Re: part 3 -- Notes

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, [7], 8, 9, 10 ]

Subject:

Re: part 3

Author:
Okie

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 10:08:39 08/21/13 Wed
In reply to: Okie 's message, "part 2" on 10:07:31 08/21/13 Wed

Festivals and events[edit source | edit]
Native American cultural events like Oklahoma City's Red Earth national pow wow in are common in the state.Oklahoma's centennial celebration was named the top event in the United States for 2007 by the American Bus Association,[118] and consisted of multiple celebrations saving with the 100th anniversary of statehood on November 16, 2007. Annual ethnic festivals and events take place throughout the state such as Native American powwows and ceremonial events, and include festivals (as examples) in Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Czech, Jewish, Arab, Mexican and African-American communities depicting cultural heritage or traditions.

During a 10-day run in Oklahoma City, the State Fair of Oklahoma attracts roughly one million people [119] along with the annual Festival of the Arts. Large national pow-wows, various Latin and Asian heritage festivals, and cultural festivals such as the Juneteenth celebrations are held in Oklahoma City each year. The Tulsa State Fair attracts over one million people during its 10-day run,[120] and the city's Mayfest festival entertained more than 375,000 people in four days during 2007.[121] In 2006, Tulsa's Oktoberfest was named one of the top 10 in the world by USA Today and one of the top German food festivals in the nation by Bon Appetit magazine.[122]

Norman plays host to the Norman Music Festival, a festival that highlights native Oklahoma bands and musicians. Norman is also host to the Medieval Fair of Norman, which has been held annually since 1976 and was Oklahoma’s first medieval fair. The Fair was held first on the south oval of the University of Oklahoma campus and in the third year moved to the Duck Pond in Norman until the Fair became too big and moved to Reaves Park in 2003. The Medieval Fair of Norman is Oklahoma’s "largest weekend event and the third largest event in Oklahoma, and was selected by Events Media Network as one of the top 100 events in the nation."[123]

Education[edit source | edit]See also: List of school districts in Oklahoma and List of colleges and universities in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's system of public regional universities includes Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.With an educational system made up of public school districts and independent private institutions, Oklahoma had 638,817 students enrolled in 1,845 public primary, secondary, and vocational schools in 533 school districts as of 2008.[124] Oklahoma has the highest enrollment of Native American students in the nation with 126,078 students in the 2009-10 school year.[125] Ranked near the bottom of states in expenditures per student, Oklahoma spent $7,755 for each student in 2008, 47th in the nation,[124] though its growth of total education expenditures between 1992 and 2002 ranked 22nd.[126]

The state is among the best in pre-kindergarten education, and the National Institute for Early Education Research rated it first in the United States with regard to standards, quality, and access to pre-kindergarten education in 2004, calling it a model for early childhood schooling.[127] High school dropout rate decreased from 3.1 to 2.5 percent between 2007 and 2008 with Oklahoma ranked among 18 other states with 3 percent or less dropout rate.[128] In 2004, the state ranked 36th in the nation for the relative number of adults with high school diplomas, though at 85.2 percent, it had the highest rate among southern states.[129][130]

The University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and University of Central Oklahoma are the largest public institutions of higher education in Oklahoma, operating through one primary campus and satellite campuses throughout the state. The two state universities, along with Oklahoma City University and the University of Tulsa, rank among the country's best in undergraduate business programs,[131]

Oklahoma City University School of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law, and University of Tulsa College of Law are the state's only ABA accredited institutions. Both University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa are Tier 1 institutions, with the University of Oklahoma ranked 68th and the University of Tulsa ranked 86th in the nation.[132]

Oklahoma holds eleven public regional universities,[133] including Northeastern State University, the second-oldest institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River,[134] also containing the only College of Optometry in Oklahoma[135] and the largest enrollment of Native American students in the nation by percentage and amount.[134][136] Langston University is Oklahoma's only historically black college. Six of the state's universities were placed in the Princeton Review's list of best 122 regional colleges in 2007,[137] and three made the list of top colleges for best value. The state has 55 post-secondary technical institutions operated by Oklahoma's CareerTech program for training in specific fields of industry or trade.[124]

In the 2007–2008 school year, there were 181,973 undergraduate students, 20,014 graduate students, and 4,395 first-professional degree students enrolled in Oklahoma colleges. Of these students, 18,892 received a bachelor's degree, 5,386 received a masters degree, and 462 received a first professional degree. This means the state of Oklahoma produces an average of 38,278 degree-holders per completions component (i.e. July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008). National average is 68,322 total degrees awarded per completions component.[138]

Sports[edit source | edit]Oklahoma supports popular sports, with teams in basketball, football, arena football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and wrestling located in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, Norman, and Lawton. The Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association and the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association are the state's only major league sports franchises, but minor league sports, including minor league baseball at the AAA and AA levels Oklahoma City RedHawks and Tulsa Drillers, respectively, hockey with the Oklahoma City Barons in the AHL and Tulsa Oilers in the CHL, and arena football in the Arena Football League was hosted by the Tulsa Talons until 2012, when the team was moved to San Antonio. The Oklahoma Defenders replaced the Talons as Tulsa only professional arena football team, playing the CPIFL. Tulsa is the base for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League and the Tulsa Revolution, which plays in the American Indoor Soccer League.[139] Enid and Lawton host professional basketball teams in the USBL and the CBA.

The NBA's New Orleans Hornets became the first major league sports franchise based in Oklahoma when the team was forced to relocate to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[140] In July 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics, owned by a group of Oklahoma City businessmen led by Clayton Bennett, relocated to Oklahoma City and announced that play would begin at Ford Center as the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, becoming the state's first permanent major league franchise.[141]

Collegiate athletics are a popular draw in the state. The University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys average well over 50,000 fans attending their football games, and the University of Oklahoma's football program ranked 12th in attendance among American colleges in 2010, with an average of 84,738 people attending its home games.[142] The two universities meet several times each year in rivalry matches known as the Bedlam Series, which are some of the greatest sporting draws to the state. Sports Illustrated magazine rates the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University among the top colleges for athletics in the nation.[143][144] In addition, 12 of the state's smaller colleges or universities participate in the NAIA, mostly within the Sooner Athletic Conference.[145]

Regular LPGA tournaments are held at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa, and major championships for the PGA or LPGA have been played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oak Tree Country Club in Oklahoma City, and Cedar Ridge Country Club in Tulsa.[146] Rated one of the top golf courses in the nation, Southern Hills has hosted four PGA Championships, including one in 2007, and three U.S. Opens, the most recent in 2001.[147] Rodeos are popular throughout the state, and Guymon, in the state's panhandle, hosts one of the largest in the nation.[148]

Current Teams[edit source | edit]Club Sport League Venue
Oklahoma City Thunder Basketball National Basketball Association Chesapeake Energy Arena
Tulsa Shock Basketball WNBA BOK Center
Tulsa 66ers Basketball NBADL SpiritBank Event Center
Oklahoma City RedHawks Baseball Pacific Coast League Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
Tulsa Drillers Baseball Texas League (AA - affiliated with the Colorado Rockies) ONEOK Field
Oklahoma City Barons Ice hockey American Hockey League Cox Convention Center
Tulsa Oilers Ice Hockey CHL BOK Center
Oklahoma Defenders Arena Football CPIFL Tulsa Convention Center
Oklahoma City NASL Men's Soccer North American Soccer League Taft Stadium, Soccer Specific Stadium to be built
Oklahoma City USL-PRO Men's Soccer USL PRO Soccer Specific Stadium to be built
Oklahoma City Football Club Men's Soccer USL Premier Development League Stars Field
Tulsa Athletics Soccer NPSL Drillers Stadium
Tulsa Revolution Indoor Soccer PASL Tulsa Convention Center
Oklahoma Victory Dolls Flat Track Roller Derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association State Fair Centennial Building
Oklahoma City Roller Derby Flat Track Roller Derby Women's Flat Track Derby Association Cox Convention Center
Oklahoma Thunder American Football Gridiron Development Football League LaFortune Stadium
Health[edit source | edit]
INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City
The southwest regional facility for the Cancer Treatment Centers of America is located in Tulsa.The state was the 21st-largest recipient of medical funding from the federal government in 2005, with health-related federal expenditures in the state totaling $75,801,364; immunizations, bioterrorism preparedness, and health education were the top three most funded medical items.[149] Instances of major diseases are near the national average in Oklahoma, and the state ranks at or slightly above the rest of the country in percentage of people with asthma, diabetes, cancer, and hypertension.[149]

In 2000, Oklahoma ranked 45th in physicians per capita and slightly below the national average in nurses per capita, but was slightly over the national average in hospital beds per 100,000 people and above the national average in net growth of health services over a 12-year period.[150] One of the worst states for percentage of insured people, nearly 25 percent of Oklahomans between the age of 18 and 64 did not have health insurance in 2005, the fifth-highest rate in the nation.[151]

Oklahomans are in the upper half of Americans in terms of obesity prevalence, and the state is the 5th most obese in the nation, with 30.3 percent of its population at or near obesity.[152] Oklahoma ranked last among the 50 states in a 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund on health care performance.[153]

INTEGRIS Cancer Institute of Oklahoma, along with Proton Therapy Center, is the 6th comprehensive cancer treatment centers in the country currently providing both conventional radiation therapy and proton therapy.[154] The OU Medical Center, Oklahoma's largest collection of hospitals is the only hospital in the state designated a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons. OU Medical Center is located on the grounds of the Oklahoma Health Center in Oklahoma City, the state's largest concentration of medical research facilities.[155][156]

The Regional Medical Center of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa is one of four such regional facilities nationwide, offering cancer treatment to the entire southwestern United States, and is one of the largest cancer treatment hospitals in the country.[157] The largest osteopathic teaching facility in the nation, Oklahoma State University Medical Center at Tulsa, also rates as one of the largest facilities in the field of neuroscience.[158][159]

Media[edit source | edit]Main articles: List of radio stations in Oklahoma and List of television stations in Oklahoma

The second largest newspaper in Oklahoma, the Tulsa World has a circulation of 189,789.[160]Oklahoma City and Tulsa are the 45th and 61st-largest media markets in the United States as ranked by Nielsen Media Research. The state's third-largest media market, Lawton-Wichita Falls, Texas, is ranked 149th nationally by the agency.[161] Broadcast television in Oklahoma began in 1949 when KFOR-TV (then WKY-TV) in Oklahoma City and KOTV-TV in Tulsa began broadcasting a few months apart.[162] Currently, all major American broadcast networks have affiliated television stations in the state.[163]

The state has two primary newspapers. The Oklahoman, based in Oklahoma City, is the largest newspaper in the state and 54th-largest in the nation by circulation, with a weekday readership of 138,493 and a Sunday readership of 202,690. The Tulsa World, the second most widely circulated newspaper in Oklahoma and 79th in the nation, holds a Sunday circulation of 132,969 and a weekday readership of 93,558.[160] Oklahoma's first newspaper was established in 1844, called the Cherokee Advocate, and was written in both Cherokee and English.[164] In 2006, there were more than 220 newspapers located in the state, including 177 with weekly publications and 48 with daily publications.[164]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]