Oracle The
MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012
HENDERSON STATE UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 105, ISSUE 07
Interim provost reflects on service to school Jennifer Ketcheside Staff Writer Last Thursday, Dr. Maralyn Sommers, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, sat down to talk about her position at Henderson. As interim provost, Dr. Sommers is the chief academic officer of the university. While working together with the school president, she is responsible for campus sites such as the Advising Center, Teacher’s College, Ellis College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, Graduate School, the library, the Multimedia Learning Center, the Testing Centerand tutoring. “The provost supports academic programs and helps provide for a sound curriculum, good integrity of the programs, and advocates for the faculty,” Sommers said. “For example, if you wanted to have a new class in criminology, that development would go through the dean and the provost would give it the stamp of approval.” As the interim provost, Dr. Sommers has been filling in on this position since August of this year. This is her second term as an interim, her first being after Dr. Robert Houston retired in 2008. “I’m on the committee as Dean of Arts and Sciences,”
Photo by Jennifer Ketcheside/Oracle
PRO-STUDENT Dr. Maralyn Sommers is the dean of the Ellis College most of the time, but a vacancy has called upon her to take on the position of interim provost for the second time in her career at Henderson. Sommers has served the school since 1990, first as chair of the music department. she replied regarding her involvment with finding a new, permanent candidate for this job. “The new provost will be my supervisor once I return to my previous position.”
Dr. Sommers has served as the dean of the Ellis College of Arts and Sciences for 12 years. She will return to this position once the provost vacancy is filled.
Before entering the role as dean, Dr. Sommers had already served Henderson for many years. “I have worked here since 1990, the first eight years spent
as chair of the music department, the next two as the associate dean of the Ellis College,” reflected Dr. Sommers. Going back even further, Dr. Sommers revealed an academic background that spreads over the continental United States. She received her bachelor’s degree from Boise State, Idaho. After receiving this degree, Dr. Sommers taught at Adams State College in Colo. from about 1981-1985 while working on her master’s degree. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Traveling slightly southwest, Dr. Sommers successfully completed her doctorate at University of Arizona in Tucson. So, how did she come to Arkansas? “There was a job listed for faculty in the music department at Henderson State University, I applied and got it,” replied a laughing Sommers. Sommers reflects on her favorite thing about her time here at Henderson with fondness and no hesitation, praising the experience. “The people. I’ve met some very fine people, good friends, great faculty, supportive administration and great students.” A new provost will be chosen from a narrowed pool of three finalists.
Students are encouraged to register to vote Zach Dutton Staff Writer Before the nation’s independence, “Give it up for the king” meant something different than “The party man has arrived.” It meant, “Pay up, or heads will roll.” Nearly two-and-a-half centuries later, most Americans do not cast their vote for even general elections. A voter registration table has been set up in the Garrison directly across from Quiznos to help students register to vote for the upcoming November election. The table will be available until Oct. 9, which is the
registration deadline for the election in Arkansas. The table is sponsored by the Clark County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The NAACP is the world’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, active for over 103 years. The organization’s state president has called on its members to register 3,500 people in the state of Arkansas, including 250 from Clark County. The President of the Clark County branch of the NAACP, Henry Wilson, is the volunteer helping students sign up. After registering students at Arkadel-
phia and Gurdon High Schools, Wilson is focusing on Henderson. He gives step-by-step instructions on filling out the registration sheet, and students complete the form right at the table. The process takes less than a minute and asks voters for their name, address, and the last four digits of their social security number, along with a few yes or no questions. Wilson’s father lived to be 78 and never had the luxury of casting a vote. Due to poor tax laws, citizens had to pay to vote and his father did not have the money. Now this right is free to every individual, and Wilson
Photo by Chris Ingram/Oracle
TISSUE ISSUES Henderson alum Katrina Patterson led a Zumba-thon as
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part of the “Kleenex for Kids” drive that asked volunteers to donate tissue.
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suggests students take advantage. “Exercise that right to vote,” Wilson said. “People have died for that right, and it’s free.” Among eligible Arkansas voters between ages 18 and 29, only 18 percent casted a vote in the 2010 elections, according to civicyouth.org. Arkansas has a population of 2,915,918 with a total annual federal spending budget of $28,025,429 according to mytimetovote.com. Arkansas spending pales in comparison to the national outstanding public debt. Since Sept. 28, 2007, the national debt has grown by $3 billion each day, and as of Sept. 27, 2012, the bill is $16,019,357,079,895, according to brilling.com and the national debt clock. With all of this money being spent, Americans need to decide where it’s going. That is done by vote. Federal spending is just one major issue that individuals can vote on. This year, students will have a chance to vote in a presidential election and have an opportunity to make history by voting Arkansas to be the first southern state to legalize medical marijuana. Students who registered with Wilson seem optimistic about their vote. “I never voted before,” Tyler Poore, undecided freshman, said. “It’s just nice to have a say in what goes on in Arkansas.”
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“I watch some of the debates,” Mercedes Woodley, sophomore nursing major, said. “But I’ll start watching some more now.” Some students are registering to support a cause they believe in. “[Medical marijuana] is finally on the ballot,” Dylan Cavender, freshman vocal music education major, said. “Hopefully we will get some dispensaries around here to boost the economy.” Though many do not register because they do not get to that part of their to-do list, one unregistered student refused to sign up because time was the issue. “Jury duty,” Aaron Hunt, freshman music education major, said. “My major is really demanding and I don’t have time for that.” One of the easiest ways to register, other than on campus, is to go online and complete the voter registration form for a mail vote. Without ever leaving home, voters now have access to voting if they are living in another state or are not going to be where they are registered at the time of the vote. This is referred to as an absentee ballot. Eligible voters can also register at a number of places in town, including the county clerk’s office, State Revenue Office, the public library, or Arkansas National Guard offices.