Edmond School District Faces Backlash For Its Fundraiser
Deer Creek Public Schools in Edmond is under fire after a video featuring students licking toes at a fundraising assembly went viral.
The district says it’s received backlash from around the country - much of which, it says, is misinformed.
On Feb. 29, Deer Creek held an assembly to raise money for the local nonprofit, Not Your Average Joe Coffee, which employs people with disabilities at shops around Oklahoma City.
The kids raised nearly $153,000. But that wasn’t what made national headlines.
In the video sent to Fox 25 News, students are seen licking peanut butter off of other students’ toes.
The video was posted on social media by X account Libs of TikTok, falsely claiming students were sucking on the toes of adults.
THAT was reposted by State Superintendent Ryan Walters and captioned, “This is disgusting. We are cleaning up this filth in Oklahoma schools. Our agency is investigating.”
The district says no adults participated, and students signed up for the activity in advance.
It also acknowledges it “failed to uphold the dignity” of its students and is taking steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
The district and the nonprofit say they’ve received hateful calls and messages from around the country.
U.S. Senator Mullin Defends IVF Following Alabama Supreme Court Ruling
Oklahoma Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin says an Alabama Supreme Court ruling defining frozen embryos as children is “not the position” of the GOP.
But 125 U.S. House Republicans including two from Oklahoma have sponsored a bill saying life begins at conception.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruling, which extends rights to embryos, prompted fertility clinics to shut down because they feared lawsuits.
The impacts of this decision are personal to Mullin, who spoke with CNN on Sunday about his and his wife’s seven-year struggle with fertility.
“This is not the position of Republican Party or the pro-life movement at all,” Mullin said.
But Oklahoma Republicans Josh Brecheen and Tom Cole are two U.S. GOP representatives among 125 who’ve signed on to the Life at Conception Act.
It would extend Constitutional rights to embryos at the moment of fertilization and lacks protections for fertility treatments.
Mullin says he'll support federal protections for fertility treatments if they're needed.
State Lawmaker Encourages Civic Engagement
It’s Election Day, and one young representative from Oklahoma City’s southside is working to ensure his community is engaged with the political process.
About 60 Latino residents from the Capitol Hill neighborhood are shuffling into their local library to hear Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval’s message to them: “Tu tienes una voz,” or “you have a voice.”
Inspired by low civic participation among Latinos and measures proposed this session targeting certain members of the demographic, Alonso-Sandoval organized an event last weekend aimed at informing residents of South Oklahoma City how they can participate in the legislative process.
“La meta no solamente es asegurar que estemos protegiendo las propuestas buenas y atacando las malas… [The goal is not only to ensure the community protects the good proposals and attacks the bad ones,”] Alonso-Sandoval said.
“pero también asegurando que tengamos más representación a todos niveles del gobierno para que nosotros tengamos una voz más grande.[But also to ensure that Latinos have more representation at all levels of government so they have a louder voice,”] Alonso-Sandoval said.
Help Needed: Boost Monarch Butterfly Population
Oklahomans can soon start taking action to improve the declining Monarch Butterfly population.
The decline in monarch populations has sparked the urgent need for action from Oklahomans.
The overwintering population of monarch butterflies has experienced an almost 60 percent decline, marking the second-lowest recorded numbers in history.
The Oklahoma Monarch Society's "Okies for Monarchs" initiative, involves more than 40 agencies and nonprofits. It serves as a central hub for monarch-related activities in the state.
The organization encourages people to start germinating milkweed to feed monarch caterpillars and other flowering, drought-resistant plants.
As communities come together to address the monarch butterfly's decline, Oklahoma can be a leader because of its path in the butterflies’ flyway.
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