Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman spoke to students about issues facing Norman and answered questions at an open forum event held on Monday.
The forum was hosted by Students For Local Action, the university’s first student-led interest group and think tank dedicated to climate action, according to its website.
Norman Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman on benefits of student involvement in city affairs
Holman, who was elected in February and sworn in as mayor in July, spoke about his responsibilities to the city, the University North Park entertainment district, and homelessness to a group of about 20 students in Adams Hall.
“It's extremely valuable to have the opportunity to come onto campus and speak directly with students about local government,” Holman said.
Holman said it's important that students exercise their right to vote and take ownership of their place in the community.
“Driving on the streets or going to the parks or entertainment options, businesses — all those things impact you,” Holman said. “You should participate while you're here in what's going on in Norman and help us shape a better Norman for future students.”
Holman said the University North Park arena and entertainment district was a critical topic of his campaign.
“The former mayor voted for it, I voted no, and it was a major point of the campaign, and he's now the former mayor,” Holman said, referring to Larry Heikkila.
In February, a Cleveland County judge ruled that the explanation, or gist, of a petition to turn the entertainment district to a public vote — which amassed 11,602 signatures — did not comply with an Oklahoma statute that requires the referendum petition to summarize the nature of the proposal in a manner that can be understood by those who do not practice law.
Holman explained that an appeal challenging the judge’s decision is waiting to be seen by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Holman also addressed city initiatives and services offered to homeless people throughout his 12 years as an elected official. He said homelessness was another critical topic of his campaign.
“The government's purpose is to do things like that when there is a problem or a need in society and no other entity is able or willing to address it,” Holman said, “that's when the government is supposed to step in.”
Holman argued that no “person of sound mind” would choose to live outside year-round in Oklahoma, citing political opponents who believe city services provided to homeless people has caused or exacerbated the issue.
“It can be 95 degrees to 100 degrees at 3 a.m. in July and August here. I know that from working at the bar and getting off just being dripping with sweat and the humidity,” Holman said. “Then in the spring and the fall, we have severe weather. We have softball-sized hail that can crack your head open.”
Holman said a major contributor to the issue is that, since Norman has no 24-hour shelter, homeless people are forced to leave in the mornings. Typically, this means they don't have anywhere to use the bathroom during the day.
“Imagine, any of us, if you had to go to the bathroom, really bad, and nobody would let you. Nobody would let you in their business,” Holman said. “You couldn't get home.”
Holman said the city is working on maintaining public restrooms in a way that serves residents and does not require constant maintenance.
“We're working on what's called a Portland Loo — it's a type of very durable public restroom that can be installed in a parking lot, in a parking space,” Holman said. “We're looking at some options like that potentially, because we think that we've got to find a way for (homeless people) to use a restroom.”
SLA President Sam Hunt said the club is for students who are interested in local political activity to have a place to come together, learn how city council works, talk to leaders in the community and explore local issues.
“Our members have ideas about things they want to see on campus from the community, things they want to fix,” Hunt said. “We try to help out and support students to actually go do that and make a change to their community.”
SLA Director of External Affairs Anna Hyslop, who moderated the forum, said it's easy to forget how accessible city governments actually are, especially in college towns.
“Getting people aware of the impact of local level action is something that's very emotionally important to me,” Hyslop said, “but also just a fact of life that gets forgotten when we talk about governments.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza, Thomas Pablo and Natalie Armour. Vanessa Essien, Gretchen Schultz and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
