VOL. 104, NO. 18
University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark.
LIFESTYLES
WEATHER
Diversity: What the hell is it? page 6
SPORTS
Britt gets defensive page 10
HIGH
LOW
60
48
Partly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day.
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WWW.UATRAV.COM
Page 1|WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
About you. For you. For 104 years.
UA celebrates and explores the meaning of “diversity”
Community service at forefront of Greek Life in 2010 Traveler Staff
LARRY ASH Staff Photographer
Parice Bowser admits Fall 2009 was the toughest semester of her 12-year career in student affairs. The director of Greek Life dealt with rough incidents of indiscipline that culminated with the expulsion of one fraternal organization’s UA chapter. But in spite of – or because of – last semester’s challenges, Bowser has a brighter outlook for this year. “In 2010, we’re going to make some changes, and we’re going to do it collectively,” Bowser said, speaking of recent talks she held with leaders of Greek Life, past and newly elected, as well as with UA administrators. “I think people are going to be pleased at the outcome. I feel very optimistic that our students are going to take our community to the next level.” Bowser looks not just at the present, but also at what good Greeks have done in the past to make her feel optimistic about 2010. The UA Greek community “is very strong and they contribute a lot to the university, not just from a
Community members march as a part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
Varied faculty, curriculum will attract more diverse student body, UA professors say
Other students aid in relief efforts
Staff Writer As UA students are working to give what they can to the earthquake-stricken residents of Haiti, one UA School of Law student knows better than most the true effects of the magnitude 7 quake that struck the island nation last week. Born just outside Port-auPrince and raised in the city, 35-year-old Diony Monestime said after spending several long days and nights watching news reports from Port-au-Prince, he only learned recently that his three sisters were safe. “It’s just now I’m getting relief,” he said. “I know my sisters are off the streets. I know they’re not fighting for food and water. I have that relief now.” Monestime said while he is glad for the outpouring of im-
mediate support, he hopes aid groups recognize that cleaning up the nation is a long-term project. “Right now we’re taking the dead bodies out of the debris. Next we have to clean the debris.Then we have to rebuild on that debris,” he said. “You have no presidential palace, no parliament, few churches. The police headquarters -- all that collapsed. People need help right now to deal with shortterm stuff, but the long-term stuff is what we’re really worried about.” However, short-term problems continue in many districts. With resources limited, Haitians are doing what they must to survive, Monestime said. “After a week now, everySee
GREEK on Page 5
GRADUATE PROGRAMS SEEK DIVERSITY
UA student from Haiti: ‘I’m relieved my sisters are safe’ Nick DeMoss
See
Jordan Johnson
Contributing Writer Diversity in the students and faculty of graduate programs is being encouraged across the nation, and the graduate program for the English Department here at the University of Arkansas is no exception. There has been an “explosion” of diversity in the population nationwide, Dorothy Stephens, English professor and a past director of graduate studies, said. Since her arrival in Arkansas in 1992, the state’s population has become much more diverse—but to a lesser degree on the UA campus, she said. A major way to attract a diverse student body is to have
HAITI on Page 5
a diverse faculty, William Quinn, English professor and interim director of graduate studies for this academic year, said. A diverse faculty gives the program role models for the students and also provides a more welcoming and comfortable environment. However, the English Department is not very diverse, he said. The department is looking to add another minority professor (it currently has one), he said. “We’re trying to use diversity to get diversity,” he said. Diversity is the “life-blood” of a graduate program, Stephens said. For a program to be really diverse there needs to be diversity in the curriculum as well as in the faculty and students, she said. With English
in particular, the curriculum is already so diverse that it needs to be represented in the faculty accordingly, and this is why the department is pursuing a minority hire so diligently, she said. “We do need more diversity,” Terrence Tucker, English professor, said. “We want to be representative of the state[’s population].” People that can share different experiences in life make for a more “vibrant” graduate school, in turn offering a fuller experience for everyone involved, he said. In an English program, diversity also allows for a fuller understanding of how different types of literature connect, he said. Culture is what English is all about, Stephens said.
Cultural diversity leads to faculty and students having shared interests, Tucker said. There is so much to talk about, and “real learning and cultural sharing can go on,” he said. However, monetary issues are an obstacle in reaching out to a diverse population, Stephens said. In the past, both she and Tucker have wanted to travel around the state to recruit minorities but haven’t been able to because of money. It’s still a goal for the future, she said. One step the department has taken to expand exposure to diversity is to require all students in Composition I to read “The Devil’s Highway” See
GRADS on Page 5
Monumental moments in modern black history
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” -Martin Luther King Jr. 1807
President Thomas Jefferson signs into act a law “to prohibit the importation of slaves.”
1863
1865
The 13th Amendment officially abolishes slavery.
President Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation.
Infographic by Jaclyn Johnson
1867
1896
In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court declares “separate, but equal” facilities to be constitutional.
The First Reconstruction Act is passed and guarantees black men the right to vote.
1917
1954
In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court overturns Plessy v. Ferguson.
The bloodiest race riot in U.S. history occurs in Illinois. W.E.B. Du Bois and other NAACP leaders organize a silent protest march.
1963
2009
Barack Obama is inaugurated as the first black president in American history.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream speech. Later, in 1968, he is assassinated.
Page 2 |WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
BRIEFLY speaking Alternative Spring Break applications available Alternative Spring Break applications are now available at the Volunteer Action Center. The three locations for the alternative spring breaks are Southwest Arkansas (from March 19 until March 26), Arkansas Delta (from March 21 through March 26) and Northeast Oklahoma (from March 19 to March 26). Go to leadership.uark.edu for the application and additional information under the service tab. Applications are due Jan. 29th at 5 p.m. to the CLCE ARK-U 665. Free film screening, pizza and drinks All students are invited to the free screening of two films sponsored by the Students for Sensible Drug Policy. The first film will be Busted: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters, and the second film will be The Union: the business behind getting high. Come with an appetite for food and knowledge, and learn why it is important to assert your rights. Speaker to discuss U.S.-China relations Dr Suisheng Zhao, chair of the international studies department, University of Denver, will present a lecture on U.S.China Relations during President Obama’s first year in office at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in Kimpel Hall 105. Nadi Cinema/Middle East film club to meet Jan. 20 Nadi Cinema/Middle East Film club at the University of Arkansas will present “Vodka Lemon” (Hineer Saleem, France/Armenia/Italy 2003) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, in 104 Mullins Library. All screenings are free and open to the public. All films are subtitled in English. Morning News weekend editions now available at UA Saturday and Sunday editions of the Morning News are now available to UA students in the Union, Brough Commons and Mullins Library. While the Sunday edition will only be available for a six-week trial, the Saturday edition will be available for the duration of the spring semester. Swarthmore professor to talk about program involving welfare, student attendance Thomas Dee, assoc. prof. of economics and director of the public policy program at Swarthmore College, will give a lecture titled “Conditional Cash Penalties in Education: Evidence from the Learnfare Experiment” at noon Friday, Jan. 22, in Room 343 of the Graduate Education Building. The lecture is free and open to the public, but attendees should RSVP at http://www.uark.edu/ua/der/ for a light lunch.
CORRECTIONS The Arkansas Traveler strives for accuracy in its reporting and will correct all matters of fact. If you believe the paper has printed an error, please notify the editor at 575.8455 or at traveler@uark.edu.
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The Arkansas Traveler is a member of the Arkansas College Media Association, and the Associated Collegiate Press. The Arkansas Traveler, the student newspaper at the University of Arkansas, is published every Wednesday during the fall and spring academic sessions except during exam periods and university holidays. Opinions expressed in signed columns are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Traveler. The editorial that appears on the left side of the opinion page is the opinion of this newspaper. The editor makes all final content decisions.
NEWS PROFILES from the Hill
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER | UATRAV.COM
UA reinforces commitment to diversity with new administrative position
Kimber Wenzelburger Managing Editor
Charles Robinson was hired as the UA’s first vice provost for diversity in March 2009. He spoke with Managing Editor Kimber Wenzelburger last week about what diversity means to him, why diversity is actively pursued at the University of Arkansas and what he sees for the future of this campus. Your position – vice provost for diversity – is new. Why do you think administrators thought the position was important to establish? We’ve had a chief diversity officer, and basically this is a continuation of that. The only difference really is that I sit on the chancellor’s executive committee, which I think sends the message that the university is really serious about diversity. Diversity is one of our priorities, and we intend to continue to improve and promote diversity. We hear the word “diversity” so much. What does it really mean, and why is it significant? In my opinion, diversity is about understanding others. It’s about being comfortable within our world community. The world is smaller now than it’s ever been, and it’s important for people to have a better understanding of people who come from different ethnicities, different backgrounds, different regions of the country and areas of the world. Diversity is an educational component that should be a part of any institution of learning, especially in higher education. Diversity is also about inclusion, and the more diversity we have, the more opportunities we create for people to realize their hopes and dreams. Does your office focus on any other areas of diversity, like gender and age? Definitely: gender and non-traditional students. These students, maybe single parents, may come to school on a part-time basis, and they’re important to us. And students who have the opportunity to know students with different experiences are able to
LARRY ASH Staff Photographer
Charles Robinson was hired last March as the UA’s first vice provost for diversity. He works to enhance the diversity of the campus.
better understand those individuals and society at large.
vice provost for diversity?
This year, what I would like for us to do is to seriously take on the effort to increase our numbers of underrepresented students, whether they be African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, people who are socioeconomically from lower incomes… We need to grow our critical mass so we can better ensure that our students will have those opportunities.
I assist in the recruiting piece. I assist in working out policy, not just diversity policy, but policy that is largely tied to academic affairs because I’m in that office. I’m also still the director of the African American Studies program, and I have duties related to that. I’m still technically an associate professor, and in the fall I’ll begin teaching again. I wear a variety of hats, and they all really end up in the same place: It’s about trying to create opportunities for people to come together and learn from each other.
How has the UA progressed in promoting diversity over the last few years?
What are the responsibilities of the Office of Diversity as a whole?
I’d like to think that we have become more sensitive of the need to aggressively pursue diversity and embrace it. In the past, we’ve talked about diversity, but now I think we’re being more aggressive in establishing policies to implement it. I have taken students, faculty and staff on recruiting trips. We bring people to the campus from these diverse communities. It’s about creating scholarship programs that reach out to first-generation students from these underserved communities, and we’re doing more of that.
Two units report to this office: the Multicultural Center and Student Support Services. And again, daily, we’re trying to coordinate efforts to help recruit and retain underrepresented students, faculty and staff.
What goals have you set for yourself as vice provost for diversity?
What are your daily duties as
In your communication with students, what have you learned about their opinions on the diversity of this campus? Most people would say that diversity is a good thing. If you talk to people from underrepresented communities, they probably feel that the university is not
as diverse as it should be. But I think the general sense is that diversity is something we should pursue, because it’s all about inclusion, making us all culturally literate, so we know about a variety of cultures, and so we can engage one another in a peaceful and progressive way. There’s a real positive sense with most of the students I deal with. Finally, where do you hope to see this campus in the coming years, in terms of its diversity? In five or 10 years, it’s my hope that we will not have to talk about growing our numbers, because our numbers will be sufficiently large. It will be simply about creating more opportunities for on-campus engagement between students – and we’ll be sufficiently diverse. And when I say that, the goal I’m searching for is that I want this campus to look like the state of Arkansas, demographically. If we do that, I think we’ll have achieved what we can reasonably do. Then we can really focus on just making sure people are empowered in this diversity and that, at the end of the day, we come away feeling as one campus family that’s moving in a positive direction for everyone. It’s a crazy thing: We want to promote diversity and come away feeling as one. I think it’s something we ought to be working diligently toward.
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER |UATRAV.COM
NEWS
ECONOMY FORCES ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION WORKERS TO MOVE ACROSS COUNTRY Brady Tackett
Asst. Lifestyles Editor The number of illegal immigrants working in the construction industry stabilized last year, as did the growth in the total number of unauthorized immigrant workers in America, which slowed dramatically during the last three years, according to an April report by the Pew Hispanic Center. “Most of the illegal immigrants are filtering out now because the economy is so slow,” said Barry Bishop, the former commercial job superintendent of Cowen Construction in Tulsa, Okla. “The recession weakened the housing market and eliminated jobs, and immigrants are either going home for a break or going to other states where they can get work.” Statistics suggest immigrants are choosing the latter. Illegal immigrants in the U.S. are more “geographically dispersed” than ever, according to the report by the Pew Hispanic Center. All of this could be credited to the recession and increased border patrols by the Bush administration, said the 56-yearold Bishop, who has worked in construction since junior high. Immigrants have been an integral part of the construction industry for the last decade. The jobs are ideal for inexperienced workers because they do not require any kind of education of skill, Bishop said. “Every major construction firm has illegal immigrants working for them,” he said. But the workers go undocumented by those construction firms and the American government because employers have found loopholes, Bishop said. “Sometimes they will employ a group of illegal immigrants for 11 months, fire them
in December, when end-of-year records are being filed, then hire them again in January,” he said. “Typically, they will hire one person who is a legal citizen, but everyone in his crew is an illegal immigrant,” he said. “So, you really only have one employee. But you get his brother, his uncle, his brother-in-law and all his kin working for you at the same time.” It is illegal for employers to hire illegal immigrants, but penalties for doing so are small and enforcement of the law is practically nonexistent, Bishop said. “Sometime you ask a guy for a Social Security card and he looks at you and says, ‘be right back.’ A few hours later, he brings you a brand-new card,” he said. “It’s obvious that the card belongs to someone else, but it meets the company’s requirements, so most employers just look the other way.” In response, companies and state governments have applied new statutes that prohibit the hire of unauthorized immigrant workers. At the UA, for example, officials are not to contract with a company if they know the contractor employs illegal immigrants, according to an Arkansas statute. But “immigrant workers” is too inclusive and general a term, Bishop said, because each illegal immigrant has different motives for employment in the U.S. Many of the immigrant construction workers from Mexico are considered “quite wealthy” in their home country and choose to work in the U.S. only because they “realize the benefit of making a living as an American,” Bishop said. “Most have no intention of obtaining citizenship,” he said. Their aim is different from that of illegal immigrants from
Russia and Ukraine who have flooded the Tulsa construction industry in recent years, he said. Those workers come “to get citizenship, to bring their families here and to live here,” he said. Regardless of the workers’ reasons for coming to America, the obstacle for construction employers remains the same, Bishop said. “On my end, I lose control of the job because I can’t communicate with my workers,” he said. “I have to speak to one guy who understands English, who can then tell the rest of the guys what I’m saying.” The language barrier often results in the frustration of employers and the injury of immigrant construction workers, Bishop said. “I can’t tell them, ‘don’t go over there, it’s unsafe,’” he said. “You have instances in which a worker is trying to tell you that someone has been hurt, but if you don’t speak the language, you don’t get it.” Employers communicate instructions any way they can. Most construction companies now offer incentives for Spanish-speaking workers, Bishop said. “If you can’t communicate, there’s no safety whatsoever,” he said. Despite the difficulties for both immigrant workers and their employers, the construction industry will continue to provide jobs for illegal immigrants as the American economy improves, Bishop said. “Technology has pushed young American kids away from blue-collar jobs, so, now, illegal immigrants are filling that void,” he said. “The construction industry has evolved to where we don’t need young people coming up any more.”
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010| Page 3
STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS MARCH FOR MLK, JR. DAY
LARRY ASH Staff Photographer
Students, staff members, and residents of the Fayetteville community came together on Monday to march in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Censorship provokes cracks in China’s Great Firewall David Pierson
Los Angeles Times BEIJING--Zhang Shan never paid much attention to Internet censorship in China. The stylish art gallery clerk said it didn’t really matter in her daily life. Then last year, she lost access to some of her favorite Web sites. First YouTube. Then Twitter. Then Facebook. It was her first memorable brush with the Great Firewall of China -- one of many powerful mechanisms the Chinese government uses to block content they deem too sensitive for the eyes of its 384 million Internet users. “I really didn’t like it,” said Zhang, standing outside a popular Beijing shopping mall. Then she cautiously lowered her voice and said, “But a friend of mine gave me a program where I can log in and I can visit all those Web sites again. Many of my friends are
also using the same program.” Google Inc.’s threat last week to pull out of China, following a series of cyber attacks on its e-mail service that many suspect was orchestrated by the Chinese government, was a stark reminder of the limitations here on Internet freedom. But if cyber censorship in China is a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse, the mice are multiplying fast. Despite increasingly aggressive government measures to tighten the flow of information and to snoop on suspected dissidents, China’s resourceful netizens are finding ways to evade the country’s Internet restrictions. Known as fanqiang, or “scaling the wall,” these work-arounds typically involve tapping into remote servers located outside China that aren’t subject to Chinese government control. Although these skills are largely the province of tech-savvy Chinese bloggers and students, word is spreading fast about how to gain access
to taboo sites. If Google does end up leaving China, experts said, it could be a pyrrhic victory for Beijing. The company’s warning that it will exit the country rather than be party to more censorship has won praise among some Internet users here. Millions who once relied on the search engine’s services may become more defiant of government controls and more motivated to learn how to get around the Great Firewall. Anyone who wants to evade the restrictions can do so by using a proxy server or a virtual private network, better known as a VPN. These work by logging the Chinese computer onto a foreign server that’s able to access the Internet freely. When data is bounced back to the computer in China, it’s cloaked in a way that gets it past government filters. The technology has been indispensable to foreign companies operating in China such
as banks that need security to conduct their business, which is why Chinese authorities allow it. But a growing number of Chinese appear to be taking advantage as well. About a million people in China use Hotspot Shield, a free VPN with 7.5 million subscribers worldwide, a spokeswoman said. Bill Bullock, chief executive of the VPN service WiTopia Inc., said the number of users in China has been doubling every year and generally jumps after government crackdowns online. Michael Anti, a well-known Chinese Internet activist, remains encouraged that the censors are losing ground. To him, there is no better example than the rise of Twitter in China. Before the site was blocked last July, Anti said, 1,000 people were following his short posts, known as tweets. He now has 12,000 followers -- about two-thirds of whom he believes
are in China using software to jump the firewall. “China’s censorship was built for Web 1.0, but everything now is Web 2.0,” Anti said. Qiang at UC Berkeley said there were an estimated 30,000 Twitter accounts in China before the service was blacklisted. That number plunged to about 10,000 after Chinese authorities blocked the site, and since then has rebounded to 50,000, Qiang said. Anti estimated the figure at 100,000. “As far as Twitter is concerned, the Great Firewall is a failure,” Qiang said. Although some tech-savvy Chinese are leaping the Great Firewall with ease, that doesn’t mean the government’s efforts are a bust, said Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. He said Beijing’s goal is to make searching for restricted information just enough of a hassle that typical Web surfers don’t
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bother trying. “The aim of the government has been to make it difficult for most people to get to some places, rather than to create a hermetically sealed environment,” Zittrain said. “ That in turn leads many Chinese to censor themselves, arguably the most powerful tool of all. Polls have shown wide support for controls as a way of maintaining social stability. And even with government restrictions, average Chinese have access to more information now than at any other time in the communist nation’s history. “I think the government should control the content on the Internet, “ said Sun Lu, a 20-year-old university student. “Whenever they want to block something, I think they have their reasons to do so.” As long as enough Chinese remain indifferent, watchers say, the Great Firewall will remain a formidable barrier.
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OPINION THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
Page 4 |WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
Visit UATrav.com for daily updates
Editor: Tina Korbe | Managing Editor: Kimber Wenzelburger
Phone: 575.8455 | E-mail: traveler@uark.edu
Letter from the Editor
Plan the work, work the plan
Planning: An entire industry has developed around it. Self-help, motivation and time-management gurus like Stephen Covey, Anthony Robbins, Gary Ryan Blair and Julie Morgenstern record tapes, write books and design products to encourage their clients to understand themselves better, to set goals and to schedule every second of every day – and they get paid for their efforts. But how important is it, really? If we fail to plan, do we really plan to fail? Is a goal not written really just a wish? If we don’t know where we’re going, will any road really take us there? Google “goal setting” and “goal setting statistics” and nothing very substantive appears. In fact, the third result for “goal setting statistics” – an Ezine article entitled “Goal Setting - My Disappointing Discovery” – debunks a popular story frequently told in support of planning. Turns out the seemingly only survey to establish the efficacy of setting goals was also a non-survey. That is, no one ever conducted it – at least, according to the article. Still, despite this dearth of readily-available-online information, it’s difficult to deny the wisdom and worth of mentally preparing for the future. After all, the practice of planning is far older than the Internet. Aesop, for example, wrote “It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow” somewhere around the sixth or seventh century B.C. Bottom line: If it weren’t important, why would anyone spend $39.95 on a planner – the price of the Franklin Covey “Classic” daily planning pages? Every day, you and I experience crossroads. “Should I eat this donut?” “Should I go to class?” “Should I speak out about what I believe?” And, at those crossroads, it’s easier to say “no” to what we don’t want when we know what we do want. And the best way I know of to establish what I want is to set a goal or two. Maybe the same is true for you. The Traveler staff, at least, rediscovered the importance of setting goals. At our midyear “retreat” last week, we clarified what we hope to accomplish this semester. In the weeks ahead, we plan to produce more Web content, utilize multimedia more regularly and investigate university issues more deeply, particularly by creating at least one package about a charged topic that tells the story through text, photos and video. University officials, too, obviously understand the importance of establishing objectives. One goal they’ve set, according to the UA Human Resources Diversity Web site, is “to enhance educational diversity” by integrating “individuals from varied backgrounds and with varied characteristics” into the campus community. Such a stated objective surely makes it easier for UA faculty, staff and students alike to say “no” to suspicion, disrespect and elitism so as to say “yes” to trust, kindness and the humility required to learn. It’s to that issue of “diversity” that we’ve dedicated this issue, and we hope it inspires. Cheers, Tina Korbe Editor
WE WANT ROW WEEK AND RESPONSIBILITY Over the past six months, we’ve seen some UA fraternity partygoers behave less than decently. First, alleged rapes were reported at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house and the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) house. Parice Bowser, director of Greek Life, has said that the Fiji incident prompted Greek Life to restrict the kinds of parties allowed for the remainder of the fall semester. An appropriate punishment – that is, if it had worked. Not too long after, a potential new member of Phi Delta Theta drank so much at a closed house party that he was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. The circumstances surrounding the drinking aren’t known – but the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity suspended the UA chapter’s charter because of it. And, most recently, another alleged rape at the SAE house was reported before winter break. The UA Police Department is investigating the incident. The sometimes senseless, dangerous and downright offensive actions of some have caused plight for all of Greek Life: Now, some say the future of Row Week, the annual spring semester celebration at campus fraternities, is in jeopardy, although Director of Greek Life Parice Bowser said, as of right now, it’s still on. It’s a tough call for administrators. Do they trust that fraternity members and their guests will straighten up? Or do they prevent another situation that could breed more crime on campus? Greeks are not solely to blame for what has happened in their homes. And, as a whole, Greek Life is a positive, productive establishment. Fraternities and sororities give back to this campus and community in many ways, and that should not be forgotten. But, just as the students make a university, so do the students make a fraternity. One person’s actions can damage an entire fraternity’s reputation, even if that person’s not Greek. It might not be fair, but it’s reality. We want Row Week back. And if everyone else does, too, they have to prove themselves. Students have the duty to behave responsibly – and legally – at Greek Life events. Or there’s no other choice for the administration.
EDITORIAL BOARD TINA KORBE | Editor KIMBER WENZELBURGER | Managing Editor BAILEY MCBRIDE | News Editor The Arkansas Traveler welcomes letters to the editor from all interested readers. Letters should be at most 300 words and should include your name, student classification and major or title with the university and a day-time telephone number for verification. Letters should be sent to traveler@uark.edu. Letters appear in the order they were submitted as space permits. The editor reserves the right to edit or refuse letters on the basis of length, accuracy, fairness, liability and sensibility. Online comments, too, when they appear in print, may be edited for sense and space.
Don’t be fooled by show trials The specter of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (“the underwear bomber”) walking the streets after an acquittal in a civilian court has led many Americans to wonder if we’re giving prisoners too many rights. The highprofile trials makes it appear that the legal pendulum is starting to swing away from the Bush-era extremes of security at any price. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bush Administration held suspected Al-Qaeda members as unlawful combatants. It initially claimed that the president could legally imprison anyone in the world – U.S. citizen or not – and do whatever he wanted to them for as long as he saw fit without telling anyone why or even who was being detained. Rulings by the Supreme Court haven’t changed much. It found that the U.S. can’t torture prisoners regardless of their status. Guantanamo Bay prisoners get tribunals to determine whether they are enemy combatants, and they can file appeals if they have poorly run trials. Of course, this only applies to Guantanamo Bay. The government doesn’t have to provide evidence about people held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Last year, a court ruled that some inmates get to appeal their detention, but it wrote the ruling so it only applied to three specific people. Those that have been released from Bagram say they were never even told why they were imprisoned for years – and still don’t know. Many of them are reported to be insurgent fighters captured on the battlefield. However, not all of them were. Dozens were captured outside Afghanistan in civilian settings and transported to Bagram. Currently, the only way the United States would be compelled to release them is if Osama bin Laden signed a formal peace treaty. In 2004, the CIA kidnapped a German
Notes from Underground
ADAM CALL ROBERTS adamcr@uark.edu
whose name was one letter different from that of a suspected terrorist. They flew him to a secret interrogation center, and imprisoned him for months, even after learning he was innocent. They dropped him off in Albania, leaving him in the road without money or a change of clothes. His family had already moved, thinking he abandoned them. He filed a lawsuit, but the courts ruled they couldn’t hear the case because the secret prisons were secret and couldn’t be talked about in court. The Obama Administration is changing nothing of this. Obama is making cosmetic changes. Terrorist suspects are now known as “unprivileged enemy belligerents.” He ordered the closure of the secret CIA prisons, but human rights groups note that dozens of “ghost detainees,” like the unfortunate German, remain missing. He released a list of 645 prisoners at Bagram, but has appealed the court decision to allow some of them habeas corpus. And, most famously, he is trying some high-profile terror suspects in civilian court. George W. Bush used the exact same strategy. He gave José Padilla and Zacarias Moussaoui civilian trials to, as Rudy Giuliani said, “demonstrate that we can give people a fair trial, that we are exactly what we say we are.” (Giuliani changed his mind about this issue on
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Harry Reid reveals wider picture Harry Reid’s comment about the president is really part of a bigger picture and attitude among liberal Americans. Not only is the concept that America cannot elect a stereotypically black president offensive to Americans of all races, it underscores a difference in the attitudes of most conservative leaders versus liberal leaders. Of course, this does not apply to all, but many liberals assume themselves to be compassionate people who use government power to support races of people who can never overcome a bigoted system, allowing politicians to feed off of this artificial dependency for
votes and hide behind a curtain of compassion and progress. In contrast, most conservatives believe in unraveling the social programs that trap people, mostly blacks and other minorities, to free them from a sustained poverty and empower themselves to succeed in a society of largely equal opportunities. As long as people assume all liberals are compassionate and caring, rather than have a healthy suspicion of motive, politicians like Reid and others can continue to get a pass on making controversial statements. Charles Guerriero Sophomore Economics
Inauguration Day, 2009.) Likewise, Obama is putting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on trial in the United States. This way, he can look like he defends civil liberties, but doesn’t have to actually give up any power. Attorney General Eric Holder explained to Congress in November that even if a Guantanamo inmate is found not guilty in a court of law, the administration plans to imprison him anyway. Those with sentences Holder considers “short” can still be held as enemy combatants after they serve their time. Both Holder and Solicitor General Elena Kagan showed just how far the Obama Administration stretches the definitions of combatant during their appointment hearings in February. They both agreed that if they suspect someone is sending money to Al-Qaeda, that suspect is “part of the battlefield.” To summarize, if the U.S. government thinks you support Al-Qaeda, it can legally seize you and imprison for the rest of your life, without ever telling you or anyone else of their suspicions. Now, I don’t think average Americans should be worried about black helicopters swooping down and abducting them in the middle of the night. Obama and Bush made mistakes, but they’re not malicious. What worries me is that there’s a gap in international and national law that has created an “Al-Qaeda exception” to basic human rights. We all want to develop a system that protects us from real terrorists while allowing innocent people to remain free. Obama’s show trials are designed to distract us – and the world – from his failure to create that system. Adam Call Roberts is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears biweekly. He also blogs regularly for UATrav.com.
COMMENT FROM UATRAV.COM
On “Students turn to prescription drug Adderall to stay focused in school” From reader “Paige”: As someone who has spent my entire life jumping hurdles to overcome my learning disability (ADHD), I don’t understand why people would want to take a medication they don’t truly need. What most people who are not affected by ADHD don’t understand is that the chemical balance in those who do have it is drastically different. Basically, there are 5 different types of brainwaves that the average person experiences: Delta (deep sleep), Theta (falling asleep, feeling tired), Alpha (creative activities, enjoyable, low-focus), Beta (taking a test, playing a sport, high attention) and High Beta/ Gamma (panic/anxiety, “fight or flight”). People who have ADHD live in the Alpha brainwave when awake
and struggle to reach the Beta brainwave. This is why medical stimulants work for them. It is rare that they ever reach the Gamma brainwave (except in emergency situations or high states of ecstasy). People who have panic/anxiety disorders live often in the High Beta/Gamma brainwave. So “normal” people taking Adderall, Concerta, etc., will force their brain into the Gamma wave. This adrenaline released from this wave causes them to stay awake all night and be extremely aware (hence the staying up all night and cramming). The illusion of “cramming” is really an adrenaline rush (dopamine released in the brain because of their state of mind). This change can help people who have poor time management, but constantly being in the Gamma brainwave can be fatal. Illegal users make it harder for disabled people, who already have a disadvantage in life, to get accommodations.
NEWS
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER |UATRAV.COM
HAITI
from Page 1 lems continue in many districts. With resources limited, Haitians are doing what they must to survive, Monestime said. “After a week now, everybody’s hungry. If you have kids and you haven’t eaten for a week, you have the right to get food however you can,” he said. “Those people are going to take matters into their own hands.” The president of the UA chapter of the Red Cross Student Organization, Taylor Mills, said the best approach for students, staff and faculty to help is to donate money rather than supplies. “The Red Cross people have told me there are a lot of planes and ships going in and out. Sure, it’ll make us feel good if we get a bunch of food and water, but it will take months to get there. In all truth, it’s not the best route to take right now. Money can be wired in seconds,” Mills said. For Monestime, donating money to his Haitian friends and family is not necessarily the best option, he said. “Sure, I could send money to my sister in Port-au-Prince, but how would she get it?” he said. “Think about a little town with no stores open. They give you money, but what are you going to do with it? There are people who have money in the bank but can’t get to it because the banks are destroyed.” When asked if he was frustrated by the slow pace of the aid, he said speed was not the problem. The biggest problem with the relief efforts is that all the resources are being focused in Port-au-Prince. “The aid was there in six hours. Couldn’t have been any quicker. But it concentrates too much on Port-au-Prince. Places in the south aren’t receiving aid. There are four or five major cities equally af-
fected, and a lot of people are frustrated,” he said. Monestime said he plans to return to Haiti this summer to see his family and is seriously considering a presidential bid in the 2015 election, after he has obtained his law degree. “Ultimately, I’ve always planned on going back after school to get involved in politics. Now, I have even more reason,” he said. Students who want to donate their time or money can contact Taylor Mills, president of the Red Cross Student Organization (tdmills@uark. edu). The Haiti Fundraising Program will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the Holcombe Hall Living Room. The meeting will consist of an information session about Haiti as a country by one of the two Haitian students at the UA, a presentation by Mills and the Red Cross and a fundraising session. Food will be sold by the Caribbean Students Association with all profits going to help Haiti. As part of the American Red Cross campaign, the public can text “HAITI” to “90999” to make a $10 donation. As of Sunday evening, the text “HAITI” campaign had raised nearly $20 million, according to the American Red Cross Web site. Mills said students can expect to see an advertising campaign with more information about the UA chapter of the Red Cross in coming weeks. “It’s a little more lengthy than I’d like it to be, because we’re coordinating with multiple organizations,” he said. “It really is at the pace of the UA and how fast they can do the paperwork.” Holcombe Hall representatives, the International Students and Scholars organization and the interest group of Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority are collaborating with the Mills and the Red Cross on the project.
WHAT DOES
diversity
MEAN TO YOU?
“
It’s supposed to not only act as a reminder of our past but to also encourage a spirit of generosity and remind us of how far we’ve come.”
— Rebecca Braun, sophomore
STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
“
It’s realizing the incredibly wide array of ideas, backgrounds and stories of each student at the UA, and celebrating each of these individual differences.”
— David Brophey, senior
STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
“
It means change and reverence to Martin Luther King, Jr.”
— Gina Alley, senior STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
“
Anyone can be great because everyone has the ability to serve. Martin Luther King Jr. showed that through his great service and fight for equality for everyone.”
—Earl Hill, senior
STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
“
It’s important to recognize that there are all types of different people in the world and that we can now share this day together.”
—Ashley Rosenberg, sophomore
STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010| Page 5
GREEK
GRADS
from Page 1
from Page 1
recruitment standpoint – by getting members to join – but they give thousands of hours to community service, to the University of Arkansas, as well as within the Northwest Arkansas community and beyond,” according to Bowser. “And they also give more than $200,000 collectively to the community, from fundraising, philanthropies or the different events that they may host,” she added. For senior Antonio Brown, president of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), community service is at the forefront of his organization’s plans. “Community service as a whole, for the council, is one of the main reasons we are here,” Brown said. NPHC’s plans for the semester include a relief program for victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti, visits to nursing homes and volunteering at homeless shelters in Northwest Arkansas. Brown gives credit to his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, for bringing him to college, for it was a tutoring and mentoring program called “Project Alpha” that helped him transition from high school. A native of Orlando, Fla., Brown also gives credit to his home for his dedication to community service. “My community inspired me to push and go beyond the call of duty, because there’s always more that you can do to improve someone else’s life,” Brown said. The president of the Panhellenic Council, Leslie Marpe, echoes Brown’s remarks about why community service is important to her. “I want my life to make a difference,” Marpe said by e-mail, adding, “The Panhellenic Council is in part founded on the idea of service.” Despite the optimism from Greek leaders such as Brown and Marpe, Bowser is realistic about unexpected challenges ahead. “Do I think we’ll still have some problems, that there will still be some judicial matters? Absolutely, we’re on a college campus,” Bowser said. “But do I believe that we are going to make some big strides this year? Yes. We will.”
by Luis Alberto Urrea—in collaboration with Hispanic Heritage Month—and then write an essay about it. The curriculum for Middle Eastern Studies has helped with expanding diversity and cultural knowledge as well, she said. In the department’s search for a minority professor, it is looking at a candidate who is qualified to teach Queer Theory, an area not currently being covered. This would add even more to the diversity of the curriculum, she said. The department has seen an increase in the number of international students but not a significant increase in minorities, Quinn said. Diversifying race is a big goal, Stephens said. Early in her career at the U of A, there were hardly any non-white students in her classes (especially in the graduate courses), she said. When looking at applications, Stephens said that she “looks very carefully” at ones that could be from someone from a traditionally underrepresented ethnic group. She then personally contacts the applicant and suggests that they meet one-on-one, she said. She wants to explain how committed the department is to the pursuit of diversity, she said. The Delta Literacy Project, headed by English Professor David Jolliffe, is another key component in the department’s efforts to broaden diversity. It allows UA undergraduates to work collaboratively on writing projects with high school students from the Delta region, focusing on oral history. The UA students can then take that experience into a graduate program. The population in the Delta region is largely non-white and many are poor, Stephens said.
Music’s biggest night Lifestyles staff predicts Grammy wins Wednesday in Lifestyles
LIFESTYLES THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 | Page 6
E-mail: travlife@uark.edu|Phone: 575.7540
Lifestyles Editor: Brian Washburn | Asst. Lifestyles Editor: Lindsey Pruitt
Students explore the Traveler meaning of diversity Top 5 Erin Robertson Staff Writer
Diversity is a word full of ambiguity, pregnant with associations as diverse as the world it attempts to describe. That is the magic of diversity – just as there are many opinions and points of view that exist on how to define it, so the word continues to embrace every one of them. A brief glimpse into the UA and a query of students and faculty showcases exactly how much diversity there actually is in the term. “I think that diversity is mostly a good thing,” said freshman Ben Lambert, “but can be a prob-
lem at times. The thing that is wrong with it is that it can cause conflict between races, religions, etc. But I think that more o f t e n than not, diversity is good for us. It helps us experience new things and learn new things and go to new places.”
Lambert’s response reveals that, although many think of diversity as a catalyst for discord, it is a necessary and truly positive force within the era of globalization. Sophomore Andrew Van Genderen echoed his COURTESY PHOTO thoughts. “The only way one learns is through the observation of diver-
sity: diversity of thought, opinion, background, life. If society were completely homogenous, it would be an intellectually stagnant and unproductive place. Think about it: so long as everyone agreed, society could say anything and construe it as fact. There would be no debate, no discussion and no voice of opposition to correct it. True progress thrives on tolerance of diversity, and that is where problems occur,” Van Genderen continued. “Like it or not, people exist who are different than you, and your reaction to them is a very revealSee
DIVERSITY on Page 7
Girls roll with the punches
Top 5 definitions of diversity by our staff matt!sports editor
1.
An old, old wooden ship used during the Civil War. -A tribute to “Anchor Man”
2. tina ! editor Not something to joke about, Matt.
3.bailey ! news editor This month’s cover of Vanity Fair. Need I say more?
4. lindsey ! asst. LARRY ASH Staff Photographer
Members of the Backwoods Betties and the Arkansas Killbillies mix it up at Fayetteville’s newest skate rink, The Starlight Skatium on College Avenue.
Mille Appleton Staff Writer
The sounds of skates are seamlessly whishing past, a few grunts are thrown in and plenty of heavy breathing. Sweat is trickling off the veterans, as well as the “fresh meat” vying for a spot on the team. A whirlwind of tattoos and derby names plastered on shirts and helmets fly by. All audience eyes are glued to the arena and, though the rink is bare, the girls light up their stage, providing all the entertainment. By day, they are moms, business owners, graphic designers, but, by night they are the Backwoods Betties and Arkansas Killbillies. The NWA roller derby league began in 1995 when a group of girls got together and decided it would be a great way for women to have something of their own and to get more involved. “I think it’s good for everybody in the long run. Not to be prejudiced, but the female community, you know we need something for us,” said Cheron Brown, more commonly known as “Itty Bitty Bang.”
Though the league has been competing in Springdale, their home will now be the new Starlight Skatium on College in Fayetteville and the new location will benefit not only the team, but the community, as well. “We’re a nonprofit 501(c)3, so we do our bouts to try to give back to the community. We pick charities throughout the year to raise money for,” said PR director Michelle Hedegard, also known as “Sin.” “Also, it’s just our events we have are family-friendly and you get to watch something really exciting… It’s great for the community and it appeals to everyone.” The appeal to all different types is obvious, as skaters range in age from ages 18 to 40, skill from novice to expert, hair from long and black to short and wild. However, the differences only bring them closer together, as they must while looking out for each other during a bout. “You rely on these girls so much because you have to work together because it’s so physically demanding, so you rely on each other just so you don’t get murdered. You cre-
ate a lot of camaraderie,” Hedegard said. And get murdered you might. Although Hedegard claims she’s “never had a serious injury,” she shares that she’s had a torn rotator cuff and lots of knee extended ligaments. Skater Kristen Smith, “Nixin,” hardly let the breaking of her ribs phase her and said it’s the physical aspect of the sport that she enjoys the most. “I enjoy that it keeps my body young and fit. I love it. I remember when we first started I dropped 50 lbs. and had a six-pack and I had no clue my body was capable of doing that,” Smith said. “I will continue as long as my body holds up. There are not many options for sports when you’re an adult and female, even if you go professional.” Many of the skaters had athletic backgrounds coming into the team, but not necessarily more of a skate background than the average person. Brown has been skating since she was 4 years old, but Hedegard didn’t start until she tried out for the team at 34. “I was just holding onto the wall and falling down. It was cra-
zy; they teach a lot of the skating skills,” Hedegard said. Anyone 18 years and older is eligible to try out for the team. “Fresh meat” practices are Sunday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 for $5 and skaters are taught the fundamentals of skating and rules of roller derby. After coming to eight practices, a skating and written test is given before joining the team. Most skaters will begin on the Backwoods Betties and possibly move up to the all-star Arkansas Killbillies, Hedegard said. The league hopes by moving to Fayetteville, it will also draw interest from UA students. “People are going to become more aware of it and realize it’s not old-school. It’s going to give the university a sport for the girls that go there and to have an ownership of it, to participate or donate their time,” Brown said. Students can become “fresh meat” or just watch. The first home bout of the season is Saturday, Killbillies vs. Memphis Roller Derby at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance available for purchase at the Starlight Skatium or on nwarollerderby.com or $15 at the door.
Support for the LGBT community is growing in Northwest Arkansas Taniah Tudor Staff Writer
Mitchell Evans sits with his elbows on the table, nervously fidgeting with the lid of his thermal coffee cup. His cheekbones and rosebud mouth, slightly pursed, are highlighted by his flawlessly applied make-up.
Evans, who has known he was gay since he was six, is in between: in between male and female, in between child and adult, and in between his past and his future. He is 17 years old and is selfeducated on the topic of sexuality, especially for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, he says. His sex education
class in Greenland Middle School did not even touch upon the subject of homosexuality, an upsetting situation for Evans, who was openly gay at that time. Instead, he used a book called “The Joy of Gay Sex” to teach himself all there was to know, he says. “That was kind of a hard place to come out in,” Evans says.
Evans is only one of many gays and lesbians in the Northwest Arkansas area who find coming out a difficult situation. “Coming out is the one thing that ties us all together as a LGBT community…it’s the one big hurdle we all overcome,” says Anthony See
LGBT on Page 8
Lifestyles editor The blending and acceptance of unique identities.
! Web 5.Jacki managing editor If you want to hug your Asian boyfriend in public, you can.
Check Traveler Top 5 next week
“I could…leave television altogether, and work in a classier business with better people, like hardcore porn.” – Conan O’Brien, making light of his commitment to leave The Tonight Show if NBC moves it to a 12:05 a.m. timeslot to accommodate Jay Leno, during his nightly monologue
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER | UATRAV.COM
LIFESTYLES
Growing up rated R Life with Lindsey
LINDSEY PRUITT lpruitt@uark.edu Imagine a society without violence, graphic scenes or crude language. Imagine a society where the theme was work ethic, family, love and ambition and people lived most of their days with a peaceful innocence to gruesome pain, fear and anxiety. Imagine a PG-13 world with only a few R players to mix it up a bit. Have I bored you yet? For most of you, you can’t imagine this world and probably don’t want to. You’re thinking where’s the fun in that? Or How lame, cheesy and prude? For the most part I agree with you, but every once in a while I stop to think that television and media have taken it too far with the shocking, violent scenes. How much more gruesome can it get? Most of us can’t remember the first time we saw someone shot or killed on television and definitely can’t remember the first time we saw someone bullied or battered. From an extremely young age the television becomes a background to our daily learning environment and whether our parents have the news on or a raunchy Lifetime movie we are exposed to hundreds of scenes that have no business entering the mind of a toddler. Still yet we see them, hear them and honestly, get used to them. My mom is an extreme fan of Lifetime movies. I know for certain she has seen at least 95 percent of them, therefore growing up, they were always on. I spent a lot of time with my mom, being the youngest and the last at home, so at a very young age I already knew what sexual abuse, domestic violence and jealous murder were. I was a curious kid, and my mom didn’t shelter me from the definitions of these words; I like to think these movies served as a learning device for me if anything. Still
yet I can remember one of the first times I saw a sex scene and being uncomfortable and thinking “should I be watching this?,” but curious nonetheless I didn’t stop watching. And for me this is how it started. I had become accustomed to violence and sex and sometimes both, so these things didn’t shock me as much. Now granted, it wasn’t like I was watching porn or horror flicks so that shock factor would come later, but by the time I was 10 years old my little eyes were used to some pretty adult content. I guess this is what writers of television and cinema know about our generation. They know that we have already had our fill of murder, sex, drugs and other violence. They understand that “American Pie,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and others are old news to us and that to really get to us, to really thrill us they have to get more bloody, more violent, and more disturbing content. In comes “TRUE Blood,” “The Last House on the Left,” and the “Saw” movies just to name a few. Now I love a good thriller movie, but blood dripping down the screen and horrible sexual violence does not thrill me in the least. Yes, it scares me and I suppose this is half the point but, I feel like in exchange for actual good compelling story lines, we are given cheap entertainment. I am a hard person to scare, because most of these cheap horror films have been done over and over but I am an easy person to disgust, even though that isn’t what I am seeking. My roommate and I recently rented “TRUE Blood” because we had heard it was good and we are both “Twilight” fans. Bad idea. If you are looking for a stimulating show with excellent acting and suspenseful endings, go rent something else. This cheap excuse for entertainment is reserved for the low IQ’s and sexually deprived fiends. The humor is elementary and stereotypical and the storyline is just plain stupid. The fact that this show has been as successful as it has is an unfortunate portrait of the intellect of our population. I gave it one and a half episodes and then went to bed. Laying there trying to fall asleep I began to feel sorry for the kids that will accidently walk in on one of the violent sex scenes this show has or worse, sit and watch it. Kids that start out with that kind of content are starting out with a caliber much more
CD REVIEW
powerful and dangerous than my lifetime movies and I have to wonder what material they will go seeking when they are my age. How much worse can it get? When children grow up watching these scenes of literal moral degradation in the comfort of their homes, that behavior becomes all too normal to them and they are more likely to copy and imitate it in their own lives, especially if they feel like the shows are cool or popular. This behavior is not shocking to them; it’s a fuel for their everyday conversation and imagination. I know this because I am a product of this culture. Fortunately, I grew up in a home that taught me right from wrong and my television was monitored besides the occasional lifetime movie, which in comparison to current television and cinema might as well be Barney. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of a moral family and good upbringing. It would be easy as a little kid to twist this content into a partial reality. This happens all the time. As usual the advantages of commerce will outweigh the advantages of goodness so the billion dollar industries of rated R movies and television aren’t going anywhere, but I have to ask: in exchange for less violence, crime and heartbreak and a potentially better society overall would YOU sacrifice the rated R? Again, many of you would argue that cutting out all Rated R showings is way too strict and that some of the best and most insightful movies are born and bred in the world of rated R. Frankly, I agree. Some of my personal favorites are a little violent, a tad bit kinky and certainly filled with other adult content. My point is that life in general is rated R, that terrible things happen and danger exists everywhere so why enhance it and potentially influence that enhancement through television. Yes, rated R is necessary to tell some stories and to get the full picture but when did rated R blur the lines with rated X? If you are confused just watch the rape scene from “The Last House on the Left” or the first episode of the oh so insightful “TRUE Blood.” When did rape become entertaining, violence become normality and rated R become far more than just restricted? When did our culture become so conditioned for this entertainment and when will producers, writers etc. stop pushing the envelope?
KXUA 88.3
student-run radio http://kxua.uark.edu
Miss University of A r k a n s a s Pageant 2010 Saturday January 23rd 6 pm. Walton Arts Center
Congratulations to Amy Crain
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 |Page 7
at
Miss UA ‘09
1st runner up Miss Arkansas Winner of the Coleman Dairy Overall Talent Award
Get tickets at www.waltonartcenter.org
or call (479) 443-5600
Student Tickets $9.50 The Miss University of Arkansas RSO Says
Good Luck 2010 Contestants Kayla Cross - Sigma Phi Lambda / BUC Ratoya Banks - Silas Hunt Scholarships Ashley Watson - Alpha Gamma Rho Simone Mullinax - Lambda Pi Eta Natalie Culberson - Lambda Chi Alpha Rosalyn Taylor - Alpha Phi Alpha, Inc. Kacey Keefe - Kappa Delta Alex Slay - Alpha Delta Pi Abby Unruh - Pi Beta Phi Hannah Moreland - Sigma Phi Epsilon LauRon Smith - Chi Omega Kimberly Smith - Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc. Erin Larsen - Alpha Omicron Pi Helen Wisner - Zeta Tau Alpha Katile Costello - Kappa Kappa Gamma
The New Yorkers
COURTESY PHOTO
Brady Tackett Staff Writer
There aren’t many bands as polarizing as this one, a wide-eyed, well-read quartet with a penchant for West African rhythms and whimsy. Contra, Vampire Weekend’s sophomore release, ratchets up the latter with an arsenal of cutesy bell sounds and stop-start drumming. It takes guts to mess with a winning formula like that of the debut. Give credit to multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, who mixed, produced and played about every third sound on the record (he even gets to sing lead near the record’s end). Contra is most distinct from its predecessor in its stark white production. Which syncs nicely with Ezra Koenig’s sung desire to escape the loneliness of a cold winter, be it on a warm “Holiday” or by living in the past. Contra again finds symbols of affluence (modern art, horse racing, swimming pools) as a bittersweet muse for the singer, empty yet painfully integral to the band’s Ivy League identity. The arrangements have been polished to shine, but Koenig remains their brightest asset. But as Winston Churchill once said, “a bunch of insightful lyrics sung over synthesizers does not a cohesive album make.” Many songs are marred by Batmanglij’s fussy production and for every firecracker like “White Sky,” there is a dud like “Giving Up the Gun,” a cheesy slice of filler that goes on mercilessly for nearly five minutes. Unforgivable. Still, fans will find reason to forgive. Contra is fun (and frustrating) because the band shows a willingness to fill new roles, write stranger songs: “Taxi Cab,” with its slow-motion stateliness, is followed by messy fun in “Run” and lead-single “Cousins.” The album’s burbling mosaic of a closer, “I Think Ur a Contra,” is proof of the group’s versatility.
DIVERSITY from Page 6
ing display of your character. Diversity itself is not a problem. People’s behavior towards it is.” In lieu of such philosophical thought, sophomore Jun Jmfr Tak chose to research the definition of diversity online, and found it appropriate to quote Wikipedia. “From wiki: ‘Diversity is a form of euphemistic shorthand to describe differences in racial or ethnic classifications, age, gender, religion, philosophy, physical abilities, socioeconomic background, sexual orientation, gender identity, intelligence, mental health, physical health, genetic attributes, behavior, attractiveness, place of origin, cultural values or political view, as well as other identifying features.’” UA senior Sarah Griffis chose to further expand the already broad definition of diversity. “Really, when I think of diversity, I think of religious diversity because it’s closest to my heart… mostly diversity in Christian theology because it’s what I’m studying.” Griffis elaborated on her interest in Catholic and Protestant doctrinal differences. “In terms of diversity, the Catholic Church is a lot more diverse. My church is white, middle-class and the Catholic Church seems more ethnically diverse.” Bob McMath, history professor and dean of the Honors College, gave his definition of diversity with the intention of bringing it closer to reality. “I think the first thing we think of is racial or ethnic diversity. The University has been making an effort to recruit a diverse group of student and faculty… but I prefer to think of diversity in terms of ideas,” McMath said. “The college experience is, at its most basic, about engaging with people who have different points of view.” Whether lofty and intellectual, fully researched or simply explained, the University of Arkansas is full of ideas on diversity that are…well, diverse.
Page 8|WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
LIFESTYLES
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER | UATRAV.COM
In the absence of dissonance Brady Tackett Staff Writer
It’s dusk and the members of Apartment 5 are shuffling around a dimly lit practice space. Old rugs span the wooden floor. Cardboard cutouts of Austin Powers and Nacho Libre share wall space with Christmas lights and audio cables that hang in coils. It’s quiet because they hardly speak to each other; the four have already begun a silent rehearsal in their heads. Nick Askew hums a melody and adjusts a microphone stand. Max Stafford, the bassist, tests his pedals while Matt Johannesen sits in a corner by the fireplace, nervously drumming his thighs. Joel Paul faces a huge amplifier like it was a mirror and tunes his guitar. The songs are very catchy and very loud when the group finally launches into their set, but the members remain mostly silent. Their language is one of suggestion; during and between songs, they signal each other with raised eyebrows, a smile or a bored sigh. “We were friends before we were in a band and, as friends, you learn the others’ tendencies. You know their threshold,” said Stafford, who has a restless sort of energy so that he sounds out of breath. Save Johannesen, who replaced the band’s original drummer just a few months ago (“I’m playing catch-up,” he said), the guys have been playing music together since before high school. They began as a Strokes cover band, and the influence sticks. Like that group, Apartment 5 plays likeable music, with the sort of breezy, satisfied tones you’d expect to soundtrack a montage of some idyllic summer. The band works in pairs. Johannesen and Stafford man a sturdy rhythm section that operates in a sparse, sped-up R&B groove, reminiscent of early Beatles. Askew sings and plays electric guitar with a carelessness that mirrors Paul’s airy riffs. At 20, Paul is the band’s youngest member and most skilled. He makes it. He’s played guitar for about a decade, but sheepishly admits to knowing piano, clarinet, bass clarinet, bass guitar, accordion and the STEPHEN IRONSIDE Staff Photographer alto sax as well. His parts, especially on the chorus of live staple, “Superfast Abby,” constantly subvert and contort themselves. Max Glenn, bassist for the local Fayetteville band Apartment 5, practices with the group on Friday, January 15. The band was practicing for a free show that night That song finds Askew, rather subdued as the face of the band, con- at Smoke & Barrel on Dickson. juring surreal images in a playful falsetto. In another tune, he leads the town’s fastest rising stars. With this, Paul agrees but hedges that he’d like for the group “to go the band in a fun, throwaway chorus of “Play it slower. Yeah, like, play it that slow,” Paul directs Joto something weirder.” nonsense syllables. He smirks and adapts hannesen after the drummer fumbles his part in a quick rhythm Sheet music of the group’s songs might read much like the above rhymes from “Ice Ice Baby” into the conversation, with separate parties too pleasant and polite to contradict Apartment 5 will play at section. band’s “Warm Instant Weapons.” Apartment 5, then, is a body of checks and balances and a each other. As friends, they share these songs. Apartment 5 runs on an On The Rocks in Little He and Paul are the principle songband comfortable with growing pains. Failing to play a complex easiness so normal and so clean that it’s at once the band’s most starRock, Ark., on writers, so they dictate which songs are rhythm is more important than rehashing an easy one. tling trait. played and, if necessary, replayed. The Wednesday, Jan. 20. The “I like our sound,” Stafford says. “I feel like we could prog“We never really fight,” Stafford says, though he needn’t; just listen band has a show tomorrow night at the concert begins at 8 p.m. ress as a band where cohesion is concerned, but I’m happy with to those harmonies, those careful arrangements. There is no dissonance and tickets are $6. Smoke & Barrel Tavern, Askew reminds where we are right now. I’m really happy with the music we play,” here. everyone. He shouldn’t worry, the band he repeats. sounds very tight today. They are one of
LGBT
from Page 6 Clark, president of the NWA Center for Equality. “But even though it’s the one thing that ties us together, every story is so unique.” Clark grew up in a fundamental evangelical home in a small rural town outside of Little Rock, and then moved to Fayetteville when he was 18 to attend the U of A. “I didn’t know any openly gay people until I was 19 years old,” Clark says. “It felt like I was the only one in the whole wide world.” Clark didn’t go through the coming out process until he was 19, when he was attending the university and belonged to the support group P.R.I.D.E., People Respecting Individual Differences and Equality. “Because we are in a fundamentally religious part of the country, there are people that just simply don’t believe that I was born gay,” Clark says, citing this as one of the reasons why gays and lesbians are still without civil
rights in Arkansas. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which are said to have been the beginning of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. The Riots happened June 27, 1969, when gay and lesbians fought back after police raided a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village. They have been fighting for civil rights since then, but Clark points out that the struggle has been significantly longer than the black civil rights movement, which is considered to have lasted 20 years. Clark believes this is because being gay isn’t as obvious as skin color, making it easier for people to dismiss gay rights and hide discrimination. The NWA Center for Equality, a support and advocacy group working to achieve legal rights and social equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Northwest Arkansas, was founded by Kay Massey in 2006, about a year after Arkansans voted to suspend all marriage or relationship rights for same-sex couples. “There was no presence in
Northwest Arkansas whatsoever [at that time] as far as an advocacy group specifically for gay rights,” Clark says. The NWA Center for Equality is one of only two non-profit organizations in the state which actually works specifically for LGBT rights. The other is the Center for Artistic Revolution, or CAR, based out of Little Rock. But things have been improving for gays and lesbians in the Northwest Arkansas area. “Northwest Arkansas is overall a little more progressive than the rest of the state,” Clark says. He believes that is because of the influence of the university and of Walmart, Tyson and other large corporations that bring people from more progressive areas. Evans believes Fayetteville, a growing city, has become more accepting of gays and lesbians, citing more gay bars (two, to be exact) than other areas of Arkansas as evidence. “I know I can walk down the street in full drag garb [in Fayetteville] and nobody would really say a lot,” Evans says. He believes the more accepting atmosphere has
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to do with Fayetteville being an arts and college town. Other towns in Northwest Arkansas are becoming more accepting of gays and lesbians, as well. Eureka Springs, in Carroll County, now provides domestic partner registry, though it is the only town in the state to do so. The ordinance, which went into effect on June 13, allows nonmarried couples from anywhere in the country to register with the city for $35 and receive a certificate bearing the signature of the mayor and the city clerk validating their relationship. The certificate is not a legal document and does not signify that the partnership is equal to a legal marriage. “Things are certainly better than they were five, 10, any amount of years ago, but there is certainly a lot of work to be done,” Clark says. Clark feels that LGBTs are close to reaching social equality in Northwest Arkansas; he says the real problem is the lack of legal rights or protection from discrimination. This prevents professionals who are gay and lesbian from moving into the area, at
the same time encouraging those from Arkansas to move away. “The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, the University of Arkansas, the City of Fayetteville… if they had fully inclusive nondiscrimination policies they would attract talent from all over the country,” Clark says. As it stands right now, many gays and lesbians are not going to move to the area if they are looking for a job in higher education or public policy, Clark says. They are not going to consider Northwest Arkansas if they can’t have full coverage benefits, if their partner or spouse can’t fall under their insurance, and other such things that many have become used to in larger metropolitan areas. A little more than 64,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual adults were living in Arkansas in 2005, according to figures from the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. The same figures show that more than 269,000 gays and lesbians were living in Massachusetts, a state less than one-fourth Arkan-
sas’ size. The institute estimates there were 16,864 gay, lesbian and bisexual adults living in 12 of the Northwest Arkansas counties: Benton, Boone, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Sebastian and Washington. Evans, who anticipates pursuing a fashion degree at the U of A by next fall, and is actively involved in groups such as P.R.I.D.E, is one of those who do not plan to stay here. He wants to transition, via surgery and hormone treatments, into a straight female, and he feels it will be difficult and dangerous to try to find someone here to date. He plans to move to either the upper East Coast or the West Coast, he says. “Really what it comes down to is familiarity,” Clark says. “As the general population, as our friends, as our family members become more familiar with us [and] see that we’re no different than they are, then they become more accepting, more inclusive. You really have to understand the differences in order to change your perception.”
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Physical activity is a great way for kids to build strength and stay healthy. Unfortunately, it can sometimes lead to injury. Broken bones require immediate attention, but what about sore shoulders or swollen knees? If not taken seriously, many youth injuries can become chronic later in life. So before your child gets hurt, visit aaos.org or nata.org. Practice prevention and give all injuries proper attention.
GIRLS AND SPORTS
WONDERMARK | David Malki
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BLISS | Harry Bliss
HOROSCOPES | Linda Black ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19) TODAY IS AN 7. Careful communication today pays off later when results begin to come in. Strive for enthusiasm, even in difficult conversations. Inject force into your words. TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) TODAY IS A 5. If you doubt your abilities, redirect your thinking toward communication that takes you out of your comfort zone and into a new center of power. GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 21) TODAY IS A 9. Take time for a brief meeting in the morning before you jump into your busy schedule. Use what you learn to enhance your powers of persuasion later. CANCER (JUNE 22-JULY 22) TODAY IS A 5. There’s a lot of talk now (and maybe not enough action). Get your work under control early so you don’t fall prey to anxiety over deadlines. LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22) TODAY IS A 7. Expand your vocabulary so you can sing the praises of a person or project you hold dear.An occasional extravagant word provides the right tone.
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VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22) TODAY IS A 6. Family members disagree about how to handle an emotional problem. Consider the most practical solution, then tailor it to the individuals. LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22) TODAY IS AN 8. Your place may be a mess, but is it a creative process? Look at what you want to accomplish. Don’t get stuck in the muck you have to go through to get from here to there. SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21) TODAY IS A 6. Plans are in motion.You’re along for the ride. Do not exit the vehicle until it has come to a complete halt. Then, dash off to your next appointment without stopping. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22-DEC. 21) TODAY IS A 7. Make a list of what you need to do today, if only to check off each item and earn a sense of accomplishment. Handle nearby errands first.
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CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19) TODAY IS A 5. Whatever you have on your calendar today you can accomplish. Don’t plan to add anything unless you’re willing to drop something else.Your partner is easily convinced. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18) TODAY IS A 6. Details for Sunday’s festivities had been on hold. It’s your job to confirm the details. Add dessert to your menu. Avoid large bodies of water. PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20) TODAY IS A 5. The name of the game today is logic.Any reasonable argument meets with some degree of acceptance. Outrageous ideas get a good laugh and that’s about all.
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Hoop Hogs Razorbacks face Mississippi State and Ole Miss
SPORTS THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER
Page 10 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
Sports Editor: Matt Watson | Assistant Sports Editor: Harold McIlvain II
Phone: 575.7051 | E-mail: travsprt@uark.edu
FOOTBALL
Petrino: ‘I like the fact there are expectations out there’ Harold McIlvain II
Assistant Sports Editor Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino has heard the predictions about the Razorback football season next year. National radio hosts are proclaiming Arkansas as a dark horse national title contender while some local Razorback fans have discussed the possibility of 10 or more wins. But heading into his third season at Arkansas, Petrino said he doesn’t mind the offseason praise the team is getting nationally. “I like the fact there are expectations out there,” Petrino said. “Obvi-
ously, our expectations are very high, but I would rather have people think we’re going to be a good football team.” When Petrino walked in the meeting room to see the team gathering together for the first time since the break, he couldn’t help but noticed something about the group of Razorbacks for next year: This team has experience. “It was fun the other day when we got to meet together as a team to see how many seniors are sitting in that front row,” Petrino said. “We have a lot of good returning players. I’m hoping there’s some pressure on
us and we’re ranked to start the season.” The talented upper class Petrino saw in that meeting will include quarterback Ryan Mallett – but perhaps for his last season. “There won’t be any question asked about next year,” Petrino said of a Mallett return to Arkansas. “He owed
it to himself and his family to see where he was in the draft.” But the weapons around Mallett – including the return of tight end D.J. Williams - helped make that decision. “I think Ryan coming back, continuing to work on his skills and development as a quarterback, will help him in his future,” Petrino said. “I think (Mallett and Williams) both made the right decision.” And with a young core of freshmen who started for the Razorbacks this season, Petrino said progress will be made from players having that year of experience in the Southeast-
BASKETBALL
Little things add up big for Britt Jimmy Carter
Assistant Sports Editor Marcus Britt won’t wow Arkansas fans like Courtney Fortson. The sophomore will on rare occasions attempt as many 3-pointers as Rotnei Clarke knocks down on a given night. And he’s OK with his role. In fact, he embraces the responsibility of being the team’s lockdown defender and infusing the Razorbacks’ defense with energy, even if it means he doesn’t attempt a single shot. Britt’s stat line against Alabama won’t blow anyone away. The Forrest City, Ark., native contributed three points, three assists and four rebounds while starting and playing a season high-tying 33 minutes. Instead of worrying about scoring or starting – he attempted just four shots in his third start of the season – Britt provided smothering defense and energy, sparking the one of the Hogs’ best defensive efforts of the season in their 71-59 win over the Crimson Tide. “It’s not a big deal if I’m starting, I’m just going in there to do my job,” Britt said. “I have the same mentality. (I) go in there and be focused and do my job and do what coach needs to be done. We’re in here, defensive-wise, to guard people 94 feet. It’s just all about heart and going out there willing to do it and not giving up.” The Hogs allow less than 60 points per game when Britt has played 30 or more minutes this season, compared to 75.6 points allowed when he doesn’t. The junior earned the added playing time against the Crimson Tide after a strong showing in Arkansas’ 82-80 loss at Mississippi State. Britt knocked down two 3-pointers to keep the Razorbacks in the game after the Bulldogs FILE PHOTO built a 19-point lead and were on the brink of Junior guard Marcus Britt is shooting 46 percent from the field while averaging 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds this season for the Razorbacks. turning the game into a blowout. “He’s had an impact with his defense the last two games,” Arkansas coach John Pelphrey range as a sophomore, but only averaged one against Alabama. said. “He’s worked very hard. He’s going to get attempt per contest. “As you go along you settle into your roles a chance to do that every night, to apply pres“Sometimes I do,” Britt said about feeling even more,” Pelphrey said. “I think Marcus sure.” the need to more aggressive on offense. “But is sometimes maybe too much of a team guy, Britt’s teammates could see the increased I’m just in to play my role. If I’m open I’m go- from the standpoint of, ‘Marcus, we need you playing time coming and fed off the 6-foot-3, ing to shoot it, but if I’m not I’m going to do to attack more off that pick-and-roll, Marcus 198-pounder’s defensive energy. what I need to do.” we need you to catch the ball on the wing and “He’s been a huge factor, especially in the Britt’s limited offensive production is a far try to get middle. Hey listen, we understand you last couple games,” Clarke said after the Ala- cry from the 18.0 points per game he averaged may not score, but the defense might think you bama game. “He does all those things in prac- as a senior in Class 6A-East. are going to and it may open up something for tice. He comes hard and works every day in “Marcus would always get 20-25 (points) a somebody else.” practice. It’s good to see him actually take that night on us,” said Cox, whose Jonesboro squad Less than a minute after Crimson Tide guard from practice and he’s doing a really good job played against Britt twice a year in high school. Senario Hillman was ejected for flagrantly elfor us and contributing for us. That’s helping “He was always a very good player.” bowing Clarke in the face, Britt knocked down out a lot.” For the Razorbacks to be successful, they a 3-pointer to put the Hogs up five points and Though a capable outside shooter, Britt has need offensive production from players like sparked the run that put the game away. never attempted more than four 3-pointers in a Britt, Pelphrey said. Fortson, Clarke, center “He hit a couple big 3-point shots at Misgame and is averaging just 4.5 points per game Mike Washington and forward Marshawn Pow- sissippi State and had a huge one (against this season. He shot 50 percent from 3-point ell combined for 64 of Arkansas’ 71 points See
ern Conference. “We started eight true freshmen at some time during the season,” Petrino said. “I think that number was tops in the SEC and second in the nation. We are still a very, very young football team and we’re working on growing as a football team.” Petrino said he was pleased with the progress made last year – including the 8-5 record, a victory in the Liberty Bowel and the school records the team was able to break. “We talked about being better than we were my first year here and See
EXPECTATIONS on Page 11
SEC BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Rebels looking to hit groove after slow SEC start Jimmy Carter
Assistant Sports Editor Heading into Southeastern Conference action, Ole Miss was 12-2 and the 14th-ranked team in the nation. Fast forward and the Rebels (13-4, 1-2 SEC) opened conference play by losing two of their first three games and falling out of the top-25. The Rebels lost to rival Mississippi State at home and also dropped an overtime decision at Tennessee, putting them two games behind the Bulldogs in the SEC West. The Rebels host South Carolina on Wednesday and travel to LSU on Saturday in a week Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said will be important to put Ole Miss back on track and in the division hunt. “We’re looking forward to getting back home and playing a good South Carolina team,” Kennedy said. “I’m hopeful that we can regroup from our disappointing finish at Tennessee and move forward Wednesday.” Junior Chris Warren leads the Rebels in scoring – averaging 16.6 points per contest – but has struggled inside the 3-point arc in the first three conference games. The 5-foot-11 point guard has hit a respectable 39 percent from 3-point range, but has knocked down just 3-of-16 2-point attempts – 19 percent. Warren also struggled late in the Tennessee game as the Volunteers pulled out a 71-69 victory in overtime. “Chris had a very un-Chris-like finish to the Tennessee game,” Kennedy said. “We’ve become very dependent on his decision making and he had a couple of costly turnovers and poor decisions down the stretch – which are very unlike him – and unfortunately it put us on the wrong side of the final score.” Warren tore his ACL against Louisville last season and missed the Rebels’ final 20 games. Kennedy said he’s fully recovered, but needs to improve his decision-making at times. “He’s not a very big guy,” Kennedy said. “He’s 5-10, 160 and a lot of times his drive and determination to make a play take him into a land where he gets swallowed by size. It’s a fine line. You want him to play aggressive, but play smart.”
DEFENSE on Page 11
See
NOTEBOOK on Page 11
COMMENTARY
Why you should go see an Arkansas track meet You’ve seen it on the signs. Every town posts its name and population on a green sign when you cross over city limits, but only Fayetteville boasts the title “Track and Field Capital of the World,” a moniker that can’t be disputed as the Razorbacks own 40 national titles between cross country, indoor and outdoor track. But you’ve heard that before. And you’ve still probably never been to a track meet. It’s one thing that Arkansas has the No. 5 men’s track team in the country. It’s another thing that year in and year out, Razorback track and field gives the UA it’s best shot at a national title. They have, after all, earned 95 percent of the university’s NCAA championships
Swinging for the Fences
MATT WATSON mrwatson@uark.edu
(40 track/cross country, one football, one basketball). But just being good at it and having a history still isn’t filling the seats at the Randal Tyson Track Center either. That’s the same stateof-the-art indoor track facility, by the way, that will host its tenth NCAA Indoor Championship meet in the
last 11 years since opening in 2000. All that is good and well, but that’s not why every student in Fayetteville should go to a Hog track meet before graduating. The reason you should go, at least once, is because of the Olympic atmosphere and sporting spectacle that exists at a big meet that draws all the best collegiate athletes (and sometimes professionals too) to one place. If you haven’t been to a track meet, you haven’t seen four events going on at once. Imagine if there were four footballs in one game. Or a skills contest at half court during a basketball game. Or if gymnasts were flipping and twirling over a swimming pool. Distance races wrap around the action. Pole vaulters and triple
jumpers sprint and fly in the middle of the arena, while high jumpers and shotputters stretch before taking center stage. Track meets provide near non-stop action. Track meets also draw big visiting crowds – I’ve heard “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” and Tennessee’s “Rocky Top” at the Tyson Track Center, although both are dwarfed by the calling of the Hogs. If you think Hog calls are loud with 72,000 fans at football games, imagine if the stadium had a roof over it. And did I mention that the Razorbacks are really good? The women’s team isn’t shabby either – they came in at No. 17 in the first poll of the year. There are five chances left to watch Arkansas at home this indoor
season. The Razorback Invitational is Friday and Saturday, the Tyson Invitational – which draws Olympic medal winners to run alongside the top collegians – and SEC Championships are in February, and after the Last Chance Meet, Fayetteville will host the NCAA meet March 12-13. The Razorbacks won their second meet of the year last weekend in front of about 600 people. The Tyson attendance record is over 5,600 fans, so I’m talking to you 5,000 people – go see the track team before you leave Arkansas. Matt Watson is the sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Wednesday.
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER | UATRAV.COM SATIRE
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 |Page 11
Aliens to challenge winner of baseball’s Global World Series Matt Watson Sports Editor
The following story is satirical in nature with fictitious quotes and opinions. It is meant for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken serious. Seriously. DEATH STAR – Not too long ago the commissioners of Major League Baseball and the top professional baseball league in Japan agreed that their champions should meet each year in an international showdown, aptly dubbed the “Global World Series.” But before plans for the global world international cross-planet intra-foreign series could even get to the development stage, a new challenge was thrown down by Darth Vader, the leader of a team of Alien All-Stars, a battle with Earth’s baseball champion to determine super-stellar universal other-worldly intergalactic omnipresent supremacy. “Apparently the term ‘World Series’ was [deep breath] already taken, by some league [deep breath] with a single team – the “Toronto Blue Jays” – that plays [deep breath] an hour and a half [deep breath] outside of its country’s borders,” Vader said. “But no matter what it’s called [deep breath] you Earthlings
are going down.” The Alien All-Stars have a talented roster led by Vader, who was tops in the Inter-space Baseball League with 173 strikeouts and 46 choke-outs in 2009. The Lord of the Sith also led the Dark Side to an IBL championship last season. Vader’s Star Wars co-star Chewbacca bats in the middle of a powerful lineup that features Optimus Prime, Predator and the naked blue guy from Watchmen. “No chance Earth will have,” Jedi master and Alien All-Star manager Yoda said. The Aliens are also known for the team’s high baseball IQ, with the intelligence of Spock, Marvin the Martian and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial bolstering the lineup. The entire Conehead family and the Monstars from Space Jam give the All-Stars depth on their bench. Jar Jar Binks and Alf did not make the team. The super-stellar universal whatever it was called earlier series has already caused a controversy over the eligibility of one of the players. The Alien team has listed Kal-El on its roster, but the slugger better known as Clark Kent or “Superman” has expressed his desire to play for the Earth team. Kent was born on the planet Krypton, but because he was adopted and raised by human parents, the Man of Steel has dual eligibility.
SWINGING FOR THE FOUL POLE
CHRIS LEE St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MCT
JUAN GARCIA Dallas Morning News/MCT
Darth Vader will look to lead the high-powered alien attack.
“How many aliens grow up harvesting corn in Kansas? He’s superhuman, not super-alien. He’s on our team,” said Buzz Lightyear, who was hired along with Captain Kirk
Despite not having extra powers, Albert Pujols will try to protect planet Earth’s home turf - literally.
and the entire cast of The X-Files as special consultants for the planet Earth. The Alien team also put a formal protest against the eligibility of
Earthling slugger Albert Pujols, who Darth Vader said “can’t possibly be human with the way he hits the ball [deep breath].”
NOTEBOOK from Page 10
Commodores sail under radar in SEC East
CHARLES BERTRAM Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT
Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy and the Rebels are off to a slow SEC start after soaring to a No. 14 national ranking.
DEFENSE
from Page 10 Alabama),” Pelphrey said. “We need him to continue to be a little (more) aggressive offensively. I think he has that. Not that he has to get 10 points a game, but he has more offense than he gives us at times.” Britt didn’t get overly excited about the basket against the Crimson Tide, his only field goal of the game. He was more pumped about being an
integral part the Razorbacks’ first conference victory. “I’m more laid-back (on offense),” Britt said. “It doesn’t matter how many shots I take as long as we win. That’s all that matters.” Even as Britt’s role expands, don’t expect a new scoring threat to emerge for the Hogs. Don’t expect anklebreaking crossovers or fadeaway 3-pointers. Don’t expect Arkansas’ opponents to score at ease, either.
uatrav.com more news, less paper
EXPECTATIONS from Page 10
I certainly feel that we were,” Petrino said. “I think we have certainly taken a step forward in the program.” But with the players getting back for the semester and recovering from the season-long grind, Petrino said the players still need a week of rest before hitting the weight room. “The idea right now is to build on what we have,” Petri-
While second-ranked Kentucky and No. 8 Tennessee have grabbed the majority of the headlines in the SEC Eastern division, unranked Vanderbilt has flown under the radar as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Commodores (14-3 overall, 3-0 SEC) have won eight consecutive games and are off to their best conference start since the 1989-90 season. “I’ve been impressed with (the players’) poise and composure,” Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. “We’ve grown up a lot from a year ago when we had a lot of freshmen running around playing. They’ve gotten more mature and understand the importance of a 40-minute basketball game. “I don’t want us to think that we’ve really done anything yet because it’s a 16-game marathon and we’re not even 25 percent of the way done yet. We’ve got a long, no said. “Players need to take this offseason and become the best possible football players they can become. They can get in better physical condition.” The Razorbacks shattered many offensive records last year, which Petrino said was another sign of improvment. “We broke a number of records-both team records and individual records-and that’s a credit to our team. Anytime you break individual records, it’s because your team is performing well. At the end of the
long way to go and the road just keeps getting tougher.” Vanderbilt has a bye on Wednesday before hosting Auburn on Saturday. While the break in action will afford the Commodores an opportunity to rest and improve, Stallings said he’d prefer a break when the team was struggling. “You don’t necessarily like the bye week when things are going well,” Stallings said. “I do like the bye week when things aren’t going so well. Nevertheless we have it and we’ll turn our attention to Auburn later in the week but we’re going to focus on us until then. This’ll be a good chance to get better.” Bulldogs still looking for first conference win Georgia is winless in its first three SEC games, but dropped the contests by a mere 15 combined points. The Bulldogs (8-8, 0-3) hung tough at Kentucky, challenging the season, those things are important.” Despite finishing the year with a 20-17 win over East Carolina, Petrino said the Razorbacks have plenty of motivation to be play better in a bowl– and warmer weather- to end the season next year. “You can see why there aren’t a lot of points scored in cold-weather situations throughout the country,” Petrino said. “It did affect us in our ability to throw the ball, in our ability to catch the ball
Wildcats before falling 76-68. Last week Georgia lost by four points to Ole Miss and fell 72-69 at Western division-leading Mississippi State. “One of the things I told my team yesterday is we’ve played very close,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We’ve led all three games at the half and lost them in the last minute or two. They haven’t been in very many games like this in this league. Last year their average margin of defeat was doublefigures.” After finishing 3-13 in conference last season, the Bulldogs have been competitive in Fox’s first season while playing the eighthtoughest schedule in the country, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. “We just haven’t had a lot of experience in these games and I don’t think a lot of people expected them to be in this position this year. “I have to give them credit for battling and putting us in a position to win. The next step will be to learn how to finish those games.” and execute the way we needed to on offense.” Petrino said the defense played well during the final game - and it showed progress throughout the seaon by helping create turnovers. “We made tremendous strides in our turnover margin,” Petrino said. “At the end of my first year, we were -9 and last year we were plus +15 which is a great turnaround and why we were able to win some games.”
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SPORTS
Page 12 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010
THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER | UATRAV.COM
One-on-One
with a Razorback
Arkansas senior forward Stephen Cox fielded questions from the media Monday about his dual Razorback careers. The Jonesboro, Ark., native lettered for the basketball team last season and recorded a fifth-place finish for the golf team in 2007. Cox has seen action in 41 games over a three-year span, including 14 Southeastern Conference contests. Do you feel your role to be a defensive sparkplug when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on the court? Yeah, at the power forward, the four spot. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to come in and play. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m kind of undersized at that position, but defense is my thing and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to try to do whatever I can, provide a little spark in there when I can. I just know my role. How big was the win over Alabama for the team to gain confidence after your four-game losing streak? Any conference win we can get is going to be huge. Any conference game is going to be tough and come right down to the end. For us to get a win was huge. Obviously, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on to the task at hand. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re moving on to Florida. Our focus is solely on Florida right now, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy and fortunate to get the win. Coach Pelphrey has nicknamed you the golfer, how do you feel about the moniker? Oh, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all right. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always dubbed me the golfer. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fine. I think I hold my own out there. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not just your normal golfer. Your normal golfer is kind of not athletic, not able to run and do those things. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got some athletic ability and I give everything I have out there. So it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bother me that he calls me the golfer, that just what heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always called me.
Stephen Cox
Jonesboro, Ark. 6â&#x20AC;&#x2122;3â&#x20AC;? 201 lbs 2009: 6.5 minutes per game in 13 games
What went into your decision to return to the basketball team after briefly giving it up for golf? He came back to me and he said we need you to play and we believe you can play a vital role for us
â&#x20AC;&#x201C; maybe four or five minutes a night. Sometimes it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just here to provide a little leadership and try to play my role, which is to play a little defense and get a few loose balls and a few rebounds. I think it was also a blessing for me to come back because honestly I was missing it a little bit. I can always play golf for the rest of my life, but I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t play basketball. When my last game is done here Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be completely done with basketball, unless Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m out here at the rec center playing a pickup game. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not going pro (in basketball) or anything like that. I can play golf my whole life, if I want to go play pro or whatever that its. But basketball is (for) a limited time. Would you have been a good collegiate golfer? My first year up here I redshirted and the following year I played for coach (Brad) McMakin. I played and went to five or six tournaments and was pretty competitive. I was able to go experience some pretty neat places like Hawaii and San Diego. I think I would have been a pretty successful college golfer. Do you hear the fans yelling for you to shoot when you check into games? Yeah, I hear it. But it kind of bothers me a little bit, because my role is not to come in and jack a shot up. I know if I miss it, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be right out. The shot that I take, if I shoot it, it better go down. Like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve said, my role is to play defense. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s solely what I do. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my strength. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell everybody in here Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not very good at offense. But thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s OK, everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Did you ever think you would be getting minutes at power forward at the University of Arkansas? In high school I was always a pretty good defensive player, but in high school I could score the ball more. In high school I averaged like 13 or 14 points a game in the 5A, which was the biggest classification in Arkansas at the time.
Martin Luther King Pkwy
W 15th St
S School Ave
S Hill Ave
Royal Oak Pkwy
(formerly 6th St)
S Razorback Rd
University of Arkansas
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