow, but add to the confusion as to who is really at the top of the charts.

Ivory speculates that as video game tournaments continue to rise in popularity, they could one day unite into one league like professional football did years ago once it reached a high enough level of popularity.

“In South Korea, their video game champions are just as popular as their sports stars,” Ivory said. “It might be unusual, but 60 years ago football players wouldn’t have been seen as stars either.”

Student contributions increase donations for OU United Way

A team take aim in the rubber band archery game. PHOTO: Miranda Sanchez

OU’s United Way Committee has seen a rise in donations by giving students the opportunity to participate in fundraisers.

On Sept. 29, Student Media hosted a three on three basketball tournament that raised $650 for the committee, Brian Ringer, co-chair of the committee and director of Student Media said.  This was a substantial increase from the $240 the event raised in 2011.

”Last year [the tournament] was all faculty and staff but this year it was all students except [faculty from] Housing and Food,” Ringer said.

When the committee fundraises money, they pass it onto Norman’s United Way committee who then distributes the money to deserving community organizations, Kristen Partridge, director of Student Life and member of the OU and Norman United Way committees said.

Though students are becoming a bigger part of the donations, the committee focuses mainly on faculty and staff participation.

“Faculty and staff have the opportunity to give to United Way through their monthly paycheck,” Partridge said.

According to the OU United Way website, the committee has raised 25 percent of it’s $215,000 goal. A third fundraiser was held last Friday, since the percentage was last calculated.

The committee put on an event called the Office Olympics on Oct. 5, which earned $400 in donations, Partridge said.

Eleven groups, each required to pay a $35 entrance fee, made their way through five games like the javelin – or pool noodle - throw to try and get the highest score for each game.

Although the event was geared more towards faculty and staff, some students participated within the teams.

“There are already some students mixed in [the teams].” Ringer said. “That’s because students work in our offices, and they feel like they are apart of the office, which is great. That’s the whole point.”

The next event for the OU United Way Committee is the dessert auction presented by Housing and Food on Oct. 25. 

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