04/22/14 Issue

Big Money Bingo

Big money, big money, no whammies. Students win big at bi-annual bingo bonanza.

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2014

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 107, ISSUE 27

*Photo by Ryan Klare

BURNIN’ DOWN THE HOUSE Trey Porchay, junior music education major, played the drums for the annual Nufusion concert that took place Friday night on the quad. Each spring, the band puts together a concert in the spring as the finale to Spring Fling week.

NuFusion: All that jazz

As Spring Fling week drew to an end, students gathered on the quad Friday night for the annual NuFusion concert, performed by the band’s jazz ensemble.

Dr. Rick Dimond, percussion director, conducted the concert. Diamond is also credited with beginning the spring tradition of Nufusion.

Students created arrangements of pop songs and submitted them to Dimond for approval.

If the songs were approved they were played in the concert, much to the enjoyment of the audience.

Some pop arrangements were “Let the groove get in” by Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson’s “Wanna be startin’ somethin’.”

The students who performed the jazz ensemble are proud to be a part of the event.

“I’ve been in jazz ensemble for 2 years,” Joseph Rapien, junior music education major, said. “It was an experience and priveledge unlike any other.”

NuFusion has experienced issues with

weather in the past that put a stop to the performances being on the quad. Luckily for the last 2 years the event was held in its planned space on the quad, due to clear weather.

NuFusion gives music students the chance to showcase to the university the quality of Henderson’s music department, but earning a music degree can prove to be quite difficult.

Although the degree is scheduled to be completed in 4 years, it is recommended that each student allot five years to properly attain the degree, since so much work and time goes into being a music major.

“I really enjoyed the drumming of Trey Porchay,” said Hunter Lively, senior mass media major. “He was the main one I was really impressed with. He was really killing it.”

While Porchay was holding it down on the drums, the rest of the jazz ensemble helped bring the whole thing together for a great show.

“I thought it was great,” Lively said. “I though it was really awesome that our students pulled together for a performance like that.”

Nufusion will return next year in the spring with new musical productions.

shown to the general public until Malco gives them a final stamp of approval.

Moviegoers can expect a modern movie-going experience at the new theatre when it opens.

“The theaters will be state-of-the-art digital projection with 3D capabilities and stadium seating, and the total capacity will be in the neighborhood of 720 seats,” Overturf said.

There will also be a common area, much like an indoor mall setting, that patrons will be able to enjoy after entering through a main entrance tower. Vision Quest Developments, who oversees University Plaza, will maintain this common area.

The theatre will also be a fairly large financial investment in the city. Overturf said that Malco’s preliminary cost estimate for the construction would be around $1.5 million with an additional $1 million dollars for fixtures, furniture and equipment.

Movie fans like Paul Glover, associate professor of communication, appreciate that the theatre will be state of the art.

“It’s great to hear that there’s going to be modern amenities like being all digital,” Glover said. “It’s really smart of them to make that investment.”

Malco has actually been planning to come to Arkadelphia since 2011 but were slowed by different factors. One of those factors was the July 2012 shooting in an Aurora, Colo. movie theatre. Overturf said that after the shooting at the “Dark Knight Rises” midnight screening, Malco was forced to rethink their security at their theatres. This decision cost the company time and money and also cost Twin Rivers a deal.

Rumors had circulated around Arkadelphia long before Malco’s initial 2011 plans though.

“When I came to Henderson back in 2005 and the remnants of the old theater were still there, there was always a rumor floating around that a new one was coming,” Glover said. “It’s definitely a long time coming.”

The Arkadelphia Chamber of Commerce is excited about the potential

growth for current businesses that a movie theatre can bring.

“The theatre will not only be enjoyed by moviegoers from miles around but will be another tool for further retail, tourism and economic growth,” Loe said.

There is a strong sense of positivity and optimism about the project.

“It’s really going to be good for Henderson and Ouachita students and for all of Arkadelphia,” Glover said.

Henderson students will just be glad to have a way to escape the stresses of college life in town.

“It’ll finally give all of us college students something to do here in Arkadelphia,” Ashley Williams, freshman human services major, said. “It’ll be great.”

Loe recognizes all of the hard work that has been put into making this project a reality. She said that all of the partners involved have been working tirelessly to bring entertainment to Clark County.

“This project shows that locals can work to make change for our community,” Loe said.

Malco opening local theater After years of requests and speculation, there will be a state-of-the-art movie theatre in Arkadelphia before the end of the year.

Malco Theatres, based in Memphis, will be building a six-screen movie theatre in University Plaza on North 10th Street that is tentatively scheduled to be open in time for the big Thanksgiving blockbusters this year.

“A theatre has been something the students have asked for over a span of many years, and to see this coming shows the hard work of many individuals,” Shelley Loe, executive vice president of the Arkadelphia Alliance and Area Chamber of Commerce, said.

Architectural firm Twin Rivers Architecture, located in Arkadelphia, has already begun the preliminary design work for the project. According to Mark Overturf of the architectural firm, preliminary drawings have been done but cannot be

Find more news and information online at WWW.HSUORACLE.COM Tuesday

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Wednesday

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Thursday

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INDEX Features: 2 | Opinions: 3 | Sports: 4

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Saturday

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Monday

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FEATURES

PAGE 2 APRIL 22, 2014

“Last Comic Standing” comedian entertains HSU There are few people who can evoke laughter from silence just by the expression on their face.

There are even fewer people who can take a very awkward subject and change it into a sidesplitting joke. This week Henderson was visited by one such entertainer.

Comedian, Josh Sneed performed his comedy routine Monday at the garrison center lecture hall.

Sneed was making a guest appearance after his three day set at the Funny Bone Comedy Club.

Sneed has made appearances on television networks such as Comedy Central and NBC. Some of his performances include Comedy Central Presents and Last Comic Standing.

Sneed grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Even when he was younger, he was still making people laugh.

“I was the class clown,” Sneed said.

Sneed enjoyed several comedians when he was young. Comedians like Bill Cosby, Steven Wright, and Jerry Seinfeld all made him laugh. However, Saturday Night Live was something he liked more than the others.

“That was my main goal, to be on Saturday Night Live,” Sneed said. “One day I just thought ‘maybe I should try standup to get my feet wet.”

Sneed soon fell in love with standup as a whole.

Sneed eventually started working at Proctor and Gamble while doing stand-

*Photos by Ryan Klare

KNOCK KNOCK Comedian Josh Sneed visited campus last week to perform an act for students. Sneed is known for several on-air appearances on shows such as “Comedy Central Presents” and “Last Comic Standing.” up part time. However, the call of comedy was too strong.

“It kinda came to a point where I had to pick one or the other,” Sneed said.

“So I chose standup.”

Sneed has been a stand-up comedian for 16 years. He has been a full time comedian for 13 of those years.

Sneed focuses on story-telling and traditional joke writing as the topics for his comedy routines.

“It’s very laid back,” Sneed Said.

Sneed doesn’t use theatrics to entertain his audiences. He is simply a guy telling stories and cracking jokes.

“The mood that I go for is that I’m just a guy on the couch at your house making you laugh,” Sneed said. “I want

it to be as natural as possible.”

Sneed encouraged everyone in attendance to come as close to the stage as possible before the show began. The show lasted for an hour with Sneed covering everything from celebrity encounters to video game console misunderstandings.

Sneed engaged the audience to participate in the show by asking them questions relevant to the story he was telling.

Those who arrived late were asked what their most embarrassing moment was, though Sneed stopped them before they had a chance to divulge any secrets.

Toward the end of the show, the audience had a chance to win a couple of Sneed’s audio CDs. Only one audience

member took place in the contest and told a traditional knock-knock joke. As there were no other constants, she won.

Junior accounting major, Sara Kerrigan attended the show.

“A friend told me that he was going to be on campus and so I really wanted to go,” Kerrigan said.

Of all the jokes that Sneed told that night, Kerrigan had one favorite.

“All of his jokes were pretty funny,” Kerrigan said. “My favorite one was the story about Jessica Simpson. I couldn’t stop laughing.”

Comedy is something that not everyone can master. For some it takes a lifetime to achieve what they set out to do, but Josh Sneed is one person that has perfected his art.

Using a relaxed storytelling and traditional joke writing approach to his standup, Sneed takes everyday situations and turns them into sidesplitting laughter.

You can look up Sneed at his website or by going to his Facebook or Twitter account.

*Photo by Zachary Burnett

Students gain awards for arts

and science from Ellis college The 2014 Matt Locke Ellis College of Arts and Sciences Awards Ceremony highlighted some of Henderson’s finest creative and conceptualizing minds among students.

A full Garrison Lecture Hall was on hand to help congratulate each award winner on April 10.

Students of every classification were honored for excelling in their fields of study beyond expectations.

Awards were given in the categories of Creative Accomplishment or Academic Achievement.

In order to be selected for a Creative Accomplishment Award, nominees had to perform or accomplish something in one of three categories.

They had to show an artistic ability, display research and findings or perform a service to others to meet all the criteria for the Students who were set to receive an Academic Achievement Award had to have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, show their quality of involvement in campus activities and show that they have active leadership and service to the community.

Both awards were given to individuals who put in many hard earned hours of work or research.

A short description was read about the students in each group that included their accomplishments so far at Henderson and what they plan on doing in the future.

Megan Huffstickler, a graduating senior who received an Accomplishment Award in chemistry, will be heading off to Penn State in the fall to join a research program.

“That was extremely exciting,” she

said. “The program was very prestigious and everyone there is doing cutting edge research.”

When asked if she had already been to check out Penn State, Huffstickler said, “Actually, I have a professor who contacted me before I ever visited, that has a project that I get to help on starting in July. So, I’m excited about that.”

Samantha Hunter, a senior graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, was a recipient of her second Academic Achievement Award in two years.

“I’m honored that the department has chosen me to receive this award,” she said.

Hunter said she has been given a scholarship to Missouri State and that is where she wants to go.

Benjamin Graves, a senior psychology major said he was “actually kind of surprised” to win his Academic Achievement Award.

“Right now, I’m torn between two schools—Central Washington and Missouri State,” he said. “I guess it’s down to who’s going to give me the most opportunity. I’m mostly waiting for GA positions, to apply for jobs. If you can get a GA position, they usually waive your tuition.”

Close to the end of the ceremony, the retiring faculty received recognition for their years of teaching. Among those recognized was Dr. Maralyn Sommer, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs and professor of music for 24 years. Dr. Henry Perez, professor of foreign languages for 23 years was also among those honored as well as Martha Dale Cooley, assistant professor of English for 23 years.

Dr. Robert Steinmiller, professor of communication for 25 years; and Beverly Buys, professor of art for 17 years, was also on the list of appreciated faculty to be retiring.

OPINIONS

PAGE 3 APRIL 22, 2014

What Putin wants, and how he plans to get it It was tempting to look at last week’s diplomatic agreement to pull Ukraine back from the brink of war and see the beginning of a grand compromise between Russia and the West. Tempting, but mistaken.

Vladimir Putin is still winning most of what he wants in Ukraine, and he’s winning it more cheaply and more elegantly than he would by launching a fullscale military invasion.

Last week’s agreement, which called on pro-Russia militias to end their occupation of government buildings, was probably only a speed bump on the way toward bringing all of Ukraine under Moscow’s influence.

That’s not only the view of seasoned Russia watchers; it’s also the fear of many officials inside the Obama administration. President Obama could use a diplomatic win, but there wasn’t a shred of triumphalism or even optimism in his description of last week’s accord.

“I don’t think we can be sure of anything,” Obama told reporters. “There is the possibility, the prospect, that diplomacy may de-escalate the situation. ... But I don’t think, given past performance, that we can count on that.”

Or even given present performance.

While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Geneva drafting the joint

L E T T E R S TO THE EDITOR

Have an opinion on a controversial issue or response to this week’s column? Write the Oracle at oracle@hsu.edu to have your voice heard. Opinions should be between 400 and 600 words and emailed as a word document. Include your preferred name. No anonymous submissions, please.

The Oracle Staff Co-editor-in-chief

Morgan Acuff newantiquity@gmail.com

Faculty adviser Mike Taylor taylorm@hsu.edu

Co-editor-in-chief

Stephanie Hartman stephwithahart@gmail.com

Sports editor

Kaitlyn Kitchens kk175413@reddies.hsu.edu

Photo editor

Ryan Klare rk167403@reddies.hsu.edu

Editorial cartoonist

Houston Fryer hf179598@reddies.hsu.edu

Graphic designer

Brett Little cblittle2010@yahoo.com

Web designer

Izhar Buendia izharbuen@gmail.com

Business manager

James T. Allen ja165078@reddies.hsu.edu

Distribution manager

Moe Skinner moeskinner954@gmail.com

agreement on Ukraine, Putin was speaking at a news conference in Moscow, and he wasn’t sounding like a man in the mood for concessions.

“It’s New Russia,” he trumpeted.

“Kharkiv, Lugansk, Donetsk, Odessa were not part of Ukraine in czarist times; they were transferred in 1920.

Why? God knows.”

Actually, every Russian historian knows: Lenin drew those borders to make sure Ukraine’s population included plenty of reliable Russians.

Putin said reports that Russian troops were among the insurgents in those cities were “rubbish.”

He called the Ukrainian government illegitimate. And he said he had a duty to protect the people of what he called “the Russian southeast.”

He added that the upper house of Russia’s parliament had already authorized him to use military force although, he added generously, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“He’s not compromising,” warned Fiona Hill, the Brookings Institution’s ace Putinologist. “He’s looking for what the market will bear. He’s trying to see how much of Ukraine he can take, and he’ll settle for what he can get.”

Does that mean additional military action? Not if Putin can get what he wants without it. In the short run, Hill and others say, Russia will continue to press for Ukrainian constitutional re-

forms that would give pro-Russia areas more autonomy and, if Moscow has its way, the right to secede.

And Russia wants a delay in Ukraine’s presidential election scheduled for May 25, because the vote would make Kiev’s current provisional government much more legitimate in the eyes of the world.

“He may not need to invade to get what he wants,” Hill told me. “He knows that if he doesn’t take military action, we’ll all say, ‘Thank God.’” In that sense, Secretary of State John F. Kerry was mistaken a few weeks ago when he denounced Putin for behaving like a 19th century autocrat.

Instead, the Russian president is a product of the 20th century KGB, where his career began.

He knows that subversion is much cheaper than invasion.

That may also be why Putin took a cautious step back from military action last week: The cost-benefit analysis was pretty clear.

In Russia, the 2-month-old crisis has already taken an economic toll: a 12 percent drop in the Moscow stock index since February and an estimated $51 billon in capital flight in the first quarter.

Last week, Russia’s finance minister announced that he had trimmed his projection for this year’s economic growth from 2.5 percent to 0.5 percent.

The United States and the European Union have agreed that direct Russian

military action would force them to respond with new economic sanctions, but without military action, that consensus fell apart. Putin “thinks the EU will back off, and he’s probably right,” Hill said.

And one more factor, Hill noted: “The prospect of Ukrainians and Russians fighting each other didn’t make Russians very happy. A war could have played very badly at home.”

The best form of victory for Putin would be to have his cake and eat it too: to have a Ukraine that gives Moscow a veto over its foreign policy and keeps its economy tied to the east, without all the costs of a full-scale invasion.

He’s on track toward that goal. The United States and its European allies can still push back through long and patient support for the government in Kiev and a costly effort to rescue Ukraine’s staggering economy.

But it’s an asymmetrical contest.

Putin’s interest in Ukraine is immediate and visceral; the outcome is central to his agenda as president. For Obama and other Western leaders, Ukraine is important but peripheral.

“There is a battle for Ukraine, but it’s not going to be on a military battlefield,” Hill told me. “It’s going to be a game of wits. The question is: Can we outsmart Putin?”

And, even more difficult, outsmart him on his own turf ?

SPORTS

PAGE 4 April 22, 2014

Women and men win GAC golf titles It was a historic day for the Reddie golf teams last Tuesday as both took home GAC Championship trophies.

Led by first year head coach Forrest Schulz, the Reddie golf teams have had a successful season thus far and carried that into last week’s outing.

The tournament was held at the Hot Springs Country Club, less than an hour away from Arkadelphia.

After opening rounds on Sunday, the final round was scheduled for Monday but was pushed back to Tuesday due to inclement weather. The day break didn’t have an effect on the Reddies. They persevered and came through with the first place finish.

WOMEN During the morning rounds on Tuesday, the Lady Reddies turned in a score of 318 in and were tied with the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech at 621 overall.

In the afternoon round, Henderson improved by 13 strokes, and four Lady Reddies finished in the 70’s.

Senior Kendall Earp finished tied for second place in the tournament with a 54hole total of 227, just one stroke behind the first place finisher.

“Every par save, every birdie, and staying mentally tough was all for the team,” Earp said. “We have such an

amazing bond, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Freshman Erin Brown ended the tournament with a 233 total after rounds of 83 and 78 and finished tied for fourth.

Both Earp and Brown were named to the GAC All-Tournament Team.

Earp ended the tournament with seven birdies and 32 pars, and Brown had a tournament best 33 pars.

Allyson Harris, Katie Flinn, and Katie Kilponen also pitched in on the championship effort, finishing 10th, 11th, and 18th, respectively.

The Lady Reddies will next participate in the NCAA Central Regional the first week of May.

MEN On the men’s side, Matt Jennings and Brice Howard earned all-tournament honors to lead the Reddies to their first conference championship since 1992 when current professional golfer Ken Duke was on the team.

Jennings shot back-to-back rounds of 2-under par 70 on Tuesday to finish with a 54-hole total of 214.

The senior totaled 13 birdies for the tournament and finished as tournament runner-up.

Howard, a freshman, posted evenpar rounds of 72 on Tuesday and 74 on Sunday ending with a 218 total, good for a fourth-place tie. Sophomore Gil Debusscher also finished in the top 10 for the Reddies finishing tied for eighth after rounds of 72, 76 and 73 on the par 72

*Image by Brett Little

course for the Great American Conference. Debusscher led the tournament recording 39 pars. Wess Webb and Joseph Hausberger also contributed to the cham-

pionship run finishing 18th and 28th, respectively. With the championship, the Reddies received the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals the first week in May.

Lady Reddies drop both games of double header The Lady Reddies lose both games of the double header to Arkansas Tech in extra innings, Friday, losing 5-2 and 2-1.

Arkansas Tech took the quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first scoring on a wild pitch.

Neither team was able to get much going offensively for the next few innings until the Henderson fourth inning.

Senior catcher, Amber Klug, got things going for the Lady Reddies drawing a one out walk in the top of the fourth.

Morgan South singled to have runners on first and second with one out.

After Ashlyn White struck out, junior first baseman Sarah Gipson hit a two out double to left field scoring Klug and tying the game up at one a piece.

After holding Tech in the bottom of the inning, the Lady Reddies came back in the top of the fifth with junior short stop Alicia Zack reaching on an error with one out.

*Photo by Jeff GIlmore

DOUBLE DOWN Catcher Andy Klug, senior, at bat in the doubleheader against Arkansas Tech. The Lady Reddies couldn’t pull off a win on the day despite a close second game.

Tricia Hock followed up with a fielder’s choice moving Zack to second with two outs.

Amy Halter would single to put runners on the corners with two outs and Klug also singled to bring in Zack and take the 2-1 lead.

The Lady Reddies would leave two runners on base.

After holding Henderson off in the top of the sixth, forcing them to leave two runners on base again, Arkansas Tech was able to tie the game back up in the bottom of the inning with a two out single.

Neither team was able to execute in the seventh inning forcing extra innings.

Gipson led off the eighth inning with a single up the middle but was unable to advance on a strike out and back-to-back pop-ups.

Tech would also have a quick eighth inning.

Back-to-back walks from Klug and South would give the Lady Reddies two runners on with two outs but were unable to execute in the top of the ninth.

Arkansas Tech won the game with a walk-off three-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth, giving them the 5-2 win.

Halter and Gipson had big games for Henderson coming up with two hits each.

The loss goes to Cagen Medlock who threw eight innings allowing five runs on five hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts.

The second game got off to a slow start with neither teams scoring until Arkansas Tech hit a one out single in the bottom of the third to take the 3-1 lead.

In the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings Henderson left runners on base and was unable to execute, still looking for their first run of the game.

In the top of the seventh, Senior Kayla Williams, led the inning off reaching base on an error.

With two outs, Klug singled to left field scoring Hock, tying the game up 1-1.

Neither team showed much life in the eighth inning, and Henderson took a quick three up, three down in the top of the ninth.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Tech was able to string together a pair of hits to win the game 2-1.

Williams took the loss, throwing eight and two thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits, two walks and one strikeout.

“We battled till the ninth inning in both games,” Graduate Assistant Coach Katelyn Blanas said. “Gipson and Klug had great hits to score runs, although we needed a few more timely hits. They were the better team that day.”