ARKATECH THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1923
THE ARKANSAS
News briefs
Sports- The Golden
Suns’ tennis team will be playing Ouachita Baptist from 2-5 p.m. at Chartwells Athletic Complex The Golden Suns and Wonder Boys will play Henderson State during the Gold Rush game. The women begin at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m. in Tucker Coliseum. Free T-Shirts while supplies last. From 3-6 p.m. women’s tennis will play Central Oklahoma Friday at Chartwells Athletic Complex Baseball will play Ouachita Baptist from 7-10 p.m. Friday at the baseball field. From 1-4 p.m. Saturday the teams will play in a double header.
Health Wellness-
and
Free giveaways at the Oral Health Information Booth from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday at Baztech.
Career
Services-
All Majors Career Fair will take place from 1-4 p.m. Tuesday in W.O. Young Ballroom
Campus
LifeStudents will have the opportunity to participate in a workshop in leadership from Leslie Knope from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday in BazTech 203.
TECH
UNIVERSITY
//
T H U R S D A Y,
FEB.18,2016
•
VOL.92
NO.15
Finding your money AMBER QUAID
Managing Editor
AMBER QUAID/THE ARKA TECH Andrea Lea encourages the Dardanelle Rotary Club to go online and see if they are owed any money.
In the state of Arkansas there is over $200 million dollars in unclaimed property. This property belongs to the people of Arkansas, but about only 30% has claimed theirs. Arkansas State Auditor Andrea Lea has been speaking to schools, rotary clubs and other groups to give the general public the knowledge about how to access any money they may have. “We were honored to have Andrea Lea come and speak to the Dardanelle Rotary club,” said Donna McDonald, rotary member and director of the Arkansas River Valley regional library system. “[Lea] shared many interesting ideas and fascinating stories about unclaimed property.” To showcase the ease of her website Lea brings an iPad to her talks and helps people check to see if they have any unclaimed property. “My first year has been spent
learning the office really well and trying to make it as user friendly as possible,” Lea said. Other ways Lea is trying to reach the public is by having themed weeks, like search your church week, or by holding a “snicker’s hour”, which is an hour in the afternoon where her team meets to come up with new ways to reach the public. “Each one of us has different talents and she recognizes that and fosters that,” said Donnally Davis, media coordinator for the state auditor’s office and originator of the themed weeks. “She gives us tasks, challenges to make us grow.” According to the treasury, unclaimed property is intangible assets that a company or other entity is holding that belong to a person that have become abandoned. This includes deposits, paychecks, insurance payments and bank accounts to name a few.
(see MONEY page 4)
'Path to progress' recalled
SAM STRASNER University Relations
It had been almost 53 years since his graduation when Col. George T. Hudgens returned to Arkansas Tech University to deliver the institution’s 2016 Black History Month keynote address on Tuesday. As Hudgens spoke in the Doc Bryan Lecture Hall, he offered a recitation of the change he has witnessed during his life. “The path to progress is always under construction,” said Hudgens. A member of the Arkansas Tech Class of 1963, Hudgens was the first AfricanAmerican graduate of what was then known as Arkansas Polytechnic College. Hudgens said that shortly after enrolling at Arkansas Tech, he “immediately became
aware of the adage that these are the times that try men’s souls.” He told of not being allowed to eat with the other students in the cafeteria, not being permitted to live in campus housing and being barred from participation in intercollegiate athletics. However, Hudgens said he also received a great deal of support from a number of people both on and off campus. He recalled becoming the first African-American student at Arkansas Tech chosen for Blue Key Honor Society, a senior fellowship in the history department and “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.” Hudgens was also the first African-American to complete the U.S. Army ROTC program at Arkansas Tech
as a Distinguished Military Graduate. Hudgens described the ROTC program at Arkansas Tech as a “social and developmental refuge.” Upon his graduation from Arkansas Tech, Hudgens was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served as a commander in Vietnam and led the mechanized infantry battalion at Fort Carson in Colorado. In 1983, be became a regimental commander for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. There, he was responsible for the training, supervision, development and welfare of 2,400 prospective Army officers. He went on to work at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Hudgens was chief of
(see SPEECH page 4)
Tackling the library CLAUDIA YOUNG Editor-in-Chief
Installation of vending machines in the library and 24-hour access to the library are two of the many goals for the Student Government Association (SGA) this year. There are four main goals for this semester but keeping the first floor open 24 hours and installing vending machines are the highest priorities. A Starbucks cart in the library has also been discussed. In the past year, decorated caps for graduation have been approved, but SGA is working to get decorated gowns approved as well. Though it has been disapproved, SGA is still pushing for midterm grades to be posted on OneTech for juniors and seniors.
Bethany Skaggs, newly appointed president of SGA, said their biggest goal is to “tackle the library issue.” Last semester, she was on the committee that helped get the library’s hours extended by one hour, but she has higher hopes for this semester. “I know that it will take a lot longer than just one semester, but that’s something I really want to start working on,” Skaggs said. Recently, SGA has been occupied with organizing events for Wonder Week, a spirit week leading up to the Gold Rush basketball game. Now that Wonder Week is coming to a close, SGA is focusing on smaller events, helping other organizations and addressing student concerns. Most of SGA’s funds goes toward
(see SGA page 4)
Presidential straw poll ending, voters welcomed RYAN HARMON Entertainment Writer The History and Political Science department wants to remind the Tech community that the 2016 presidential straw poll will be ending soon. Students, faculty and
staff are encouraged to take part in the poll, which will give participants the chance to pick their favorite Democrat or Republican presidential candidate. The poll will be available until 9 p.m. Monday.
To take part in the straw poll, visit the History and Political Science department's page on theLINK. The direct link for the poll is: https:// atu.collegiatelink.net/ organization/HIstory andPoliticalScience Dept/election/start/93113
AMBER QUAID/THE ARKA TECH
Learn self-defense, free
AMBER QUAID
Managing Editor
Free self-defense classes, for students, faculty and staff, are being offered by the Arkansas Tech University Department of Public Safety. The classes start today and continue for the next two weeks. Each person that attends a session will receive a free T-shirt and other items offered such as whistles and flashlights. Students who attend all three sessions will have a chance to win a red hangtag-parking permit. Each class will cover issues such as self-defense, residential safety, general rules for being in public, how not to be a victim, statistics on the university and how to report a crime The classes also offer resources in case a crime does happen. “It’s stuff you can learn in college and then take that information into the real world,” said Joshua
McMillian, public safety chief. This year’s classes are taught by McMillian, a certified law enforcement officer who has been trained to teach courses in selfdefense and Asia Petit, an instructor trained in MMA, boxing and Jujitsu. The self-defense classes are part of a program called the Equalizer, which is used on college campuses across the nation, and is broken down into three different sessions. Each session is offered twice a week to give students two opportunities to attend. The first session, Feb. 18, will be over university safety; session two, Feb. 24 and 25, will be over residential safety; and session three, March 2 and 3, will be over sexual assault. Each session runs from 6-9 p.m. and will be held in Doc Bryan Student Services Center Room 242.
(see DEFENSE page 4)