08/26/13 Issue

Oracle The

MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013

News Briefs Mentalist Craig Karges will be on campus for a show Monday, Aug. 26. If you like illusions, then head out to the Lecture hall at 7 p.m. Don’t forget to bring your friends.

There will be a diversity mixer tonight in the Banquet room in the Garrison. The mixer will begin at 4 p.m. and last until 5:30 p.m.

Henderson will host the student organization fair this Tuesday during the dead hour. All the student organizations and clubs will be on display in the day gym beginnig at 12:15 p.m. This is the perfect opportunity for freshman to see all the great things Henderson has to offer.

Dance Company will be holding auditions on Aug. 27, in the Arkansas Hall dance studio. Auditions begin at 4:30 p.m.

Arkansas Blood Institute will be in the day gym for the fall semester blood drive beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28 and Thursday, Aug. 29. The drive will last until 4 p.m. on each day. All donations are appreciated.

The Garrison will play a movie in the Lecture Hall Wednesday night. “Now You See Me” will start at 7:30 p.m. for those students who wish to watch.

If you can’t make it to the Wednesday showing, there is one more screening of “Now You See Me” on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m.

Are you a coffee drinker?

Do you like good conversation? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then come out to the Jones room foyer and get both at once on Thursday, Aug. 29. Coffee and Conversation will begin at 7:30 a.m. and last until 8:45 a.m.

HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY

VOLUME 16, ISSUE 2

Freshman enrollment drops with aid change Moe Skinner Staff Writer Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Where did all the freshmen go? Should Henderson issue an Amber Alert or hang up some missing posters?

The campus intake in new student registrations boomed when the Academic Challenge Scholarship, or the Lottery Scholarship, first started paying dividends back in the 20102011 school year.

Since that time, the amounts awarded to students have been cut twice, causing freshmen to suffer the worst.

“There are a lot of people that don’t get enough scholarships, and the freshmen drop out because they cannot afford it,” Amanda Whisenhunt, sophomore psychology major, said. “Maybe they are going to community college since the scholarships got cut. If I didn’t have the scholarship, I would have to go to another college, probably a community college.”

The lottery can be blamed for some of the deteriorating numbers, but there are other factors that contribute to the dwindling percentages of new students on campus.

Dr. Maralyn Sommer, interim provost, vice president of academic affairs and professor of music, had a different insight on the matter.

“This whole region has a declining high school enrollment,” Sommer said. “Arkadelphia graduated less seniors last school year.”

After checking the enrollment data, Sommer concluded that the freshmen are not alone. S ophomores and transfer students also had a drop in registration figures.

“No way of knowing why it’s down, we just assume,” Sommer said. “I’m not overly concerned. This is our first year in decline in a couple of years.

Quality recruiting will be key.

We just have to watch and do everything we can, so next Fall we don’t have a second year of declining enrollment.”

Sommer also noted the retention rate at Henderson. The number of junior and senior students returning to Henderson is up.

“If our students will take opportunities available on campus, such as the advising center, supplemental instructions

and tutoring,” Sommer said, “they can be successful.”

Dr. Lewis A. Shepherd, vice president for student and external affairs, had the same optimistic attitude about the subject.

Although the true enrollment numbers will not be published for a few more days, Dr. Shepherd offered his take on the matter.

“The preliminary report shows we are down in enrollment, but when you look at the averages over a ten-year period, we are certainly in line with the growth average pattern,” Shepherd said. “I predict we will be

somewhere where we were at in 2009, before Lottery Scholarship years. We must also take into account where our freshmen come from.”

“Sixty-three percent of our students come from our southwest region,” Shepherd, also a native of the southwest region, said.

No one can truly pinpoint the hiccup that has caused the decreased freshmen numbers.

While the freshmen registration numbers are lower this year, there is nothing to be alarmed about given the ebb and flow of the total student enrollment on campus.

Photo courtesy of James Engman

LLAMA FACE On a trail in the cloud forest of Peru, students were up close

and personal with indigenous wildlife. In this case, the students were introduced to a llama. The trip destinations included Peru and Ecuador. In the past, Engman has taken students to many locations, including Panama and Belize. Foreground: Jessica Meador. Behind, from left, Vania Trujillo, Ashley Williams, Amanda Devereux and Will Pope. Meador and Trujillo are recent graduates. Pope, Devereux and Williams are biology majors.

If you are a new member of Student Support Services, you will need to be at the Banquet room on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 12:15 p.m. for the new member orientation. If you can’t make it, be sure to meet with your Trio advisor to cover what you will miss.

The team captain meeting for intramural flag football will be Thursday in the Dunn Rec Center at 3 p.m. Even if you don’t have your team together, stop by and see what it’s all about.

Index

There are only 11 days left until the opening day for Reddie football. The first game will be a home game against Southern Nazarene University on Saturday, Sept.

7. The game starts at 6 p.m. at Carpenter Haygood Stadium. Everyone pack the stadium and help cheer the Reddies to a first victory.

Features

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Opinions

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Sports

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Photo by Brittany Freeman/Oracle

CAFE NERVOSA Students have had limited food options compared to this time last year, as Starbucks is now occupying the space once held by Quizno’s. The openings of the overhauled Grill Works and the new Chic-Fil-A are staggered with the beginning of the semester. Chic-Fil-A is set to open Sept. 20.

Features

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AUGUST 26, 2013

‘World’s End’ is an intoxicating third installment of cornetto JD Roberts Staff Writer In 2004, director Edgar Wright blurred the lines between horror and comedy with his cult classic “Shaun of the Dead,” and unknowingly began his Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy. Nine years later, Wright adds the cherry on top of his sweet trilogy with the last installment, “The World’s End.” While many are unfamiliar with what a cornetto is, most have seen one of Wright’s films.

Whether it was “Shaun of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz” or “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” there is no denying that Wright has found himself a comfortable home in pop culture.

“Shaun of the Dead” spoofed zombie movies, while “Hot Fuzz” toyed with the cliches of action, buddy cop films. “The World’s End” says it all in the title.

“The World’s End” follows five estranged friends who decide to go back to their hometown to finish a pub crawl they started 20 years before.

Their fearless leader, Gary King, played by Simon Pegg, has his mind set on finishing what he thinks was the best night of his life.

The others, on the other hand, feel as if they’ve gotten too old and have outgrown Gary.

Determined to make it to the

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

PINT OF COURAGE Simon Pegg and Nick Frost find themselves in a quick-

witted Edgar Wright film once again. Shown here embarking on the pub crawl that sets the events of the movie in motion, the characters quickly find themselves in a quandery. The Frost/Pegg tandem has been a staple in all of the Three Flavours Conetto movies, and this third flavour does not disappoint. Wright fans will be satisfied with the effort, and general audiences should find something to appreciate.

World’s End, Gary uses some manipulation and fast-talking to get the band back together.

Now the only things that stand in their way are 12 pints of beer and the townspeople who have all been taken over by robots.

“The World’s End” is a movie that takes risks, but in the end those risks pay off.

Gilpin nominated for set design award in Memphis Victoria Culliver Staff Writer

Douglas Gilpin, theater arts professor and director of Henderson’s theater department, was recently nominated for an Ostrander Award in set design.

This nomination came from his creation of a sixth floor, walkup studio apartment in Queens, New York in “Time Stands Still,” directed by Stephen Hancock.

The awards ceremony took place Sunday, August 25, in the Orpheum Theater in Memphis.

“Ostrander Awards are like the Tony’s, but for Memphis,” Gilpin said. “They have awards in different categories such as set design, costume design, acting, direction, etc.”

This award show is for all theater in Memphis, both community shows and academic shows.

This is the second time Douglas Gilpin has been nominated for set design. The first took place in 2008 for his design in “Noises Off” at the University of Memphis.

Born and raised in Tyler, Texas, Douglas Gilpin first went to Tyler Junior College as a mathematics major. It was not until his second year that he transferred to theater, sights set on becoming an actor.

This choice led him to Texas Tech University, where acting positions were hard to find. After gaining a work-study position within the theater department, Gilpin got his first opportunity to work within set and lighting design.

“I discovered I enjoyed creating the world rather than being in the world,” Gilpin said.

After finishing his undergraduate degree and receiving his M.F.A. from Texas Tech University, Gilpin came to Henderson, the first place he applied. He welcomed the familiar sight of pine trees and Arkansas scenery.

“It felt like coming back home,” Gilpin said.

Professor Gilpin said that the inspiration that lead to his nominated set came from Pinterest.

He had accumulated various pins and boards, showing color schemes, architecture and setting placement. A three-month process from start to finish, Gilpin worked with many crewmembers at the Circuit Play-

The acting was great, and that can’t be said for a lot of comedy movies, especially dark comedy.

Pegg and his buddy Nick Frost, from “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead,” still work great together, and it was fun to see their roles reversed.

Pegg nails the outrageous friend who no one wants to

house Theater in Memphis, particularity director, Stephen Hancock.

“Stephen and I work together really well,” Gilpin said. “We have the same aesthetic style and decorative style too.”

Gilpin would travel to Memphis to do hands-on work within the set, regarding props, painting and more.

“It was a collaboration for a lot of people,” Gilpin said, “but it was a strong vision from the scene designer and the director to begin with.”

An article written by Chris Davis from the “Memphis Flyer” attempted to predict the winners of the upcoming Ostrander Awards. In this article, Davis comments, “Douglas Gilpin’s designed a perfectly detailed Brooklyn apartment for ‘Time Stands Still’ at The Circuit Playhouse, but the only possible winner of this category is Mark Guirguis.” Guirguis created a set design for the production “Angels in America.” Aside from Gilpin and Guirguis, three others were nominated for this award.

“It was neat to be put into that category with a show that huge,” Gilpin said.

He also commented that the nomination in itself was an honor. Gilpin received great responses via Facebook from actors involved with The Circuit Playhouse who did not perform in “Time Stands Still.”

Gilpin learned of his nomination through a phone call, saying that it had been posted in the paper. It is understood that a group of theater artists and critics in Memphis make the initial nominations and then vote for the recipient.

Professor Gilpin will not be able to attend the award show in person due to previous obligations. His plan for the future is to continue his path at Henderson.

Although he enjoys doing about one play per year in Memphis, his position as a professor takes precedence as he looks forward to further productions including a rendition of “A Christmas Carol” entitled “Scrooge.”

With assistance from his theater arts students, Gilpin will continue on with productions at Henderson, along with an outside production he is currently working on, set to come out in January of 2014.

hang out with anymore, while Frost plays the intelligent friend for a change.

Other familiar faces in the Wright universe show up as well. Martin Freeman, from the “Hobbit” trilogy, and Paddy Considine play two of Gary’s friends.

Even Bill Nighy, who played Davy Jones in the “Pirates of

the Caribbean” movies, makes an interesting cameo.

What really stands out in “The World’s End” is the writing.

Co-written by Wright and Pegg, the movie is full of funny dialogue, clever homages and great pacing.

Another great part of the movie is the action.

Wright is no stranger to directing action scenes, and for a comedy, the camera work and choreography are excellent.

Audiences won’t get bored because there is never a moment of unnecessary action or slow storytelling.

There are a lot of things that make “The World’s End” good, but what really makes it great is the love that Wright, Pegg and Frost put into the last installment of their trilogy.

It is clear that they set out to make a movie that fans and general moviegoers would enjoy until the very end.

“The World’s End” can be enjoyed by most, but it is the fans of Wright’s work that will have the best time. People should see “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead” to really appreciate the science fiction, comedy mash up.

It’s bittersweet knowing that “The World’s End” could be the last Wright/Pegg/Frost collaboration the world sees, but it feels good knowing that it is the sweetest of the cornettos.

Opinions

AUGUST 26, 2013

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Divide over religious exemptions on gay marriage Rachel Zoll Associated Press The battle over gay marriage is heating up in the states, energizing religious groups that oppose same-sex relationships‚ but also dividing them.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court gave married gays and heterosexuals equal status under federal law, but did not declare a nationwide right for gays to marry, setting the stage for state-by-state decisions. So faith leaders are forming new coalitions and preparing for the legislative and courtroom battles ahead.

Yet, traditional religious leaders, their supporters and the First Amendment attorneys advising them are divided over strategy and goals, raising questions about how much they can influence the outcome: Several religious liberty experts say conservative faith groups should take a pragmatic approach given the advances in gay rights. Offer to stop fighting same-sex marriage laws in exchange for broad religious exemptions, these attorneys say. “If they need to get those religious accommodations, they’re going to have to move now,” said Robin Fretwell Wilson, a family law specialist at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Critics reject the idea as a premature surrender.

Religious leaders lobbying for exemptions can’t agree how broad they should be. A major difference is over whether for-profit companies should qualify for a faith-based exception.

Some religious liberty advocates and faith leaders are telling houses of worship they could be forced to host gay weddings, with their clergy required to officiate.

The Louisiana Baptist Convention is advising congregations to rewrite their bylaws to state they only allow heterosexual marriage ceremonies, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty group that opposes same-sex marriage, is advising the same. But legal experts across a spectrum of views on gay rights say it can’t happen given strong First Amendment protections for what happens inside the sanctuary.

“A few people at both ends of the spectrum have talked about religion and religious freedom in a way that is really destructive,” said Brian Walsh, executive director of the Ethics & Public Policy’s American Religious Freedom program which has formed

legislative caucuses so far in 18 states.

“I think they’ve made it polarized and difficult to understand.”

The issue of accommodating religious opponents has already been a sticking point in legislative battles. In Rhode Island and Delaware, disputes over broader religious exemptions led to the failure of some same-sex union bills.

Both states went on to approve civil unions in 2011, then same-sex marriage this year. In New York, gay marriage became law only after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s top two legislators struck an eleventh-hour compromise on religious exemptions.

Still, advocates for stronger religious protections haven’t won anything close to what they’ve sought in the 13 states and the District of Columbia where gay marriage has been recognized.

A few states have approved specific religious exemptions related to housing or pre-marital counseling, or benefits for workers in private, faithbased groups, such as the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, according to analysis by Fretwell Wilson. Most of the states have protected religiously affiliated nonprofits from potential government penalty for refusing to host same-sex marriage ceremonies.

The only other protection written into the laws is a provision First Amendment scholars consider redundant: All spell out that clergy are exempt from performing same-sex ceremonies and can’t be sued for their refusal.

The overall result: a patchwork of regulation, with gaps that are likely to become the target of lawsuits. Massachusetts and Iowa, where same-sex marriage won recognition through the courts, have approved no enhanced religious exemptions related to the rulings.

The statehouse negotiations concern what, if any, exemptions religious believers should have in the public arena. Should a religious social service agency with government funding be required to legally recognize married same-sex couples in all circumstances? Should a congregation that makes money renting property to the public be required to allow gay wedding receptions in the space?

Some advocates go further, arguing religious accommodations should extend in some cases to individuals.

In this view, owners of a mom-and-

pop bakery that makes wedding cakes should be exempt. So too should the county clerk who issues marriage licenses, as long as someone else in the clerk’s office can step in easily and provide the service.

Many cities and states have antidiscrimination ordinances that include sexual orientation, setting up fines or other penalties for failing to comply.

Absent an exemption, objectors may have to shut down their businesses or give up their jobs, religious leaders say. They argue losing your livelihood is too harsh a punishment for views on such a core religious issue as marriage.

But gay rights advocates say this argument puts too heavy a burden on gays and lesbians, and presents them with an unfair set of choices.

“In some states, the price of equality in marriage has been agreeing to give up protections against discrimination as part of the negotiations,” said Jenny Pizer, senior counsel for the gay rights group Lambda Legal.

“In ways, I think, other politically vulnerable groups are not required to pay that price.”

Advocates for the exemptions don’t agree on where they should go from here.

Nathan Diament, policy director for the Orthodox Union, which represents Orthodox Jewish congregations and has been a prominent voice on religious liberty issues, said his group hasn’t taken a position on the religious rights of businesses or employers, but has advocated for broader religious exemptions for employees, such as a clerk who issues marriage licenses. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which in the last two years has made religious freedom a signature policy issue, believes any organization with faith objections, whether a for-profit corporation or a nonprofit agency, should be exempt.

Fretwell Wilson is among legal experts urging faith groups to be practical, in light of growing public support for gay relationships, and focus solely on securing exemptions, instead of trying to block a specific gay marriage law. She is part of an informal group of lawyers who have been drafting model language for exemptions to share with state lawmakers. These legal experts differ on whether samesex marriage should be recognized, but agree on the potential risks to religious liberty.

“The religious community would

have done much better to ask for protection for their religious liberty instead of trying to stop same-sex marriage and try to prevent it for everybody,” said church-state expert Douglas Laycock of the University of Virginia, who is recommending the more pragmatic course. “The more same-sex marriage seems inevitable, the less likely we are to see religious liberty protection in blue states.”

But Matthew Franck, of the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative think tank in Princeton, N.J., argued the only real protection for religious freedom is maintaining the traditional definition of marriage. He said samesex marriage advocates are unlikely to tolerate for long any “deviations from the ‘new normal’ they wish to create,” so he predicted religious exemptions granted now will eventually be repealed.

“We have not lost the fight for the truth about marriage, and surrendering the field is premature,” Franck said. “I continue to hope that it will never finally be necessary, and I work to make that hope a reality.”

Whatever strategy the faith groups choose, there’s no sign gay rights advocates are prepared to make major concessions.

Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is one of the very few gay-rights supporters publicly urging fellow advocates to be more magnanimous. He argues that offering religious accommodations makes sense politically.

“I think there’s a real risk that we will overreach and set up the other side to portray itself as the victim if we decide we have to stamp out every instance of religious based antigay discrimination,” Rauch said. “I also think that there’s a moral reason. What the gay rights movement is fighting for is not just equality for gays but freedom of conscience to live openly according to their identity.

I don’t think we should be in the business of being as intolerant of others as they were to us.”

Others reject such accommodations.

Rose Saxe, an ACLU senior staff attorney, said the call for a middle ground, “while trying to sound reasonable, is really asking for a license to discriminate.” And the Rev. Darlene Nipper of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said religious groups have another choice: They can accept same-sex marriage.

Deen discrimination suit dropped Wire Report Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP), Lawyers signed a deal Friday to drop a discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against celebrity cook Paula Deen, who was dropped by the Food Network and other business partners after she said under oath that she had used racial slurs in the past.

A document filed in U.S. District

Court in Savannah said both sides agreed to drop the lawsuit “without any award of costs or fees to any party.”

No other details of the agreement were released. The judge in the case had not signed an order to finalize the dismissal.

Former employee Lisa Jackson last year sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, saying she suffered from sexual harassment and racially

offensive talk and employment practices that were unfair to black workers during her five years as a manager of Uncle Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House.

The dismissal deal came less than two weeks after Judge William T. Moore dismissed the race discrimination claims, ruling Jackson, who is white, had no standing to sue over what she said was poor treatment of black workers.

He let Jackson’s claims of sexual harassment stand, but those were dropped in the deal between the lawyers.

“While this has been a difficult time for both my family and myself, I am pleased that the judge dismissed the race claims and I am looking forward to getting this behind me, now that the remaining claims have been resolved,” Deen said in a statement Friday.

Sports

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AUGUST 26, 2013

Athletic director accepts job at U of A Kaitlyn Kitchens Sports Editor

Kale Gober, athletic director of Henderson State University, has accepted the position of assistant athletic director for development with the University of Arkansas.

Earlier this month, Gober received news that the position was opening up and was asked if he was interested.

After applying and going through an interview process, Gober was hired in a matter of a few weeks.

Gober will remain at Henderson for the rest of the month, but will then begin a new chapter of his life at University of Arkansas.

Gober has been athletic director at Henderson State since August 2010 and has shown his commitment to the student athletes and coaches.

Since Gober has been athletic director, over half of the Henderson student athletes have a 3.0 GPA or higher.

He has also had a lot of involvement in school spirit by promoting the Henderson Hooligans, a student program at sporting events that support and promote the Reddie athletic teams.

“The thing I will miss the most is interacting with the fans, students and athletes because I wont be able to be involved in a lot of that at the University of Arkansas,” Gober said.

He has made facility improvements for Henderson State’s athletic department, including a new scoreboard in the Duke Wells Center, improvements for the men’s basketball locker room and many more.

At his new job, he will be completely focusing on raising money for the University of Ar-

Photo by Ryan Klare

NEW BEGINNING Kale Gober (top left) has recently accepted a job at the University of Arkansas. He

has been very involved with Henderson State in his three years as athletic director, including making a guest appearance for last year’s opening football game, singing along with the band Blind Opie, featuring members Mike Taylor (top middle), David Stoddard (top right), Paul Glover and Josh Sabo. kansas, which was only part of his job at Henderson State University.

“It’s always tough leaving people you have been with for three years,” Gober said. “I will never forget the people I have met at Henderson State, no matter how many place I go, and I think that is what is important.”

Henderson State is Gober’s

alma mater and it will always have a special place in his heart.

“No matter how many places I go, I will never feel the way I do about Henderson State University,” Gober said.

Henderson has given Gober his start in his carrier, and he says that he has had an awesome three years here that he will never forget.

“When God gives you an op-

portunity, you have to take it, even though I will miss all of the friends I have made here.”

Bobby Jones, Henderson’s vice president for finance and administration, has been appointed to serve as director of athletics temporarily until the position can be permanently filled.

Jones will continue to be Henderson’s vice president for

finance and administrations while working as temporary athletic director.

Jones has served on the boards of Henderson State Alumni Association, treasurer of the Arkadelphia Homebuilders Association, Arkadelphia Parks and Recreation and much more with the community.

Additional reporting by Troy Mitchell