Page 5 Buzz Aldrin lands in Little Rock
Origin story causes concern in fanbase
Groovecluster to release new album
Page 5
Page 10
Page 9 Visit us Online
ualr.edu/forum for exclusive content
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Student Newspaper
August 22 - September 3, 2013
Freshman Frenzy
KenDrell Collins Editor kdcollins@ualr.edu
Tips For Success Photo by Dallen Shields
Resident Assistant, Renata Shirlee, supervises as paretns help students get settled into their new home at West Hall. Vehicles lined the parking lot during freshman move-in on Aug. 14.
The time of taking exams and making new friends has arrived once again. For most freshmen students, this is their first encounter with the college experience. UALR students and professors have offered some advice to ensure all incoming students succeed, both academically and socially. Dustin Rhodes, a junior Early Childhood Education major, suggests that the most important way to get off to a good start is by simply attending class. “Don’t skip class,” Rhodes said. “I’ve been to a class where I thought I knew everything and could pass easily, so I thought I’d skip some. I skipped a few and ended up making not the best grade I wanted to.” Professors agree that attendance is crucial. Sherry Robertson, director of first-year composition, insists that showing up for class is a necessary first step. “You have to come to class even when you do not do
your homework, you’ve got to come,” Robertson said. “Sometimes, I think students feel hesitancy to show up if they are not prepared. And even if they are not prepared, we want them to come.” But attending class is only half the battle. Getting to know the professor is a must, and Robertson says it is even appropriate for the student to let the professor know what grade he or she expects to earn in the class. Such conversations are sure to place a student on the professors good side because it shows the student takes education seriously. “Come to me the first week of school and say to me ‘I’m really trying as hard as I can to get a B in this class, at least a B. I really want to do well and I want to have some type of action plan for me to do well.’” John Kirk, professor of history, insists that getting to know the teacher can occur even before the first day of class. “Go to the department webpage,” Kirk said. "Take a look at what they’ve published which will give you a good idea of their own background.
See Freshman, page 3
Campus survey reveals perceptions on diversity KenDrell Collins Editor kdcollins@ualr.edu
Per the request of the UALR Diversity Council, the UALR Institute of Government Survey Research Center conducted a campus wide survey about faculty, staff, and student sentiments on diversity. The results of the study were released in June. The research began October 3, 2012 with a self-administered survey presented to Faculty via web. According to the report, Faculty is defined as current full-time faculty. The Staff, non full-time faculty, subsequently received the survey. Both Faculty and Staff participants underwent personal interviews. Finally, students were given the survey during the spring semester of 2013. “After updating and cleaning the data, the population database consisted of 494 eligible faculty members, 1,046 staff members and 12,295 students.” The findings from the
study reveal how the three groups perceive issues such as race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation. The results suggest that Faculty may be slightly unaware of how students perceive issues of diversity. When asked to gauge how comfortable students would feel talking about diversity issues in class, faculty said only 18 percent would be “very comfortable.” On the contrary, the survey shows that 62 percent of students are actually “very comfortable” with discussing these matters in a classroom setting. Another major finding is that nearly 25 percent of Faculty and Staff said they have experienced unfair treatment on the basis of age, race, disability, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. “Of the Faculty who report having experienced unfair treatment, 51 percent cite unfair treatment was based upon Gender. Of the Staff who report unfair treatment, 56 percent indicate it was
Illustration by Byron Buslig
The figure depicts student, faculty, and staff confidence in the University’s ability to solve discrimination issues on campus.
due to Race.” As for students, only 15 percent reported personal experiences of unfair treatment but 20 percent claim to have personally witnessed such treatment. Additionally, over half of the students who experienced unfair treatment firsthand stated that it was due to race. The report states, “Nearly one in five students indicate that they ‘do not know’ where to go to report unfair treatment at UALR.” Some indicated that they would inform a Dean, others said a professor or faculty member. Uncertainty also exist in regard to how the University deals with discrimination issues. About 50 percent of students said they were uncertain whether UALR adequately addresses incidents relating to race or gender. Moreover, 23 percent of students said they were “not very confident” discriminatory situations would be resolved. Sentiments among Faculty and Staff mirror those of students, with nearly 20 percent and 26 percent, respectively, feeling “not very confident.” Faculty and Staff were also asked their position on policy regarding benefits for the spouse of a university employee. About 68 percent of Faculty and 54 percent of Staff are in favor of benefits for opposite-sex domestic partners. An even higher number, 76 percent of Faculty and 55 percent of Staff, indicated that the same benefits should be given to same-sex domestic partners. These results suggest that there is consensus among UALR faculty and staff that employment benefits should be the same irrespective of sexual preference. To read the UALR Campus Diversity report in its entirety visit ualr.edu/chancellor/ diversity/.
Photo by Dallen Shields
Freshman Diana Arias participated in the CLC “Reach 13,000” kickball tournament. The event, which took place Aug. 18, is meant to serve as a starting point in collecting canned food to distribute to the Arkansas Food Bank and the Staff Senate Helping Hands program.
Index Opinions News Features Entertainment Sports
2 3-4 5-7 8-10 11-12
UALR will be closed September 2, 2013 (Labor Day)