The UALR Forum - April 9 Edition

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Opinions

April 9 - May 5, 2015

STAFF Executive Editor KenDrell Collins Advisor Sonny Rhodes Operations Manager/ Art Director Byron Buslig News/Campus Life Editor Victoria Hickey Features Editor Abigail Marshall Entertainment Editor Grant Fox Sports Editor Maggie Rogers Business Manager Laura Rodriquez Graphic Designers Tori Temple Chris Helliwell Distribution Manager Jordan Anderson

IN THIS ISSUE

Photo Editor Brady Jackson

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Brian Gregory Sashank Avvaru Carmien Penny Morgan Drish Ruth Houston Tanner Newton Jayme Goad Zach Martin Paige Mason Zachary Tallent Rachel Wright Lela-Tamara Fluker Hillary Perkins Natalie Doris

he Forum is the official student newspaper at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Forum is funded in part by the student activity fee; members of the UALR community are allowed one copy per edition. The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the staff and contributing writers and do not represent the official views of UALR. Students enrolled in Journalism 3320 and other reporting classes are contributing writers for The Forum. Advertising inquiries should be referred to The Forum’s advertising office and can be reached by calling 501-569-3319. The Forum is published 7 times in each of the fall and spring semesters. The Forum editor can be reached at 501-569-3265. All material published in this newspaper is copyrighted.

AN OPENING WORD Forum Farewells

By KenDrell Collins Executive Editor editor@UALR.edu

A

s a sophomore, eager to write, I walked into the Forum office and asked if they had any work for me to do. They did. Two years and about 20 editions later, I will walk out of the office and across the stage this May. While I never formally studied journalism, my mentor and seasoned journalist Professor Sonny Rhodes taught me that the purpose of news is simple - seek truth and pursue it. At times that advice got me in trouble though. "That story doesn't look good for the university," critics would say. But ultimately, those rare reprimands were dwarfed by the encouragement from faculty and students and the peace of mind from knowing that the truth was told.

This school year, the goal of our staff was to add value to the lives of UALR students by providing them with useful and relevant information. Our increased readership and engagement seems to suggest that to some extent we have succeeded.

With the help of an amazing team

of editors, designers, photographers, illustrators, and writers, the Forum has been completely transformed into what we hope to again be an award-winning newspaper. Ultimately, though, our worth as a paper is determined by you, dear reader.

You are currently reading the final edition of the semester and hope that you will read it and feel welcome to offer words of support and constructive criticism so that the paper can continue to improve as the torch is passed to next year's team.

To those staff and faculty who offered countless quotes and expert opinions, thank you. To the UALR Department of Public Safety which offered access and assistance with campus safety information, thank you. To my coworkers and staff, you have a special place and in my heart. I will cherish the friendships and bonds we've developed.

I end this last Opening Word article with two closing words to each Forum reader- thank you.

Letters to the Editor The Forum welcomes letters to the editor on any subject as well as comments on our news coverage and editorial position.

•Letters must include the author’s name, classification, major or position and a contact telephone number for confirmation.

•Letters are subject to editing to meet space limitations.

•Please limit letter to 500 words or less.

•The staff will not alter the meaning of the letter, but will correct spelling and punctuation and edit to conform to Associated Press and news style.

•All letters are subject to publication. The editor has the right to reject any letter especially those letters that are libelous, obscene or incoherent.

Letters should be emailed to editor@ualr.edu or sent to: The Forum University of Arkansas at Little Rock 201J Donaghey Student Center 2801 S. University Ave. Little Rock, Ark. 72204

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THE UALR FORUM

NEEDS

YOU LOOKING FOR EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE TO FILL THESE POSITIONS • EXECUTIVE EDITOR

• ADVERTISING MANAGER • BUSINESS MANAGER • GRAPHIC DESIGNER • WRITER Please send an e-mail to editor@ualr.edu if interested or for more information.

Opinions

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The Thinking Man: Final Thoughts

By Shashank Avvaru Staff Writer SXAvvaru@ualr.edu

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or my final Thinking Man article, let’s deconstruct the very foundation of columnbased articles and hopefully discover something about ourselves and the words that we take comfort in while reading and writing.

Column articles are blank spaces reserved for writers’ purest and

most artless form of expression.

Just attach a disclaimer to your opinion and you are giving the writer a wonderland to be lost in.

Opinionated columns are a godsend to writers who believe that there is a thought or a series of thoughts that they have on an issue or event that is worth being communicated to the readers that pick up a newspaper or browse a website or read a book.

This is, I believe, because opinions provide harmony and closure. When weaving our thoughts into words there is an undeniable pleasure we get when we type the last word and set the opinion free.

But underneath the structure and the vocabulary we can’t help but accept that these opinions are compelling parts of our lives. We

April 9 - May 5, 2015

walk up to the girl and ask her out in spite of the probability of rejection because we believe our affection is so pure it deserves her attention. We raise our hand up in class and dare to say something to the professor while the majority of the class sigh because we decide that this epiphany, this flow of thought, needs sharing.

That is why I write this article.

I am a student from India with a passion for politics and a firm belief in the power of debate and discussion. From the get go I knew my opinions wouldn’t be familiar and might even strike a negative chord with The Forum readers.

That is okay. You take the time to read our newspaper and you dedicate your attention to our articles.

You deserve to have a positive or

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give these thoughts meaning is to convert them into opinions. You speak them out now or they will haunt you for the rest of your lives like quiet ghosts. Your opinions are your best friends and on some days much to your horror you will realize that they are your only friends.

But remember never to let your opinion make you greater than someone else’s. Opinions are different but there isn’t a better or a worse one. Everyone has an opinion. Every opinion deserves the voice and attention yours does.

As I type my last word here and find my harmony and closure, I realize that we will fade away with time but these opinions will live forever and I wonder … Do we live through our opinions or do our opinions live through us?

negative reaction to what I write.

To all those who told me what you thought of The Thinking Man, thank you. You gave these thoughts a temporary home to settle in. You put in the energy to talk to me on campus or send me an email or tell me that my opinion is wrong.

You gave these words a haven in the ever-expanding network of thoughts and emotions that you have.

No matter where you are from or how you think others might feel, have an opinion. Care enough to talk about something people only want to think about. Raise your hand up in class more often. Talk to a friend about the thousand annoying selfies she posts online every day. Ask that girl out.

Why? Because the only way to

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News

April 9 - May 5, 2015

Police Beat

Highlighting the first annual Diversity Week at UALR Rachel Wright Staff Writer rswright@ualr.edu

Victoria Hickey

Altercation outside the Residence Halls On the afternoon of March 13, DPS received a call about an altercation in North Hall. Upon arriving the witness stated that the altercation had moved to a vehicle sitting in the parking lot in front of East Hall. Inside the vehicle were a male and a female who were verbally arguing. There was indication that the altercation had gotten physical as both members had marks on their body and face.

After talking to the male and female it was discovered that the suspects had been arguing and the male was trying to leave. The female had been trying to stop the male from leaving and began hitting him, he pushed her off and then proceeded to run to his car.

She followed him and got in the car with him shortly before police arrived on the scene.

The female was then taken into custody and transported to Pulaski County Detention Center.

Jeep Tire Theft Continues

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he Diversity Council at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is hosting its first annual Diversity Week April 13-17.

Diversity includes not only race, but gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and other factors that make people different. Diversity Week will highlight these differences.

"UALR is a vibrant campus community that hosts fantastic diversity events throughout the year," said Christina Drale, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, "but the Diversity Council wanted to see if it could really focus attention on this theme by bringing together a wide variety of people and events in the span of one week."

The council invited students and different student organiza-

tions to suggest events for the week. After sending out the invites the council got a lot of interest.

Events are happening throughout the week. UALR is having campus based speakers, faculty members, as well as, two guest-John Berry and Ruth Shepherd. Berry is chairman of the Quapaw Nation, who will speak Monday, April 13 at 1:45 p.m. Shepherd is director of Just Communities of Arkansas, an origination dedicated to promoting diversity, tolerance and understanding throughout the community. Shepherd is speaking on Wednesday, April 15 at 12:00 p.m. There will be different events during the week including panels and discussions on issues of racial attitudes, sexual identity and Multiple Sclerosis. Students and faculty members are on the panels for discussion.

On Wednesday in the Donaghey Student Center Concourse tables and booths will be setup by different organizations to talk about their cause and why they are diverse.

The full schedule for Diversity

week is posted on the university website at ualr.edu/diversity.

According to the Diversity Council website, "62 percent of students are very comfortable discussing issues of diversity in class, while only 18 percent of faculty perceive their students as being very comfortable discussing issues of diversity in class."

The Diversity Council said they see UALR as a place where everyone can feel welcome and included. "We know that there is a lot of work to be done to reach that goal, but we are confident that we have a campus that is up of this challenge," said Drale.

Students can get involved with the diversity groups on campus by going to Campus Life and finding out what student groups are on campus that interest them. "If you don't find what you are looking for you can start your own group; they will help you do that too," Drale said.

Students can also look into taking classes that address diverse topics as an elective.

There have been two more cases of Jeep tire theft in the recent weeks. Both thefts took place in the morning between 9-10:30 a.m. in the University Plaza Parking Lot. There was a witness in one of the cases who stated they saw the theft occur and the suspects. The witness stated that the suspects were in a white passenger vehicle.

Suspicious Person on Campus On April 2, a witness called in stating there was a suspicious person in Lot 1 who was talking loudly to himself. Upon arriving on the scene, the man was identified by officers. The male had been refused help by the Office of Veteran Affairs because he was neither a student nor a veteran. He claimed he was a presidential candidate. He also stated that he would be suing the university. After running the suspect’s information it was discovered that there was a warrant out for him.

The officer took him into custody and he was held at the University Police Station until the Sherwood Police Department arrived and the officer cited the male with a court date.

The male was then released from custody and warned to stay off campus, being told he would receive trespassing charges if he returned.

Illustration by Paige Mason

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April 9 - May 5, 2015

News

ualr.edu/forum

Earth Day Festivities

Illustration by Brady Jackson

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arth Day will be observed at UALR on April 8 from 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Earth Day is an opportunity to educate ourselves about ways in which we can become more sustainable on campus and/or at home. There will be numerous events ranging from a farmers market to a row of food trucks, both featuring fresh, locally grown produce. Come out and support local farmers and businesses as well as discover ways to care for our Earth! The Forum will host the 3rd Earth Day Recycled Newspaper Fashion Show in Ledbetter from 12-1 p.m. If you haven't seen this before, come and enjoy the amazing outfits our students make out of previous editions of UALR's newspaper. The schedule is listed below. Have questions? Visit ualr. edu/sustainability or contact Kim Tran of the Sustainability Committee at kttran@ualr.edu.

Monday, April 6 (6 p.m. in EIT) · Earth Talk! Film · Model Arab League Dialogue · Sustainability Poster Displays

Tuesday, April 7

· Coleman Creek Clean-Up with the Aquatic Science Association (9 p.m.12 p.m.) ·Green TED Talks by the Academic Success Center (12:30 p.m. in DSC 205G)

Wednesday, April 8 (11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Library Courtyard and all day across the Campus) · Semi-Annual non-hazardous material Recycling Drop Off in Lot 15 · Take Back The Tap! Program Sign-Up · Student Organization/Group Green Expression · Recycle Bikes for Kids Interactive Bike Station, Mini-UALR Bike Ride & Giving Announcement · Trojan Trailblazer Green Walk · Forum Newspaper Fashion Show · Michael Carenbauer near the top of the hour · Farmers Market & Other Sustainability Displays · Chancellors Leadership Corp (CLC) Picnic on the Greens · Children International's Business Club Upcycle Sale · Green FOODS & Pics w/Sodexo · Make a Commitment at the Geology Club Caring Cloth & Information Booth · Sustainability Committee Grant Awards Announcement

News

ualr.edu/forum

April 9 - May 5, 2015

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UALR hosts Sexual Assault Awareness Event Victoria Hickey the Alliance, Safe Zone, to cite a it”, “she shouldn’t have drunk that Editor vxhickey@ualr.edu

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he University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Green Dot program, Counseling Services and the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ACASA) will be partnering to host an event to raise support for Sexual Assault Awareness.

The whole month of April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and in conjunction with Verizon Wireless and their HopeLine Program, the community will be able to donate cellular phones and cellular phone accessories to local domestic violence agencies.

A Violence Prevention and Safety Assistance through Technology lecture will also be held, but that date has not yet been announced.

The main event at UALR will be the Resource Fair, held in the Donaghey Student Center from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 29. “During the Resource Fair, students will be able to learn more about the resources and organizations on campus such as Counseling Services, Green Dot, Active Minds,

Illustration by Paige Mason

few. There will also be off campus resources such as ACASA, Center for Healing Hearts and Spirits, and Women and Children First. The community will be able to visit each table and learn about each organization. For instance, they will be able to take the “It’s On Us” pledge online at the ACASA table,” said Pauline Mothu, Campus Coordinator at Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“Sexual Assault is a sensitive and stigmatized topic many of us don’t like to talk about, but we need to discuss it if we want things to change. The idea behind this event is to bring awareness and knowledge about issues surrounding sexual assault: how to prevent, how to intervene, and how to respond. Moreover, the community will know more about the different resources available in the state -whether on or off campus- such as rape crisis centers, counseling services, and the state hotline (800977-5776).

The purpose of the event is also to change mentalities. When it comes to sexual assault, many people’s reactions is “What was she wearing?”, “I bet she was asking for

much”, “men can’t be raped” and so on. Sexual assault is the only crime where victims are blamed more than the perpetrator, and it’s not OK. For instance, if your car has been stolen, no one is going to ask you why you parked in an unsafe area or why you drove a beautiful and expensive car. Instead, people will help you in any way they can.

That’s how it should be with sexual assault. People need to understand that it is NEVER the victim’s fault,” Mothu said.

The final event will take place at 4 p.m. in the Student Service Auditorium and will be a conversation where the community will learn about consent and bystander intervention through an interactive program.

“We want the community to be aware of sexual assault issues. We want them to know that the topic of sexual assault is OK to discuss; discussion brings knowledge and knowledge helps educating others,” Mothu said.

The slogan for this year’s event is “Safer Campuses. Brighter Futures.

Prevent Sexual Violence.”

If you have any questions, you can contact Counseling Services.

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April 9 - May 5, 2015

Campus Life

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Jennifer Dodson Hunt

Courtsey of JenniferDodson Hunt

Jennifer Dodson Hunt has worked as the Associate Director for Campus Life and Greek Life at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for almost eight years.

Ruth Houston Staff Writer rxhouston@ualr.edu

J

ennifer Dodson Hunt has worked as the Associate Director for Campus Life and Greek Life at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “I love the interactions with students, it’s great to be able to interact with students on a daily basis. Hear the good or bad aspects of their lives and getting to know all of the students and help them in their academic and co-curricular pursuits,” Hunt said.

Not only is she in charge of all the Greek Life at UALR, but she is also the supervisor for professional staff positions in the Office of Campus Life including the Non-Traditional Student Programs Coordinator, the Student Organization Program Coordinator, the University Program Council, Women’s Programs and the Diversity Program Positions.

Hunt earned her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences at the University of Central Arkansas and earned her Master of Education in Higher Education and Leadership from the University of Arkansas.

While at UCA, Hunt served in many

organizations.

“I was a member of Tri-Sigma Sorority and that took up the bulk of my time. I was very involved in my sorority holding positions such as Membership Recruitment Chair, Chapter President, Ritual Chair, and I also served on the College Panhellenic Council at my undergraduate institution for two years. I was the newsletter editor as well as the Vice President of Recruitment for Panhellenic there.”

“I really love this campus, this is my fourth campus to be at whether it was my undergraduate institution or grad school or other cam-

pus I’ve worked at. I really think that our members (in Greek Life) are the most down to Earth and approachable of all the members that I’ve interacted with. Being in a Fraternity or Sorority here at UALR is just one aspect of the members lives, so they have a trillion other things going on. So whether it’s working or being involved in other student organizations they are very active and I think that makes them very down to earth as well as very approachable and genuine authentic individuals. That I definitely appreciate.”

“My favorite thing in the time

that I’ve been here, has been when Kappa Delta was installed as a new chapter. So I had the opportunity to go to that and be a part of that celebration with the chapter and the head representatives from their National Organization. So that was a special opportunity that I haven’t had at any other campus and it meant a lot to the ladies in the chapter at that point in time so I think that was probably my favorite event so far.”

This summer will mark Hunt’s eighth year as the Associate Director for Campus Life and Greek Life.

Campus Life

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April 9 - May 5, 2015

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Student Organization Spotlight:

Major Spotlight

International Studies Rachel Wright Staff Writer rswright@ualr.edu nternational studies gives students a broad understanding of global issues.

International studies is the study of political, economic, social and cultural issues on an international means. Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science and International Studies department, Dr. Joseph Giammo said this major is used when working in governmental or non-governmental organizations, or private or public companies with an international interest.

“What this does, it gives students a pretty broad training in international issues, and so it is a really good foundation for a lot of different careers that involve international work,” said Giammo,.

International studies does not focus on a specific career, but prepares students for a range of different options. Students can choose a course of study on the public or private track. The public track is geared toward students interested in going into government or public organizations. The private track is for students interested in working for private entities.

Students have the opportunity to take classes in different departments that focus on the same issue in an area of the world. “They might take a history class. They might take a political science class. They might take a sociology class, criminal justice class, and all kind of focus

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on that area of the world.” said Giammo. Students can also focus on a particular issue of a region such as poverty or drug trade.

Jessica Cone, a senior double majoring in International Studies and political science said she made her focus region Asia and studied abroad in Taiwan and China. “I focus on social movements in Asia,” said Cone. That is not her only interest, and said, “that is what my research currently is focused on.”

Cone studied in China with grants offered through the international studies office for students to travel. “The Grants are about $500 each to go, and help them (students) study abroad, or help with other research projects,” said Giammo.

“It has always been easy to develop those kind of relationships that have a positive impact on achievement in that particular department.” sad Cone about the

connections she made in the international studies office. “You are able to develop great relationships with your professors,” said Beth Kanopsic, a senior triple majoring in international studies, political science and criminal justice. “My professors are always writing me recommendations.”

Kanopsic said she made here focus region Russia, but it has shifted to the Middle East as well through Model Arab League.

The ability to think critically and interact well with people from other cultures is important for this major.

Giammo said the only major concern students have had with this major is the larger number of hours, but because of the programs flexibility they are able to get through in a reasonable amount of time.

illustration by Zach Tallent

Tabletop Games Group Victoria Hickey Editor vxhickey@ualr.edu

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ne of the newer student organizations at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is the Tabletop Games Group.

With about a dozen members, the group meets every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Commons Classroom.

According to Maxwell Hartman, “through analyzing popular games and introducing unique games TGG hopes to encourage critical thinking and new game creation.”

All UALR students are encouraged to join, the only requirements

are that you join the TGG Facebook page and attend meetings regularly.

“The group is a nice way to relax and have a good time, as well as receive constructive support on game design projects,” Hartman said, “Every year we will have a game design competition where people can get into groups or create solo tabletop games. A table of judges will rate the games and the winner will receive support to get a first physical working game.”

If you are interested in joining, you are encouraged to attend a meeting and speak with either the president, vice president or secretary.

courtsey of Tabletop Games Group

The Tabletop Games Group meets regularly and enjoys honing their skills and techniques when it comes to playing and creating tabletop games.

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April 9 - May 5, 2015

Travel Talks:

Hotel vs. Hostel Abigail Marshall Editor almarshall@ualr.edu

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o, when traveling to a place where you do not know anyone and do not have a place to stay many people choose hotels as their obvious alternative.

However, what many travelers do not know is that there is another, much cheaper option: the hostels.

All across America, Europe, and the world hostels give travelers a more affordable alternative to staying in hotels. For those of you wondering exactly what a hostel is, lets jump to Wikipedia!

According to their definition, a hostel is an accommodation type that “provide[s] budget-oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen.”

So not only do hostels provide you with a place to stay, they do not limit you to a measly minirefrigerator/microwave lifestyle.

They provide you with the option to buy your own groceries during your stay and save tons of money by preparing meals of your own in their fully stocked kitchens.

Additionally, most hostels provide guests with some type of light continental-style breakfast, covering at

least one meal for the day.

Although one thing hotels may have the upper hand on is providing guests with the ultimate privacy, staying in a hostel is an interesting experience. Highly recommended for young travelers out to see the world and save money at the same time, staying in a hostel also provides these travelers with more avenues to meet other travelers during their time. Living in a dormitory style room allows for much more interaction with other travelers. Personally, I have made many good friends, and travel companions while staying in hostels and striking up a conversation with a fellow traveler.

Rates in hostels usually hover in the teens to $30 a night range, each traveler just paying for the use of a bed and the facilities. As a tip, if it is your first time staying in a hostel, please remember the amount of money you are saving—be extra grateful but make sure to check that accessories, such as towels, are included in the price!

For those of us who like to travel on a budget and get the most bang for their buck, staying in a hostel does just that. Anyone who considers himself or herself a savvy traveler should consider a stay in a hostel at least once! Check out a few of my favorite sites: www. hostelworld.com, or www.hostelbookers.com.

Features

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Jazz In the Park series brings new changes for 2015

Photo by Carmien Penny

Rodney Block and The Real Music Lovers perform with Vocalist Bijoux Pighee at Jazz in the Park

Carmien Penny tured and performed in various Pavilion in Riverfront Park.

venues across the region rangStaff Writer ing from corporate to social, has cdpenny2@ualr.edu built a niche in the genres of jazz and hip hop. Notable artists he n April 1st, Jazz in the Park has shared the stage with include started off with Rodney Dwele, Jonathan Butler, Dave Block and The Real Music Hollister, Wynton Marsalis, and Lovers. Vocalist Bijoux Pighee Eric Roberson.” joined them. Despite the threat of The Jazz in the Park series is rain, the show went on under the considered a family friendly event.

Rivermarket’s West Pavillion. This It consists of free weekly concerts didn’t seem to interfere with atten- held every Wednesday night in dance, as the pavillion was packed April. The series is sponsored by with an energetic audience.

Little Rock Convention and Visitors According to a bio on Reverb Bureau and the River Market.

Nation, Block is a Dumas native Weather permitting, the concerts and “trumpeter who has been fea- are from 6 to 8 pm at the History

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2015 brought a change to the series as Jazz in the Park partnered with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. According to APME’s website, their mission is to “provide scholarships to talented Arkansas music students in need of financial assistance to pursue higher education from an accredited college or university” as well as promoting community service and volunteerism.

The events will continue throughout April, and bands listed to play include Jazz R Us, New Jazz Era Project, Stellar Way, and the John Burnette Band.

Features

ualr.edu/forum

April 9 - May 5, 2015

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UALR’s Frank Thurmond is getting ready to release his second book Tanner Newton Staff Writer tgnewton@ualr.edu

“A Natalie Doris Staff Writer nmdoris@ualr.edu

E

veryone who speaks more than one language has received the same reaction from their monolingual peers.

“Say my name in [insert language here]”, “tell me something.

Really, anything. Right now!”, “I have always really wanted to know how to say “my gorilla is eating a flame-thrower” in [insert language here],” or “how do you say [insert multiple expletives here]?”

Whether you speak Spanish or Tagalog, you will have had to explain that names don’t really change, you need a minute to fabricate a sentence (yes, any sentence) to say out of thin air, and you are curious as to how necessary telling someone that your pet gorilla is eating inedible substances really is. You recognize their interest as a form of flattery, however, and are more than happy to help them out.

Who are you to question the moral turpitude of having a pet gorilla?

Next comes the “why do you speak insert language here” conversation quite often heavily supplemented with the “no, where are you really from” interrogation. In my case, this also triggers an existential melt down because, to be honest, I would like to know myself.

Explaining the cultural value of a heritage language has gotten me a few vacant stares and I have left many a conversation wondering why I understand parts of a lan-

Speaking multiple

languages guage that very few people speak globally rather than something more useful, like Mandarin. At the same time, “because I wanted to and I was around it a lot” has me questioning my motives for taking on something as insane as learning an entire language “because”.

Explaining the cultural context behind words that you use to people who are learning can also be very difficult. Sometimes words that we are taught the direct translations of in school have different connotations depending on where you are from. Yes, that word that you are using is pretty innocent when translated to English, but it is still racist. Trust me.

I’m sure that many language department students and people who grew up speaking more than one language can relate to confusing your languages occasionally, especially if you speak languages that are in the same family.

Sometimes, things just don’t translate or you find yourself knowing some words in one language and others one in your second language. Try as hard as you can, saying chicharrones in an American accent won’t make it an English word. And telling someone that they “have you until the mother”

won’t get you taken seriously no matter how angry you are.

Finally, if you’re anything like me, when you find a funny YouTube video or a joke it is for life.

You retell it to everybody you know (several times) and then attempt to tell it to people who do not speak the language that the joke is framed in.

“No! It’s really funny!” you insist, “because this means that and this word translates to that, you get it?” It will take you a while to come to terms with the fact that overexplaining any joke makes it infinitely less funny. You will still try to make it work though, because some things are too good not to share.

Overall, being multilingual comes with a unique set of struggles. However, it is more than worth it. Speaking more than one language means that you can speak more than one culture. You have at least twice the vocabulary as your monolingual friends because you have two or three words for everything around you. When others take an interest in your languages, it is an honor. You really don’t mind sharing. Even if they are mostly concerned with gorilla and flame throwers.

nything that seems unrealistic to the point of unbelievable, you can be certain that it is fact.” Professor Frank Thurmond will soon be releasing an espionage novella called Ring of Five. The main focus of the book is Kim Philby, the man given the task of finding the ringleader of the Cambridge Five.

The Cambridge Five was a communist spy cell that successfully gave information to Russia during the Cold War. The reason that this historical tale, which is not well known in America, came to Professor Thurmand’s attention is that he is friends with an honest to god spy. This friend is a retired Naval Intelligence Officer and he provided a lot of the resources that went into the research for this book.

The book not only features the Ring of Five novella but also several short stories. They include Whiskey Road, which is about a jealous man who thinks his significant other may be unfaithful. The Dealers Tale, a violent tale about two hit men. A foreign love story called The Sand of Santa Maria and The Call, which is a true account of how Thurmond first met his father.

There are several short films associated with this book collection. The first was called The Spymaster. It is an adaptation of

Ring of Five and it debuted at the Little Rock Film Festival last year.

It would later play at the Ozark Foothills Film Festival where it won Best Screenplay. From there the short has been optioned by a film studio in Los Angeles who are currently developing it into a feature length film. Premiering this year at the Little Rock Film Festival is The Dealers Tale. The Call has also been adapted into a short film and it regularly plays on the UALR television network.

The book will be launched at the Arkansas Literary Festival, April 23rd thru 26th, and at the festival he will be talking about how to adapt literary works into film and will show clips from each of the three short films.

Thurmond has been teaching at UALR for five years and also currently teaches at Lyon College in Batesville. He teaches the core world literature class, approaches to literature and screenwriting.

This summer he will be teaching a short story survey class and also a World Literature section during Summer II. He is a second generation professor at UALR, following in Barbara Thurmond’s footsteps. He can also be found playing electric bass and lute in his band Odyssey.

On Wednesday April 29th from 2:30 thru 4:30 pm, Thurmond will be doing a book signing of Ring of Five at the book store located in Donaghey Student Center.

Incidentally, the bookstore also has copies of Thurmond’s first book, Before I Sleep.

12

April 9 - May 5, 2015

Features

ualr.edu/forum

Michel Chikwanine Speaks Abigail Marshall

ditional slum photo is pictured when thinking of Africa—focusing on the poverty found in Africa, and leaving out the richness of the cultures, people, and lifestyles there.

In regards to Chikwanine himself, he was an enchanting speaker. His eyes shone with feeling throughout his speech and during the hardest parts of his tale he was able to show emotion, but also able to get a laugh moments later with a winning story of his childhood innocence (in the wake of all the horror) from the audi-

field and his subsequent life as a child soldier in a rebel army at the tenEditor der age of five. He describes horrors almarshall@ualr.edu such as having his wrists slashed and hen’s the newest season of smeared with a concoction of gunmy favorite show coming powder and cocaine to “make him out on Netflix? Why did my go crazy” and being forcibly handed professor assign us three chapters an AK-47 with direction to “Shoot! of our textbook on the night of the Shoot!” big game? Why did I stay home and His tale involves such horrors eat pizza instead of going to the gym unfathomable for the most seayesterday? soned of soldiers, and to think of his All of these are very common experiencing them while being just issues that we experience as college 5-years-old. For most of us, students. I do not bring our childhood memories up these questions to at the age of five include trivialize these tribulaBarbie dolls and racecars, tions, as they do affect pizza parties and cupour everyday lives, but cakes, not tragic shootings perhaps suggest that of your best friend and the we sometimes let these deaths of children at your things get the better of own hand. us and forget to see the Chikwanine’s riveting bigger picture. For the tale had the audience on most part we are young, the edge of their seats, we are safe, and we live many in tears from time in a country that is stato time. Jorge Gonzalez, a ble, allowing us to not UALR sophomore, was in feel threatened to venattendance and was very ture outside every mornmoved by Chikwanine’s ing to class. However for speech. some people across the “His story really puts globe, that is not the a different perspective case, nor has it been the on the life we live here case for many, many in America. Hearing his years. story from his mouth and Enter Michel him being only a few feet Chikwanine.

On away from me really was a Wednesday, April 1 crazy experience. It didn’t Chikwanine visited the allow me to just flip the University of Arkansas at TV channel and get away Little Rock and shared from the horrible things his story. he was sharing. He was Born in the right in front of me, it was Democratic Republic real.” of the Congo, forAfter sharing of his merly known as Zaire, escape from the rebel Chikwanine grew up in a soldiers and a journey family with two older sisthrough the jungle for ters and one younger. In three days, and three his speech he described nights without water or his family as affluent, food, Chikwanine also his father held a posishared parts of his story tion as a politician and that included his mother activist, and Chikwanine and two older sisters being lived in a gated housing raped in front of him. He compound and began to was 10-years-old and attend school at the age forced to watch at gunof five. point, sharing with the One thing audience that he felt such Chikwanine wanted to an overwhelmingly helppoint out in his tale, is Chikwanine entrances the audience, his style of speaking lessness during the situathe lack of consideration and sharing his story involves a lot of emotion. tion, trying to think what he Westerners and the rest of as a 10-year-old boy could the world gives Africa in do to save his family from these ence with his bright personality. regards to how it views the world.

Chikwanine’s story outlined his armed men.

Repeatedly he mentioned the fact horrible abduction from a soccer During his speech, Chikwanine that in the minds of people, the tra-

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Photos courtesy of Benny Scroggin

Michel Chikwanine recounts unimaginable horrors to the audience at UALR about his real life story.

shared the adoration he felt for his father, Ramazai Chikwanine, who died in his arms in 2001 in a Ugandan refugee camp, after being poisoned by the rebels for trying to share with the world what was happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He mentioned the complete idolization many, many times and described his father as a seven foot tall man who everyone was afraid of but who he greatly loved and respected for always trying to tell the truth of the atrocities going on in their country.

He shared with the audience that it was his father that always gave him the faith to go on during all of the horrible things that happened to him and his family. He also shared that he still experiences nightmares and flashbacks to some of these events, but that he shares his story because his is not a unique one. It is one like so

many others that are forced to commit such horrible acts—Chikwanine mentioned that there are two hundred fifty thousand child soldiers throughout the world forced to do similar or worse things than he was.

In 2004, Chikwanine, his mother, and youngest sister were able to get out of the Ugandan refugee camp and move to Ottawa, Canada. They have remained in Canada to this day and were eventually joined by one of Chikwanine’s older sisters, her children, and the children of his other sister—who they are still unable to find.

Chikwanine attends the University of Toronto and studies African Studies and Economics. He is an accomplished speaker, and travels all over telling his story in the hopes that he can bring awareness to what is happening.

Department of Speech Communication Join theElementary Excellence!Science Fair Lorem Call 569-3158 http://ualr.edu/speechcomm/ Sunday, January 25, 2015 9am

www.example.com Award Winning Students!

Nominated for Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges 2015 Undergraduates Anneliese Armstrong Kacee Burrus John Canfield Sayra Crandall

Award Winning Faculty. Speech Communication Faculty have Won 4 college teaching awards 1 regional teaching award 2 University-wide teaching Awards 1 University-wide Research Award 2 Awards for Service

Department of Excellence!

Winner of the Department of Excellence Award at UALR 2000 Nominated for the Southern States Communication Association Minority Recruitment and Retention Award, 2015

Graduates Kristina Godfrey Catherine Jones Laurie Ann Ross Lauren Lee Allison Stank

14

April 9 - May 5, 2015

mundane magic

by Zachary Tallent

UALR GIRL

by Paige Mason

Comics

ualr.edu/forum

The Forum

CLASSIFIEDS

Students! Staff!

Advertise with us!

Your school newspaper will soon include a classifieds section!

Jobs? Post them here!

Only $4.00 to advertise here!

2” x 3”

Looking for a roommate?

Let students know about scholarships and opportunities!

Buy Sell Inform All in one spot!

Contact KenDrell Collins editor@ualr.edu

16

April 9 - May 5, 2015

Entertainment

Kevin Heart to Perform at Verizon Arena

ualr.edu/forum

Bottoms Up:

Beat the Heat with the Pina Colada

Grant Fox Editor tgfox@ualr.edu

B

est known for his hilarious stand ups and amazing films, Kevin Hart exploded onto the comedy scene as one of the most versatile comedic actors in both television and movie making. His best movie to date being Think Like A Man was quite the success. Hart racked in a minimum of 90 million dollars from just the theaters. In 2011 Hart really kicked off his career with the drop of his Laugh At My Pain tour.

This comedic tour alone pegged Hart as the number one comedian on Ticketmaster. In 2012 his second tour dropped where it reached 100 U.S cities along with international cities in Canada, Europe, and Africa. Hart is known most for his ability to express things that everyone is thinking yet are just too afraid to say. He’s bold, loud, creative, and hysterical all at the same time. What’s not to love?

Kevin Hart has single handedly managed to be one of the funniest guys in the world while creating movies, as well as hosting large award shoes such as the BET Awards, VMAS, and the MTV Awards. He has a huge following of 18 million on Twitter and Facebook, and 13 million on Instagram which provides him with the possibility of trending at any time. Not only is Hart blessed with the ability to make money doing what he loves, but his stage, box office, and retail success have all easily landed him huge international endorsements with companies like Nike and Ford Motor Company.

Hart was born July 6, 1979 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania where he was the youngest of two boys.

As a young boy Hart was exposed to a lot of things that most children of his age did not. Due to his father being in and out of his life rather from jail or drugs, Hart used his issues to fuel his inner comedian. It was somewhat of a coping mechanism for him, the jokes kept

Illustration by Byron Buslig

Grant Fox Editor tgfox@ualr.edu

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his mind off the reality of things.

He started his carrier in stand up under “Lil Kev the Bastard.” He didn’t attract near as much attention as he wanted until he met Keith Robinson a veteran comedian that took Hart under his wing and helped him create new material from real life experiences. Hart’s

or the final drink of the Bottoms Up column I decided to go with a well known, fun drink that people will probably enjoy both making and drinking, especially with the temperature on the rise. The Pina Colada is the official drink of Puerto Rico and also happens to be one of the most popular drinks world wide.

The ingredients are rather simple and easy to get your hands on.

Ice is optional. 3 ounces of white rum, 2 ounces of dark rum, 3 ounces of coconut cream, 2 ounces of whipped cream, 6 ounces of pineapple juice, just a dash of angostura bitters, along with cherries and pineapple slices for decorations are all you need. The best part is that it is not very difficult to mix either. Simply pour all the ingredients into a blender and mix for 15 seconds. Then pour it into a glass and add your choice of garnishes.

(Ladies also like a small umbrella along with it) These delicious fruity yet sweet drinks are perfect for a day on the lake, a trip to the beach, or even a Illustration by Paige Mason relaxing day in the summer heat in your own back yard. The perfect career actually began when ABC Along 2, Captain Underpants, and blend of coconut, pineapple and gave him his first sitcom known as The Secret Life of Pets. His first rum is the perfect way to say fareThe Big House. standup appearance in Little Rock, well from Bottoms Up. Currently, Hart just released his Arkansas will be a part of his WHAT As always, remember to drink newest movie Get Hard with Will NOW tour which will be held at responsibly and don’t drink and Ferrell which was a pretty big suc- the Verizon Arena at 8 p.m. Friday drive. My last word of advice is this: cess for both men so far. According night on April 10th. Tickets are cur- Don’t drink to feel better. Drink to to sources, Hart is said to be in rently on sale starting at $45.60. feel even better. Alcohol is a gift, so upcoming movies such as Ride Hope to see you there! don’t abuse it.

ualr.edu/forum

Entertainment

April 9 - May 5, 2015

TV Discovery: House, M.D. Shashank Avvaru to the dismay of his best friend

Dr. James Wilson and the hospital’s Staff Writer head Dr. Lisa Cuddy. sxavvaru@ualr.edu Hugh Laurie captures such a unique character with much comho doesn’t like a mystery? plexity and intensity. Not only is The detective with a pas- Dr. House a brilliant medical docsion to solve a murder, tor, but he is also a no-nonsense, the posh lord of the manor’s alter jaded, and rather ill-tempered man ego as a werewolf and an alien with a giant ego. This is one of the invasion lurking around the corner rather interesting and entertaining of a tall skyscraper … You cannot parts of this series. Despite his sizehelp but like a mystery. able arrogance, House rarely finds But if the mystery is hiding himself in the wrong. Many aspects within the infinitely complicat- of this show are very unique and ed depths of the human body, a captivating, it gives the viewer an human being’s life hangs in the inside look at the goings on and balance and the solution is up to a wild medical cases that enter a selfish, narcissistic and antisocial hospital every day. House has a gift genius you are not sure whether and he uses it to help those that you like it. need it most. Although he may But David Shore (creator/writer) act as if he feels indifferent about and Hugh Laurie (lead actor) give the lives he saves, House devotes fresh, original life to Dr. Gregory himself fully every day in order House and make this mystery not to change these people's lives. just likeable but also loveable and Another great aspect of House M.D. irresistible. is the interaction and relationships The show is set in the neo- between the doctors that work with Victorian landscape of Princeton House. This team of doctors is repPlainsboro Teaching Hospital resented by a very gifted group of in New Jersey, the home of the actors such as Olivia Wilde and Medical Diagnostics division that Omar Epps. House M.D. has such a handles cases that is too complex riveting and suspenseful story line for any other doctor to handle. because of the unique and extreme Patients come from all around the medical case that encompasses world to be inspected by doctors every episode. Most of these cases Robert Chase, Eric Foreman and involve people that are strangers Allison Cameron. But the main to the doctors. The complicated reason for the worldwide reputa- relationships between the doctors tion of the division is Dr. House and medical personnel also add a – the head of the division. Every much needed personal and emoepisode’s heart is a disease and a tional touch to the already fascifast fading patient has to not only nating show. deal with his apparently imminent At its face House is a medical death, he or she is also a victim to show. But its poetic perspective on the demented and unconventional loneliness and its study of human techniques involving pianos, juke- misery through the central make it boxes, getaways, fires etc. much compelling drama.

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Illustration by Byron Buslig

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18

Entertainment

April 9 - May 5, 2015

College Cla s

sic

s

Loser

ualr.edu/forum

Shashank Avvaru popular cast with such actors as Staff Writer sxavvaru@ualr.edu

Zach Martin Staff Writer zrmartin@ualr.edu

W

e have explored every possible facet of college that we can think of through College Classics so it’s only fitting that our final addition to this list is a little-known, highly underrated movie about the perils that a small town outcast faces in a majestic school in New York – Loser.

Paul Tannek (Jason Biggs) is a fresh high school graduate from rural New York who takes his dreams to the big apple when he starts as a freshman at NYU. His rising excitement is battered when it turns out his popular roommates plot to remove Paul from the premises indefinitely. Paul with his self esteem injured finds sanctuary in a small room at a veterinary clinic. He connects with Dora (Mena Suvari) from one of his classes who has a secret relationship with their Literature Professor (Greg Kinnear). Paul is in awe of Dora and tries his best to look cool and win the girl. When his first attempt at asking Dora out ends with Dora standing him up and his roommates taking advantage of his weakness to turn the veterinary clinic into a party hall, Paul decides he has had enough.

College Classics teach us a little about what it's like for students every day in the College experience. Despite it not being much of a popular movie it packs a very

Dan Aykroyd and Greg Kinnear.

One of the great parts of this movie is its depiction of what it's like to be bullied by the elitist popular one percent and how we can combat that. Paul is a symbol of hope to all of us. He shows us that no matter what people may say to hurt you, through perseverance and integrity we can gain the courage to challenge our rivals. Paul inspires us with his devotion to others and his bravery when standing up to those that prey on the weak. He shows us that we all have a little loser within us.

Loser is the perfect film for those trying to understand the small town America mentality. The innocence, the persistent kindness and all-round good spirits of those that are raised in a small town culture is glorified and celebrated in Loser, making it one of the few films that have the potential to touch lesser-known college student troubles and emotions. By avoiding the usual underdog story Loser doesn’t give Paul a surprise victory over everyone making his life miserable. Instead it shows his journey from being a stamped “loser” to a proud and brave college student who attempts to succeed in spite of everyone and everything standing in his way.

We the writers of College Classics hope you have had as good a time reading these articles as we have had writing them. Our goal was to bring movies that have an impact on college students and make their life a little easier through empathy and familiarity with characters that live breathe in a college environment in movies that are made by those who have profound college experiences.

Thank you.

Illustration by Zachary Tallent

Entertainment

ualr.edu/forum

April 9 - May 5, 2015

19

Paul Walker and Vin Diesel race one last time

Illustration by Byron Buslig

Tanner Newton Staff Writer tgnewton@ualr.edu

T

aking over for Justin Lin, James Wan shows that he is more than just a one trick pony with the latest film in the Furious series. Seventh in the series, eighth if you count Better Luck Tomorrow, this film joins the rare ranks of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Iron Man

3 in that it is a seventh film that is actually worth watching.

Series breakdown: 1 was ok, 2 was really good, 3 was mediocre, 4 was even weaker, 5 was great and 6 was even better. So where does this movie fall? It ranks behind 6, 5 and 2 but miles ahead of the other three. What hurts the movie the most is its more serious tone. The three better films in the series are simply nonstop joyrides. The story this time requires a more serious tone though.

The story is that the brother of the last movie’s villain is getting his

revenge against the Toretto family. If you saw the third or sixth movie then you know that a member of the family was murdered.

Family members dying rarely leads to fun times so the tone of this movie really does have to be more somber. Thankfully the Rock and Tyresse Gibson are there to break the tension and offer some laughs.

Speaking of Dwayne Johnson, his three matches with John Cena were boring and his two matches with CM Punk disappointed. But here finally, the Rock has delivered a good match. Rock fights the bad

brother, played by Jason Statham, and it is quite fun to watch. Be sure to watch out for his finisher, the Rock Bottom, to turn up. While Rock sells tickets, he should have been left out of the promotional material for this movie. He has a significantly reduced role in this movie. Putting him all over the trailer is misleading.

Stunts! The series has always been known for its crazy stunts and they once again up their game.

The trailers prominently displayed the parachuting cars and the skyscraper jumping car but my favor-

ite of the movies stunts is when O’Conner and a henchman ride a piece of wood down a flight of stairs during a fight.

And now for the elephant in the room, Paul Walker’s tragic death.

After his untimely death, the crew hired his two brothers to act as Fake Shemps. The crew should be applauded because you cannot tell when Brian O’Conner isn’t played by the late Paul Walker. The closing moments of the movie serve as a touching tribute to Walker. If the series does continue without Walker, it won’t be the same.

20

Sports

April 9 - May 5, 2015

ualr.edu/forum

Fryar looks to improve after successful freshman year Maggie Rogers Editor mjrogers1@ualr.edu

F

reshman Tori Fryar has accomplished a lot as a freshman for the swimming and diving team. She has set new records and has placed first in a few tournaments the team competed in.

“I hope that I continue to drop time and improve over the next couple of years,” Fryar said.

The Texas native chose to come to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock because she really liked the experience she had from her recruiting trip.

“I loved the girls on the team that I had met and I loved the place, I thought it was pretty,” Fryar said.

When she was 10 years old, she said that out of all the sports she tried, swimming stuck. One of her favorite things about this sport is all of the connections she has made to different people involved with swimming and diving.

“I definitely love meeting new people, I’ve met so many people from swimming and I’ve had a lifelong connection with them,” Fryar said.

Her favorite event is the 500-

Photo courtesy of UALR Athletics

Freshman Tori Fryar wants to continually get better each year she swims for the Trojans.

yard freestyle because of something that happened her junior year in high school.

“I randomly swam it and I dropped a lot of time,” Fryar said.

“Just over time, I’ve gotten better and better at it, I really like it,” Fryar said.

During swimming meets and practices, she makes sure to encourage her teammates and finds ways to get over a bad performance in an event.

“Swimming has taught me to always encourage someone and even if you don’t do well on a race, you still can encourage other people to do well and just know to work harder next time,” Fryar said.

In practices, Fryar says the team works on pacing and they work on other conditioning activities to keep up their momentum. With these activities, things might get hard and one might want to give up, but she motivates herself to keep going.

“I just kept telling myself that all this hard work will pay off eventually,” Fryar said.

Fryar says that the teams is also very supportive of one another and are very hardworking with whatever they are doing.

“They’re always so encouraging in everything,” Fryar said. “We started out super shy and then we got very, very close.”

Sports

ualr.edu/forum

April 9 - May 5, 2015

21

Conque searching for new head coach Lauren Lockhart any program forward. It comes Staff Writer lalockhartl@ualr.edu

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ecision making is something that comes with the territory of any major position, especially in the sports industry. Athletic responsibility comes with a broad range of issues that must be handled with care regardless of the situation. UALR Athletic Director Chasse Conque knows all about these decisions, as he was aware that he would have some to make prior to returning to the program.

“As a senior administrator in any field you know there will be tough decisions, decisions you must make in hopes of moving

with the territory,” says Conque.

In UALR’s case, a big decision came with the release of men’s basketball coach Steve Shields.

Shields was a part of the program for 12 seasons and was highly respected on campus. Nothing bad is to be said about Shields, as the UALR athletic program just looks to push towards a new direction.

The program looks to compete at a national level, hoping to improve in more ways than one.

When looking at the success that coach Foley and the Lady Trojans have made being in four NCAA tournaments within six years, it is safe to say that the men’s program aspires to play at that same level. Conque feels that moving in a new direction will be good for

the University as a whole.

“When you look at what it does for the community, campus, and university, it pays great dividence to have a successful program.”

The search for a new hire has been a huge topic as many are looking forward to redirecting focus within the program. The expectations have been made very clear and all candidates seem to be up for the challenge.

The wide variety of applicants has been narrowed down to five.

Of these five finalists, Conque says that though they all have quite different backgrounds, they are all very aware of the game of basketball, hold relationships at importance, and have had winning records.

“One of my big criteria for this

Women’s golf team focused T on future

Photo by Brian Gregory

The women’s golf team looks to stay focused for future tournaments.

hire is someone that values the student-athlete experience,” says Conque. “We want someone who knows what it takes from the academic side of achieving degrees, while at the same time producing a winning basketball program.”

Winning is something that everyone knows is a huge factor for any job in the sports world.

Winning attracts fans, which is something that the athletic department has been working to increase for many years now.

Student involvement and campus support from faculty and staff as well is something that is extremely important to both Conque and the rest of the program. Being a part of a successful program requires that everyone do their job, which means that marketing and promoting within these

programs will be essential to taking the next step. As the Trojans aspire to remain within the top three of the Sun Belt Conference, they also look forward to being able to make a run every March allowing them to enter a NCAA post season tournament.

The business of athletics is an area of interest for many regardless of their occupation. The challenge comes from gaining and maintaining support from the community. The UALR athletic department plans to find more ways to engage students and staff in attending events as well as working with organizations and building a strong foundation for not only the men’s basketball program, but all programs within the department.

Lauren Lockhart Norwood says as she explains this year for the women’s golf

why she added the Kansas City Staff Writer tournament this year. “There was lalockhartl@ualr.edu a large gap between the invitational and championship this year, so because the girls tend to get nervous at times like this, it hough many are born with is much more beneficial for us to natural talent, consistency play three in a row while they’re is the key to perfecting any still pumped and ready.” April craft. Working day in and day out 13 is the official start of the Sun to grow and improve as a team is Belt Conference Championship in something that the Lady Trojans Loxley, Alabama.

Coming off of the second know all too well. The team came back in the final round from place win, Norwood decided to seven strokes behind to tie the do something a bit different and University of Central Arkansas let the girls work specifically Bears. Although the Bears did win on things that they felt needed the playoffs, the invitational still improvement. Junior Stina Resen went down as a win for both teams has leaded the conference all year giving the Trojans a second place though she wasn’t the happiest trophy but a victory in the books. with her individual results in the Coach Bridgett Norwood says that last tournament. Resen is excited she feels the girls worked very hard to practice hard in preparation and kept focus coming back in that for the upcoming Championship.

“I feel as if this wasn’t my final round placing them second as best tournament but it was a a whole out of 15 teams total.

Following the invitational, the great experience and I feel like Lady Trojans entered the Kansas we are more ready for conferShoot Out which started April 6 ence,” Resen said. “We still have and will jump right into the Sun the Kansas tournament to grind Belt Championship that following it out and prepare for the NCAA Championship.” week.

Improvement came by storm “I don’t like to be idle,”

team as they are now ranked 85th in the nation.

“We have four new freshmen who stepped up this year that want to be a part of the team which makes it to where we have to deliver in order to keep our spot,” says Resen. “We practiced hard last year as well but now everyone may feel pressured to work even harder to remain on the team.”

Norwood feels that the ladies have all improved as a whole, commending the freshman for stepping up and playing hard.

“I lose two seniors this year but gain two freshmen, and am looking forward to Hannah Ward and Sabrina Bonanno, along with Stina Resen to be some of next season’s key players.”

The ladies have worked hard all season to get where they are now, they look forward to the upcoming challenges in which they hope to tackle head on. The Trojans are confident going into these last tournaments and hope to bring home a championship trophy as a token of their dedication.

22

Sports

April 9 - May 5, 2015

ualr.edu/forum

Men's golf team places fourth at home tournament Brian Gregory Staff Writer bjgregory@ualr.edu

T

he University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s men’s golf team has been on a tear recently. At the past three tournaments they have placed in the top four. The team finished third at Samford, first at University of Louisiana-Monroe, and fourth at their home tournament. While the team started the season with a few less than great performances,

they have picked up some speed in order to be prepared as a team for their conference tournament.

Head coach Jake Harrington said, “We are finally playing as a team which is being reflected in our play of late.”

At the beginning of the season the team had five new players that joined the team. According to redshirt sophomore Tyler Reynolds from Little Rock, the team had a lot of good individual scores but overall they still played bad as a team.

“We’ve picked it up as a lot of the new guys have started to jell with the older guys. But we’re

going to need the young guys to step up more and rely on the older guys to lead us more,” said Reynolds.

Senior Alfred Kerstis from Sweden said that this team is loaded with guys that get good scores at anytime.

“At any tournament, anyone has the chance to be the number one guy at the tournament,” said Kerstis.

For him the tournaments are always fun and we are playing much better than before. The ultimate goal for both guys is to win the conference and the way they do that is by getting into

The Trojans are moving towards a conference championship as their skills improve.

what they call “a tournament atmosphere.

Right now the Trojans are in the middle of the pack in the conference, but they believe they have tools to compete for a conference championship.

“We’re focused on getting better everyday and making sure we always move in the right direction,” said coach Harrington. In his second year he has built relationships with people across Little Rock, which he says, “we play so many great courses around the area it allows time and development from the team.” As the team approaches

this season, the next the plan is to consistently get better. “Our goals for next season is to be a top-100 golf program and for us to win our home tournament,” said Harrington. However, Tyler has even loftier goals for the team and for himself. “I would like to see our team be a top50 program in the country and be first team all conference next year,” said Reynolds. The Trojans have a tournament in Texas State and their conference tournament will be in Destin, Florida the last week of April.

Photo by Brian Gregory

Sports

ualr.edu/forum

April 9 - May 5, 2015

Hot Corner Brian Gregory ing as I am writing this. While the played every minute of this sea-

Wildcats of Kentucky aren’t huntStaff Writer ing possums and raccoons, they bjgregory@ualr.edu need to be hunting some Badgers of Wisconsin.

There’s no way Kentucky he official state song for should’ve lost that game. No freakKentucky is “My Old Kentucky ing way. I don’t care how good Home”. It’s a song about some- Wisconsin and I had said all year one coming back to the good old Wisconsin was going to be a team state of Kentucky. The chorus of that would give them problems. I the song goes, didn’t want to believe it. I really did Weep no more, my lady, not want to believe that Kentucky Oh weep no more today! could be beaten. I’ve seen all types We will sing one song for the old of teams try and beat Kentucky.

Kentucky home, I’ve seen the Arkansas Razorbacks For the old Kentucky home far try and fail. I saw Kansas try and away. fail. I saw UCLA, Louisville, and a They hunt no more for the ‘pos- whole host of other teams try and sum and the coon, fail. One team did it. The Wisconsin On meadow, the hill and the Badgers beat Kentucky. This has to shore, be one of the biggest upsets ever They sing no more by the glim- since UNLV lost to Duke in 1991.

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son almost. Out of control, without poise, and ultimately bad point guard play. They were absolutely terrible. I’d love to see Mr. Ulis and Mr. Booker to play next year without the Harrison twins bogging them down.

So to Monday’s game I believe it’ll be a great game. It’s a toss-up. While Wisconsin and Duke played earlier in the year, these teams are totally different.

The game that they played in November was an absolute dandy.

However, Jahlil Okafor and Frank Kaminsky they are hardly a sideshow. The real matchup is going to be Sam Dekker vs. Justice Winslow.

They play that small/power forward position were they can handle the ball, shoot the three, and drive to the basket. Both are excel-

Weep no more, my lady, Oh weep no more today!

We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home, For the old Kentucky home far away.

They hunt no more for the ‘possum and the coon, On meadow, the hill and the shore, They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon, On the bench by that old cabin door; The day goes by like a shadow o’er the heart, With sorrow where all was delight; The time has come when the people have to part, Then my old Kentucky home, good night!

mer of the moon, On the bench by that old cabin door; The day goes by like a shadow o’er the heart, With sorrow where all was delight; The time has come when the people have to part, Then my old Kentucky home, good night!

Well I’m sorry to the writer of this song but the Kentucky ladies are weeping, except for maybe the Louisville fans. It’s not just the women, everyone in Big Blue Nation is crying and weeping.

Those hoping for an undefeated season are weeping. I’m weep-

Kaminsky, Dekker, Coach Bo Ryan and the rest of their squad showed what teamwork, desire, and passion are all about. Kentucky was out rebounded by Wisconsin.

Kentucky doesn’t get ou trebounded in games.

Wisconsin played the perfect game, the absolute perfect game. They let the Harrison twins believe that they could win the game without the bigs of Kentucky and they lost. Why didn’t Calipari put in Tyler Ulis and Trevor Booker in the game? That was the worst guard play I’ve ever seen in the last five minutes of a game. They played the last five minutes like Rashad Madden of the Razorbacks

lent defenders. That’s the matchup to watch. I don’t know who will win between those two, but I don’t care.

It’s going to be a great game.

The greatest ode I can give to Kentucky is this. My old Kentucky home where the little kids dream of playing basketball and the adult’s blood is blue rather the red. Five, four, three, two, one a kid shoot it to imagine themselves with the Kentucky letters spread across their chest. Oh Big Blue Nation your team isn’t undefeated, but don’t worry because next year your team is going to be stacked again. I’ll be shocked if you don’t win it the next year.

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