‘Tis the Season: Holiday Lights Event Brightens Campus
OU community members gathered Tuesday evening for the annual Holiday Lights celebration, taking a moment to share the joy of this special time of year and to reflect on the meaning of the season.
This yearly festivity at David A. Burr Park features a number of traditions, including the lighting of the holiday tree, menorah and the crescent moon; seasonal music led by the Singing Sooners and the OU Wind Symphony Brass; complimentary hot chocolate, hot apple cider, cookies and s’mores; and of course, Santa Claus.
During the event, remarks about the season were offered by OU President Joseph Harroz Jr.; OU Student Government Association President Tavana Farzaneh; Allen Hertzke, professor emeritus and founding director of OU’s Religious Studies Program; Imad Enchassi, founder and senior imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City; and Zach Kampf, director of Jewish Student Life at OU Hillel.
In his remarks, President Harroz observed that Holiday Lights is a unifying event that brings the OU community together.
“Seeing the optimism here tonight identifies who we are as a university,” Harroz said. “A university is a place to learn and understand each other … I love that here, we choose to recognize our differences as strengths – that we have so much in common and so many shared values.”
By Melissa Caperton; Photography by Travis Caperton
Article Published: Wednesday, December 1, 2021