Oklahoma Christian University
An awards event to honor three local First Amendment champions was the mainstay of the 1 for All PR campaign on the campus in Oklahoma City.
Josh Watson, assistant professor of communication, guided his students in researching the state of First Amendment knowledge and awareness at the university. Then, working with two other communication faculty members, Watson said, "[T]he team adapted Dr. Philip Patterson’s GRASP acronym (Grievances, Religion, Assembly, Speech, Press) to A-GRASP."
Students demurred at the word "grievances," suggesting that "Ask-Government" better represented the freedom to petition. "The adapted acronym also guided the campaign’s slogan: Get A-GRASP on the First Amendment," Watson said.
Honorees at the event on Dec. 4, 2019, each received an "Oasis in the Desert Award." They were Dawn Shelton, owner of the Luther Register; Mark Thomas, executive director of the Oklahoma Press Association; and longtime journalism professor Larry Jurney.
