April 20, 2011

Run Game Struggles Page 11 PAGE 1 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

Vol. 105, NO. 27 UATRAV.COM

Campus Prepares for Growth

Housing, Dining, Greek Life, Health Center Expanding

by MATTIE QUINN Staff Writer

EMILY POTTS Staff Photographer UA students leave classes on Monday to join the hustle and bustle of a crowded campus. The UA experienced high student enrollment this year and expect even more incoming students in the fall.

The 2011-2012 freshman class is already at 4,400 students, compared with last year’s record-breaking 3,900, and UA admissions officials are still accepting applications.

“Our enrollment is up 30 percent, and we’ve been preparing for that for quite some time now,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for enrollment. “Our growth is very standard for a state that has implemented a lottery schol-

arship.”

Despite the large numbers, UA officials are still going to require all freshmen to live on campus.

“University housing has taken proactive steps very early on to make sure there would be adequate room for the incoming group of freshmen. We are going to still require all freshman to live on campus because we know we have the space for them,” McCray said.

With the record-breaking population of freshmen living on campus, some people are worried about the strain

on housing resources for the coming years.

“From the housing perspective, it’s going to be difficult to address that need right away. I know there has been talk of the renovation of Hotz Hall and the building of a new residence hall, but those things take time and money,” said Cameron Mussar, the new Residents’ Interhall Congress president. “Are we going to have less room for upperclassmen to live on campus if we keep trending in this direction? Probably. But that’s not what I want to happen.

My concern is there are peo-

ple who want to live on campus, who like living on campus and who need to live on campus. However, I want to get these conversations started early so we can figure these things out as soon as we can.”

With freshmen taking up a large portion of on-campus housing, shifts can be expected in what is now considered upperclassmen housing.

Most of Gregson will remain upperclassmen, and I believe that Walton Hall will all be upperclassmen, Mussar said.

see ADMISSIONS on page 3

ASG Wraps Up, Prepares for Transition Events Held on 4/20

by JORDAIN CARNEY Asst. News Editor

With the end of the year quickly approaching, ASG execs are wrapping up their duties and preparing for an official transition of power in May. The ASG treasurer and members of the senate appropriations committee recently finished the final allocations round of the school year.

They awarded $128,476 of a requested $162,775 to almost 100 registered student organizations.

The money can be used by groups starting in June, but only event was planned before the fall semester, said ASG Treasurer Chase Phillips.

More than 10 percent of the allocated money went to one student group, the Friends of India. For the April funding round, they requested $21,305.63 and received $15,430.62.

There are checks and balances to the allocation process though, he said.

“The money is always kept with us. They come and get it the Walmart card, put a request for it and then we pay for it,” Phillips said.

Also, legally and within the ASG constitution there are restrictions on how group members can spend the money, and ASG members attend events, he said.

“People should be there to make sure it’s going toward students,” Phillips said.

There was a problem with a group that had an event that was only 65 percent students, he said. “That’s not what we’re looking for.”

If groups consistently have events that don’t have a high percent of student attendees they will

were moved because of the snowstorm, he said.

During the election campaign, event-by-event planning was proposed.

The plus of that system would be the added level of flexibility, but it could also leave a shortfall of allocation money in the fall, Phillips said.

ASG President Billy

threaten to pull funding, Phillips said.

Committee members can’t make their decisions based on the number of students attending event, because it would be unfair to smaller student organizations, he said.

Organizations are required to plan events before they make their budget request, but many events this semester

Fleming is also preparing for the transition with meetings with President-Elect Michael Dodd.

“What I think we’ve tried to focus on, initially, is how to set them up for success with recruiting,” Fleming said.

“Beyond that what I’ve tried to focus on is what the summer ought to look like; how he needs to go about

building relationships with administrators, how I can help with that,” he said. “Preparing him, and his friends and his family for probably not seeing him much, which is important because a lot of folks will not understand.”

In addition to transition meetings, Fleming also has events including the presidents’ council scholarship.

“We’ll bring in a few past ASG presidents, and we’ll award a $1,500 scholarship,” he said. He is currently working to finalize the details of the event.

Students can find the application at http://asg.uark. edu; the deadline is noon Friday.

For the presidents’ council ASG contacted all former presidents, he said. “Some of them we heard back from; some of them we did not.”

“We think it’s important to engage them, not only for a scholarship for our students, but to re-engage them with ASG,” Fleming said. “I think we have the opportunity to better observe our students when we have a large group of, almost, advisers.”

Students can find the scholarship application at http://asg.uark.edu; the deadline is noon Friday.

The final ASG Executive Cabinet and ASG Senate meetings of the year took place Tuesday.

Seen as Negative Stereotype for SSDP

by KRISTEN COPPOLA Staff Writer

The Students for a Sensible Drug Policy are looking to protect the integrity of their group and will not be hosting any events – or setting up a table – this week.

April 20, or “4/20” as it is known collectively, is a counterculture holiday often celebrated by smoking marijuana.

Though marijuana education is a topic of concern to members of SSDP, they say they do not want to be associated with this form of celebration because of the stereotype it reinforces.

“We decided we’re not going to be doing any fundraising or any events at all,” said Stephen Duke, president of SSDP. “I feel like there’s just a negative stereotype or negative connotation that might come from an event on 4/20.”

The main aim of the SSDP is “educating the students [and] bringing speakers, new opinions and new ideas to campus,” Duke said.

The predominate reason that the choice was made to not host an event this week is maintaining the law-abiding

position of the organization.

“The main point that I wanted to bring across and also that SSDP National wants to bring is we do not condone drug use,” Duke said. “We are strictly focused on changing policy and educating students.

We decided that doing an event on 4/20 is a negative stereotype that we’re some type of group that celebrates drug use, which isn’t the case.”

The SSDP, in contrast to groups like National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, is not in place to advocate the legalization of marijuana but rather to take another look at the war on drugs in the United States.

“Our mission and our stance is we want to bring these issues to the campus and have a serious discussion and educate the students on why we feel the war on drugs has failed and have them read into it,” Duke said.

“We want to show the students why we feel these policies just aren’t affective and also provide alternatives.”

Some of the alternatives

see POLICY on page 3

Survivors Find Healing in Speaking Out

by KELSI FORD Staff Writer

Doreen Curtis was taken captive. She and her husband had been serving as missionaries when the Haitian Revolution began. Along with other missionaries, they were loaded into the bed of an army truck, surrounded by guerillas, machine guns pointed at their backs.

“Please God, don’t let them rape us,” Curtis prayed. “Let them shoot me before they rape me.”

She knew that pain all too well. She had been molested at the age of six and raped at 18. She would have rather been killed than forced to suffer through that again.

This time, she was lucky.

On April 6, Curtis and two other women shared their stories of sexual assault at “Life Beyond Rape: Survivor Stories.” The pre-

sentation, which took place at the Pat Walker Health Center, was the first of several events being held on campus during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Curtis spoke about being molested by a neighbor when she was six and being sworn to secrecy by him. She told about hiding in her family’s garage in the dark, because she knew he would not find her there, and being too afraid to go outside and play.

“Time stood still. Something in my life changed,” Curtis told the audience. “I knew I was never going to be the same.”

Twelve years later, Curtis was again sexually assaulted. She was drugged at a party, and when she awoke, she was being violently raped. Then she realized she was being filmed.

Curtis was too ashamed to tell anyone what had happened, so she simply didn’t talk about it.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 VOL. 105, NO. 27 UATRAV.COM

When she got married, she didn’t even tell her husband.

“I slept in the same bed with [my husband] for 30 years, and he never knew that I’d been molested or raped,” Curtis said as she began to cry.

Unlike Curtis, speaker Patty Thompson wanted to talk, but no one wanted to listen. After being brutally raped in her dorm room on the UA campus, she contacted the police. Although her rapist was arrested, Thompson was unable to move on from what had happened. She tried to talk to her friends, but she says they got tired of her crying and talking about it.

Thompson soon dropped out of school and moved to New Orleans to get her culinary license, but she couldn’t find closure there either.

“I never imagined that running away and not dealing with it would do so much damage,” she

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TODAY 64°

said to the crowd.

Thompson returned to Fayetteville. She re-enrolled at the UA and eventually got involved with the the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Agency and Rape Education Services by Peers Encouraging Conscious Thought. She began speaking at events to raise awareness about life after rape and connected with other survivors of sexual abuse.

“I never imagined that I’d do so much learning and that I’d make such wonderful friends that’d stick around,” she said through tears.

For Thompson, working with RESPECT and SARPA and offering counseling to other rape survivors has provided a great deal of healing.

“Every day I get to help people

see RESPECT on page 3

THURSDAY 64°

FRIDAY 79°

CONTESSA SHEW Staff Photographer Thousands of flags were spread across the grass between the Union and Mullins Library to celebrate Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

SATURDAY 74°

SUNDAY 81°

MONDAY 76°

TUESDAY 83°

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 2

PROFILES FROM THE HILL

A Conversation with Robin Roberts

by KRISTEN COPPOLA Staff Writer

Robin Roberts is the former associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor at Louisiana State University. Beginning July 15, she will become a member of the Razorback family as the new dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She has big plans in store for the UA and for her office decor.

Q: What is your current position at LSU? A: [I’m the] professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies.

Q: You were previously the associate dean. What were your duties?

A: [I dealt with] personnel matters, including hiring and promotion and tenure, interdisciplinary programs, communications and related fund-raising, scholarships, professorships, awards, grants, and other duties.

Q: How long were you at LSU? A: 24 [years] Q: What drew you to Southeastern Conference rival school University of Arkansas?

A: The SEC is like a family. While we may have sibling rivalry, particularly in athletics, SEC schools have many common features. I had visited the UA twice for

conferences, and been impressed by the university’s vision of excellence and the commitment of its administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. In addition, the UA has a beautiful campus.

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER 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 editor makes all final content decisions.

One copy of The Arkansas Traveler is free to every member of the UA community. Additional copies can be purchased for 50 cents each. Mail subscriptions for delivery within the continental United States can be purchased for $125.00 per semester. Contact the Traveler Business Manager to arrange.

Q: It’s said that your husband will be joining you at the UA as a professor in the drama department. What is his opinion on the move to Arkansas?

CONTACT

A: Dr. Les Wade is excited as I am about the future of the UA.

119 Kimpel Hall University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 479.575.3406 [main] 479.575.3306 [fax] traveler@uark.edu

Q: What do you feel put you a step above the other dean candidates to clench the position?

A: That might be a question better put to the search committee!

Q: Fulbright is the largest and most diverse college on campus, how do you plan to meet the needs of such a wide array of students and faculty?

A: As the Director of Interdisciplinary Programs in the LSU College of Arts and Sciences, I worked with faculty, students and staff across all disciplines. In addition, my own scholarship is interdisciplinary in nature. I plan to listen and to be receptive to the needs of everyone in the college. All units in the college share a commitment to the fundamental skills and knowledge essential to any university education.

COURTESY PHOTO Robin Roberts will assume the position of Dean of Fulbright College beginning July 15. She came to the UA from Louisiana State University.

Q: There was controversy in the fall over the core requirements of Fulbright College that left many faculty discontent and many students confused. Do you plan on revisiting the core as many faculty had desired?

A: I will need to look further into the matter, but I do think it is important for the college to reflect and evaluate on its identity and purpose. I will be asking for feedback on the college’s future from all members of the Fulbright community.

Q: What is your opinion

on the Fulbright core, and how do you plan on keeping students informed on the changing requirements?

A: The Dean’s Office will use all means available to make sure all students understand how changes in the curriculum may affect them (e-mail, Facebook, even snail mail if necessary).

Q: What is the first thing you are going to do when you move into your new office in Old Main?

A: Find a good place for my extensive collection of Star Trek and science fiction memorabilia.

Gas Prices A Burden for UA Students

by SABA NASEEM Staff Writer

Gas prices continue to inch higher, hitting $3.75 in some areas of Northwest Arkansas, a significant increase from the 2010 average gas price of $2.78 per gallon, according to the Department of Energy.

The national average for regular unleaded fuel reached $3.83 per gallon Monday, according to the Automobile Association of America Fuel Gauge Report.

This is 74 cents higher than in January and 27 cents higher than last month.

The increase has affected many students who drive.

“The gas prices pretty much determine where I can go on weekends, if I can go out of town and where I can go to get supplies or necessities,” said Zach Young, a senior physics major.

Other students have had to change the way they spend money.

“I have had to cut down on

fast food and useless trips to campus,” said Bernard Oliver, a senior journalism major.

Six states have gas that is more than $4 a gallon, according to AAA. The highest price is in Hawaii, where fuel averages $4.48 a gallon, followed by California, where gas prices average $4.20 a gallon.

The average U.S. household will pay more than $800 more for fuel in 2011 than in 2010, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Junior Josh Estes drove to Dallas and back last weekend and found the gas prices “outrageous”, he said.

“There is only one route to Dallas, so there wasn’t much I could do about that,” he said.

“Generally speaking, however, my friends and I do a lot more carpooling, which helps a bit.”

Estes also rides his bike around campus whenever possible.

“This helps to reverse the effects of high gasoline prices, but

it’s still very frustrating to have to watch as the price continues to creep up week after week,” he said.

Gas prices range across Northwest Arkansas. The Shell gas station at the intersection of Razorback Road. and MLK Boulevard. was selling gas for $3.75 a gallon April 19. A Shell gas station in Johnson, Ark. is selling gas for $3.69 a gallon.

In Springdale, Ark., the gas prices are approximately $3.67 a gallon, said Jessica Browne, a senior who commutes from Springdale.

“I try not to go places that I really don’t need to go, but for the most part, I live too far away from campus to find alternative means of transportation,” she said.

Although the price of oil per barrel has dropped, prices at the pump continue to rise.

Benchmark crude oil settled below $110 a barrel Monday afternoon, dropping more than $2, as experts worry about the effect of

high energy prices on the world economy, according to the Associated Press.

The oil costs more than $100 a barrel for the first time in two years. This increase can be partially attributed to the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa region. As the fighting in Libya continues, most oil exports from the country have stopped.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has been discussing to hold emergency meetings to increase oil production. Saudi Arabia has said it would pump more oil to make up for the shortfall in Libya, according to an article in the New York Times.

Students hope the gas prices will eventually go down, they said.

However, analysts predict that the prices will continue to rise and the average retail price for regular gasoline could exceed $4 a gallon in the summer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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PAGE 3

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

POLICY from page 1

ADMISSIONS from page 1

that members of the SSDP want to highlight are the ways to regulate drugs like decriminalization, medicalization and legalization.

“Currently [drugs] are not regulated. Whereas with alcohol, you have to go and show identification to be able to purchase it, but with drugs… there’s an environment with no accountability,” said Rob Pfountz, former president and current member of SSDP. Another aspect that members of SSDP feel sets them apart from other organizations is the fact that the main focus is not upon marijuana.

“We’re concerned about the impact that drug policy has on our culture and society.

We’re not just concerned about marijuana policy, but we’re concerned about drugs in general,” Pfountz said. “We don’t condone drug use, but we don’t condemn it either. We try to stick to the education perspective.”

No large events are in the making for the end of the

“However, I believe that about 95 percent of the Northwest Quad will now be freshmen, whereas the Quad has traditionally been an upperclassmen residence hall, so we are seeing major shifts in all of that,” he said.

With the probability of the off-campus community at the UA growing, keeping students feeling connected to campus is a priority of the Associated Student Government for next year.

“We created a liaison to off-campus students in our cabinet to address this and also look into the real estate issues many students have been running into this spring,” said Michael Dodd, ASG president-elect.

“I’d like to look into a more students-first approach to parking, making sure that the parking and transit department is filling parking decks with the current rates, expanding parking space as much as possible and allowing for a more student-friend-

RESPECT from page 1 in my situation,” she said. “It helps me.”

Cathy Mendoza, another speaker at the event, who was repeatedly raped as a child, said working with SARPA has also helped her to heal.

“I’m very sure I’m helping people who are in the same situation I was,” Mendoza told the crowd.

Before getting involved with SARPA, Mendoza said she felt responsible for her past.

“I felt guilty. I felt dirty. I felt everything you could think,” she said.

The April 6 event was cosponsored by SARPA and RESPECT and was attended by more than

COURTESY PHOTO Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML discusses the prohibition of marijuana on March 30 in the Verizon Ballroom in the Union. school year either, because of the approach of final exams.

However, plans for the next semester are to have a table in front of the Union every other week with information for students.

Tabling is set to become a crucial part of SSDP’s outreach.

“We think that education is the best. It helps us remain somewhat unbiased… and provides legitimacy,” Pfountz said.

Members also plan to con-

tinue to bring speakers to campus, which they have done every semester, Duke said. Former speakers have included people such as the executive director of NORML Allen St. Pierre, who drew a crowd of nearly 700 people to the Verizon Ballroom in the Union last spring.

“My biggest goal is that I want the students to form their own opinions on this,” Duke said.

50 students, faculty and people from the community.

The members’ goal is “the elimination of sexual assault,” according to the SARPA website.

The group provides a 24/7 hotline, advocacy groups, support groups, a sexual assault response team program and educational services to victims of sexual assault.

A pamphlet distributed by SARPA advises victims of sexual assault to immediately: get to a safe place; call a friend, family member, the police, or SARPA; set up a medical examination; preserve evidence of the assault; and remember that the assault was not their fault.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 222,000 rapes were reported in 2008 and that

18 percent of American women will be raped at some point in their lives. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, nearly 20 percent of college women will be victims of an attempted or actual sexual assault during their college years.

During the presentation, the room remained silent. As Curtis, Thompson and Mendoza struggled to find the words to tell their stories, many audience members dabbed at their eyes. After the event, the speakers hugged each other and gave a toast.

Curtis said that she and the other missionaries were ultimately set free when their captors thought of the kindness they had shown to the Haitian people.

They fled Haiti and two weeks later, they made it back to the

United States.

When Curtis got home, she said, she “burst.” She lashed out at her husband. She contemplated suicide. She thought, “This life is just too hard, and I’m tired of fighting.” So she went to a doctor to get help, and she started taking anti-depressants. And for the first time ever, she began to open up about her past.

She began working with SARPA and telling her story, and she decided to forgive the men who had hurt her and move on with her life. Although she admits that she still has bad days and moments, she has made the choice to remain positive about her situation.

“Life is not easy,” she says. “But life is good.”

ly ticket appeal.”

One concern for UA officials for next year is making sure all of the freshmen feel at home among a larger population, as many of them have never lived on their own.

“Opportunities for freshmen will be expanded through a revamped ASG Fresh HOGS and a new initiative to make RSOs and campus involvement more accessible. We will be on campus consistently with applications, student polls and a ‘campaign complain’ board, giving students a sense that the ASG office is coming to them,” Dodd said.

With all freshmen still living on campus, Mussar aims to use Housing to help freshmen feel more at home, as opposed to just another number.

“The first six weeks are so crucial, because that is when students start to feel connected to campus,” he said. “We want to have more programming with our hall senates, because the purpose of having programs in the residence halls is to make students feel at home and get them out and doing something.”

“What I really want to see is RIC senators and RAs actively involved in socializing the community and getting people comfortable with living on campus, and also teaching them those lessons that they don’t learn in classrooms.”

With all of the talk about strains on housing between freshmen and upperclassmen, McCray isn’t worried about other resources around campus being stretched.

“We have already made sure that we will have enough faculty for all of the new students and enough classroom space as well,” McCray said.

Mussar and Dodd agreed that the biggest challenges in adjusting to the growth is making sure that students are happy.

“Really the only thing we can address in the here and now is just making sure that these students who are on campus are having a good time. That’s all I can really hope to accomplish, and I know that ideas will come about as the year goes on to make life easier for everyone, both freshmen and upperclassmen,” Mussar said.

Dodd believes in keeping the students first to ensure well-being on campus.

“I believe one of our school’s biggest assets is the open, down-to-earth, ‘students first’ culture and that is something that should definitely be protected.”

Student Affairs officials are also working across the board to accommodate the rapid growth, said Daniel Pugh, dean of students.

Pat Walker Health Center officials are working to bring more doctors and counselors to campus, and options to expand the center’s hours of operation are being researched, Pugh said.

An expansion to Brough’s dining services is also in the works, as well as a few other options Chartwell’s officials are examining, but are not public knowledge yet to avoid compromising those plans, Pugh said.

More Greek chapters are also being examined to maintain the influx of students interested in rushing during the fall.

Student affairs officials are also working with a national expert to develop a social media strategy for improved connection with students and parents, Pugh said.

“We don’t know, and the expert doesn’t know, anyone else from in the nation who’s doing that,” he said. “We’re doing really exciting stuff here that’s really progressive.”

Nick DeMoss contributed reporting to this article.

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PAGE 4 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

EDITOR: Bailey Elise McBride MANAGING EDITOR: Mille Appleton

FROM THE BOARD If you had $200,000 to coerce your favorite entertainer into performing for you and your friends on campus, who would you choose? A ‘90s rock band that’s past their prime? Probably not.

Last year’s Headliner Concert Committee brought us a semifamous country artist, Dierks Bentley, and rock band O.A.R. No offense to O.A.R. and Bentley — they’re both talented — but frankly, $200,000 could have been better spent on artists that appeal to a wider segment of the campus population and come with greater name recognition.

This year the committee delivered another ‘90s artist, Snoop Dogg, and another country artist, Blake Shelton, who will be performing April 30. Again, talented artists, but we wonder, how many students would have willingly bought tickets (which is essentially what they did through student fees) to see these performers?

In previous years, the Headliner’s Committee has brought big name artists like John Mayer, Foo Fighters and T.I., who performed at the UA as one of his last shows before going to the slammer.

Students have been noticeably absent from the selection process this year. Random surveys distributed at small University Programs events are not an effective way to determine what the student body wants in an entertainer. UP should be aggressively surveying students through email and social media, not basing their decision on a small group of committee members.

The same decline in lecturers coming to the UA is yet another issue. In the past, the Distinguished Lecture Committee has welcomed George H.W. Bush, Justice Sandra Day O’Conner, Anderson Cooper, Magic Johnson and financial guru T. Boone Pickens.

This year students got former New York City mayor and unsuccessful presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and “The Pursuit of Happyness” author, Chris Gardner.

To be fair, University Programs did play a small role in bringing the Dalai Lama to the UA, but it should be noted that it was in fact, a small part. Professor Sidney Burris’s and Geshe Thupten Dorjee’s personal relationship with the Dalai Lama, and not UP’s personal initiative, is what brought him to our campus.

Either way, attendance at these events has been less than stellar. Aside from the Dalai Lama, it’s been rare that The Traveler and other media in the area have been provided press releases in time to adequately promote an event.

Student attendance at Giuliani’s lecture was poor, in part because of a lack of interest, but also because students were not aware that he was coming far enough in advance.

If students are collectively going to spend thousands of dollars on a guest speaker or entertainer, they deserve to know who that person is going to be and given a fair amount of time to make plans to attend.

It’s unclear what is causing this disconnect between students and these committees. Whether it be a lack of leadership or a broken system, this issue must be addressed before additional student fee money goes to waste.

Recently, changes have been proposed that would restructure student fees and create larger categories to provide greater accountability for each fee area. We hope that this will put each organization under greater scrutiny and result in a more accountable and effective system.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR It can be difficult to lead a “green” lifestyle at the University of Arkansas, especially when it comes to eating. Almost all food and beverage are sold in disposable packaging. I carry my own reusable mug and plate to the Union Market during lunch. My colleague and I have been doing this for some time now in an effort to reduce the amount of waste that we produce.

Today, when ordering my daily veggie soft taco and handing my plate to the friendly server, I was told that I could not use my plate. Standing nearby was an assistant manager for the Union Market. I explained to him why I bring my own plate and asked him why I could not use it.

He said that the food could be made on the Styrofoam plate and then transferred to my reusable plate. I respectfully told him that he was missing the point and again asked why. His answer was that, “This is the way that we do things here.”

I can understand if there is a health code violation in using my own plate (although what about reusable coffee mugs?) or an issue with the size of the plate and portion size (however, this should not be a concern except at the salad bar). Earth Day is just around the corner and I feel that the Union and Chartwell’s should uphold the following mission statement as found on the University’s website: “The University of Arkansas is a leader in campus sustainability efforts, in large part due to its commitment and dedicated resources to reduce its environmental impact and neutralize its carbon footprint. The university will lessen its environmental impact…by committing to become a zerowaste institution as soon as it is practical; and by serving as an exemplar of environmental stewardship for our community, Arkansas, and the world.”

STEPHANIE SULLIVAN Graduate Teaching Assistant, Anthropology

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR OPINION EDITOR NEWS EDITOR

Bailey Elise McBride Mille Appleton Samantha Williams

Nick DeMoss The Arkansas Traveler welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be at most 300 words and include your name, student classification and major or title with the university and a day-time telephone number for verification. Letters to the editor can be sent to traveler@uark.edu. Letters are edited for grammar and length, not content.

Hebron Chester STAFF CARTOONIST

President Says Goodbye, Thank You FROM WHERE I STAND

by Billy Fleming ASG President

Three hundred and fifty five days after being sworn into office, it still feels like our term has just begun. As graduation day approaches, I’m sure many of you are wondering where your time in Fayetteville has gone.

It’s difficult in one year to do all of the things we campaigned on last spring, and the reality is that we simply could not do everything we set out to do. There are only 24 hours in a day and despite devoting the majority of them to ASG, there are still boxes that will go unchecked from our administration.

But, in addition to carrying out ASG’s duties, I believe we have built a stronger and more inclusive organization, better able to serve our campus than when we took office.

Under the direction of LaShunta Williams, we founded an advocacy arm for student government. The success of her group’s presence in Washington D.C. and Little Rock is beginning to spur other groups

across the state, and even the South Eastern Conference, to coordinate their higher educationlobby efforts and magnify our students’ voices on a larger scale.

Early in our administration we felt an obligation as students to share our gifts with the local community. Behind the leadership of Becca Braun, we translated this feeling into a literacy outreach program at Fayetteville’s neediest elementary schools.

Thanks to Becca and her team, nearly 140 students each semester were paired with an elementary school student as reading mentors.

On April 18, the UA broke ground on a composting project called “The Earth Tubs.” While this undertaking was only possible because of the efforts of many people on campus, perhaps the most integral proponent of the project was cabinet member, Zoe Teague.

She spent the better part of her fall semester tracking down funding, building partnerships with facilities management, and conducting thorough research.

In the next week, we should also realize the fruits of nearly one year’s work toward the endowment of Safe Ride. Thanks to Alexander Clark and his team, we are prepared to approach a potential corporate partner for a program that would financially secure the initiative while removing its mandatory fee from the backs of students.

Also, thanks to the generosity of many former ASG alumni,

we are excited to begin awarding scholarships to students this spring. Perhaps more than any other issue on our campus, we felt that finding ways to reduce the cost-burden of higher education for students fit ASG’s mission.

I could go on and on about our cabinet members who steered initiatives ranging from a graduate school partnership with the Peace Corps to a “Razor Rewards” program for students purchasing the Access Pass. Or I could praise the senate members that used their platforms to advocate for issues like Gender-Blind Housing, cyber-harassment toward our LGBT community, or making our organization more inclusive through the addition of a cabinet member for diversity.

But perhaps my most important thank you goes to Kayln Williams. She put in as much or more time than I did this year, never complained about the high expectations I had for her as Chief of Staff, and helped me keep my sanity by constantly making fun of me.

I also owe a serious debt of gratitude to Emily Evans, Chase Phillips, Erica Harmon, and Veronica Johannesen for putting up with my sleep deprivation and frequent absence from our group’s social gatherings. Without you, none of the successes outlined above would have been possible.

My two rocks in ASG this year have been Jessica Morgan, our advisor, and Jody Preece, our office manager. Thank you

both for keeping me grounded, pushing me when I needed to be pushed, and always supporting us. If you don’t know these women, you should.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role as ASG President has been my interaction with Chancellor Gearhart and all of our administrative partners. I owe them an immeasurable debt of gratitude for being so honest, affable, and collaborative with us over the past year. I firmly believe that the upward trend of our institution can be traced back to your arrival on our campus, and I am graduating confident in our institution’s future because of you and your administration.

While I would need more than a column to thank all of them, I’m also grateful to have had such a supportive family, network of close friends, and faculty mentors in my time at the UA. Finally, I want to wish our incoming executives the best of luck next year. Few people will understand the demands of your position. But, if you do things right, despite a year of unforgettable experiences, you will be ready to hand the reins of ASG over to your successors.

A quote from Kofi Annan helped guide not only my experience in ASG this year, but also my decision to pursue an advanced degree and, eventually, a career in public service. It reads, “To live is to choose. But, to choose well you must know who you are and what you stand for…where you want to go and why.”

ty of Maryland would admit anyone, it would not retain anyone.

My first two grades were a C- on a history paper and an F+ on an economics exam. I then realized that unlike high school, in college you had to work to get good grades.

Otherwise it was right back to the hot, dirty, occasionally dangerous family business — an industrial bakery full of hand burning ovens, finger slicing dough choppers, and shards of hard cornmeal which somehow mixed with sweat to coat caustic every crevice of one’s body. Did I mention the lack of air conditioning?

Every time I was tempted to slack off and stop studying I pictured spending the next 30 years sentenced to hard time on the factory floor.

The second reason for my success was more positive. I had a knack for picking great classes that made me work and think, with the best being an honors seminar called the Political Novel. The instructor, an adjunct, was not a great teacher. His course lacked an underlying structure, and too often he failed to give us

the background knowledge to understand what we were reading.

Yet the sheer power of the books made this a great course.

Most of the teachers at my high school had never heard of, much less assigned books like “1984” or “Darkness at Noon.” For me, this really was a brave new world.

For a first generation college student, this course was key to my development as a thinker.

Ever since, I have thought that one cannot really understand politics without some exposure to the best utopian and dystopian writing, or without understanding terms like “Big Brother,” “doublethink,” “show trials,” “five years plans,” “conditioning,” and “soma.”

Nor can one put in context the horrendous events of the 21st century without knowing of the still more horrendous events of the 20th century, particularly the triple terrors of fascism, communism, and colonialism.

So off and on for the past 25 years at the University of Southern Mississippi and Villanova University, I’ve offered my own

political fiction class, typically earning good student evaluations despite massive reading. I’ve cut some of the older works while adding some new ones, most notably Joe Klein’s “Primary Colors,” which captures the good and bad of Arkansas and its most famous native son, former President Bill Clinton.

This fall I’ll get to teach the latest version here at the UA, now dubbed Social Studies through Fiction (EDRE 4913H). I think this will be a great course for a future English or social studies teacher, but also for a future lawyer, professor or anyone who loves reading great fiction.

And since the UA has not offered a course on political fiction since 2002, it seems long overdue.

In fact, I hope that other professors will create similar courses.

With an important topic and 22,000 potential students, we have room for more than one.

After all, in this brave new world, “Big Brother” is not watching.

Robert Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership at the Department of Education Reform.

Making the Case for Political Fiction

by Robert Maranto Guest Writer

I was such a poor high school student that I was rejected by four of the five colleges I applied to, and ended up in my safety school — the University of Maryland.

Maryland may be a respectable university now, but in my day it was so low on the food chain that you did not actually have to be a mammal to earn admission. I know this, because as a college prank some of my buddies got a turtle named Terrence Carapace, a genuine Maryland Terrapin, admitted to good old U of M. The university refused to issue him a student ID. In fact, if we had stopped partying long enough to write his essay, we could have gotten Terrence into the Honors Program.

That aside, I evolved from a mediocre student at a mediocre high school to a very good student at what proved to be a pretty good university for two reasons.

First, though the Universi-

PAGE 5

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

Legislation Honors Deceased Students

by SABA NASEEM Staff Writer

Six years ago, Rep. David Branscum’s son, a junior at the UA, was killed in a car accident in Marshall, Ark. Michael Branscum was an agriculture business major and a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity.

Rep. Branscum this year introduced House Bill 1986, subtitled “The Michael Lawdon Branscum Act”, which encourages all Arkansas institutions of higher education to establish a process for awarding posthumous degrees.

The bill was signed into law April 7 by the governor and is now Act 1239.

“This is for the parents of those students who pass away,” Branscum said. “I wanted to make sure that every parent who went through what we did would have the same opportunity.”

Parents dream to see their child graduate, and for those parents whose children don’t make it, “it’s rough,” he said.

Branscum’s act is also a “thank you” to the university, he said.

Since 2005, 55 students have died. There were 15 deaths in 2005, four deaths in 2006, nine in 2007, 15 in 2008, seven in 2009 and five in 2010, university officials said.

In September 2005, junior political science major April Love was killed in a homicide in her Fayetteville apartment.

In 2001, freshman Alex-

ander W. Gilbert fell to his death from a ledge on the fifth floor of the “B” wing of Pomfret Hall.

The UA does whatever it can to provide for the family and friends of the deceased, said Scott Flanagin, director of communications and outreach for university relations.

Officials at the university organize a memorial each year in honor of students who have passed away that year, as well as in previous years. The memorial is usually held in April and brings together families and friends of the deceased. This year, however, there will not be a memorial because officials have decided to hold them bi-annually.

“We print out programs with the names of students who have passed away to remember them,” Flanagin said. “Last year we took photographs of the loved ones and created a slideshow with a song in the background.

We also usually have a singing performance and invite a UA administrator to come speak.”

The memorials are usually very emotional for family members, he said.

“It’s really a sad thing when a young person passes.

The UA really tries to treat students as a family, not just another number,” Flanagin said. “It is very important to memorialize your family, it’s one of those things that is simply the right thing to do.”

The university also awards posthumous degrees

to students who have died while enrolled at the UA, given that they meet certain conditions.

These conditions are that the student must have been enrolled in a degree program offered by the UA and should have been actively pursing and making progress toward a degree at the time of death.

The student must not have been dismissed or suspended at the time of death and the student must not have died while committing a felony, according to the academic policy series.

“Sometime after Michael’s death, I was contacted by the UA, telling me that my son would be graduating posthumously,” Branscum said.

He was surprised, he said, because he had not known that the university awarded posthumous degrees.

Students who receive a posthumous degree will also be included on the Senior Walk and their degree will be entered on to their permanent academic record.

“I really appreciate what they did,” he said. “Going across the stage to pick up my son’s degree was even harder then going to the funeral.”

Although it was hard, it was a good thing and the right thing to do, he said.

“I appreciate the way they handled everything and how they continue to remember through the memorial services,” Branscum said.

“This really is a thanks to the university.”

ASG Declares Earth Tubs Ready

SARAH CHAMPAGNE Photo Editor Senior Zoe Teague declares the earth tubs ready for use by cutting the ribbon Saturday. The earth tubs will reduce how much trash is sent to the Tontitown waste site by 50 percent, saving the University of Arkansas a large amount of money.

Town Hall

City of Fayetteville officials and members of the ASG are hosting a town hall meeting Wednesday in the E.J. Ball Courtroom from 4-6 p.m.

Students are encouraged to bring questions.

THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

You can check out the Traveler online at uatrav.com or by scanning here:

PAGE 6 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

FEATURES EDITOR: Lindsey Pruitt ASST. FEATURES EDITOR: Erin Robertson

w ie v e r P ie v o M r e Summ

by EMILY POTTS Staff Writer

The Hangover Part 2 Director: Todd Phillips Starring: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis Release Date: May 26 “The Hangover 2” brings the same raunchy humor following the hit 2009 movie “The Hangover,” as the four friends reunite and travel to Bangkok. Celebrating the upcoming wedding of Stu, the original group Phil, Alan and Doug get into even more outrageous trouble as their vacation takes a turn for the worse. The movie has mixed reviews by critics, with some thinking the movie looks like a “carbon copy of the first,” said Rough Cut Reviews. The greater majority, however, agrees that “The Hangover 2” is sure to be a must-see box office hit. With the trailer alone leaving audiences in high anticipation, one critic from Major Spoilers “laughed so hard my morning blueberry muffin came shooting out of my nose.”

2011 is set to release a multitude mer sum , uels seq n ctio fi nce scie to s edie com ud t-lo h-ou laug From with a little bit of something for everyone.

X-Men: First Class Director: Matthew Vaughnand Ethan Maniquis Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence Release Date: June 3 The X-Men saga continues this summer with “X-Men: First Class,” the historical and epic story of Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, who later transform into Professor X and Magneto. Rewinding back to the very beginnings, the new movie tells the tale of the first discovery of their superhuman powers that eventually brings the conflict between Professor X’s X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood.

Following the last two X-Men movies that were less popular among audiences, fans are looking forward to “X-Men: First Class.” Crazy Critics movie reviewer Steph Sharples said, “I’m a big fan of the X-Men franchise and I can’t wait to see this one.”

Zookeeper Director: Frank Coraci Starring:Kevin James, Rosario Dawson and Leslie Bibb Release Date: July 8 Kevin James returns this summer in the new movie “Zookeeper” playing the role of Griffin Keyes, a zookeeper who turns to his animal friends to get the attention of a woman. After realizing his inability to fit in and deciding to leave his job, the zoo animals join together and reveal their secret ability to talk and teach their favorite keeper the art of love and mating.

Though the movie caters to a younger audience, critics hold the film in high hopes as a fun, family friendly flick, yet some are concerned that James will bring the same character identity from his other movies, said Rotten Tomatoes audience reviewers.

Pirates of the

Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Director: Rob Marshall Starring:Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane Release Date: May 20 “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” brings with it a new adventuresome story of Captain Jack Sparrow and his plot to reach the fountain of youth with love interest and impostor Angelica, played by Penelope Cruz. The suspected con artist forces Sparrow onto the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and a race between Blackbeard, a pirate on board and Sparrow begins. Critics are not so sure that the movie can live up to the Pirate’s saga. Movie critics at Chicago Now hope that “new Director Rob Marshall can add a spark to the series,” but that the movie franchise “could have set its sails up and left us forever.”

of movies to the big screen

Bridesmaids Director: Paul Feig Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Rose Byrne Release Date: May 13

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall

The light-hearted, romantic comedy “Bridesmaids” leads the way for one of the most anticipated summer romance movies.

Reviewed as “the sort of thing that will be beloved by many,” by HitFix critic Drew McWeeny, “Bridesmaids” tells the tale of love-hungry maid of honor Annie, played by Kristen Wiig, in her pursuit to plan her best friends wedding with as little trouble as possible. In a mess of her own, Annie “bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals” of wedding planning in the hopes of making the big day perfect, said Rotten Tomatoes. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 6.7 out of 10, naming it “a four square piece of populist fun that ranks as quite possibly the best mainstream American comedy in years,” said Todd Gilchrist, Boxoffice magazine.

Memorials of 150th Anniversary of Civil War Bring Messages of Remembrance and Hope

Courtesy Photo

DeValls Bluff was strategically important to both the Union and Confederate armies as a major White River port and as head of the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad. It was a haven, for refugees and freed men alike.

by ANDREW VAN GENDEREN Staff Writer

The legacy of the Civil War lives on 150 years after it began in 1861, but few people other than

true history enthusiasts know much about the role Arkansas played in the bloodiest war on American soil. While Vicksburg and Gettysburg are some of the most famous meetings of

the Confederate and Union forces, Arkansas lays claim to several important battles and a great deal of history that contributed to the ultimate outcome of the war.

The Arkansas Civil

War Sesquicentennial Commission has dedicated itself to preserving the history of the Civil War through a multitude of events, all of which are meant to memorialize the

ows

Part II Director:David Yates Starring:Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint Release Date:July 15 The final movie in the Harry Potter sequence, brings closure in the magical series to die-hard fans in this action packed adventure. Described as “just plain hell-raising” by star Emma Watson, part two unveils the greatest battle in the wizard world as Potter with the help of friends !"#$%#&$'()*+"#($,$-./$ their enemy, Voldemort, to /.($(#&0$12()3.(4*+#-45$ anticipated by critics and 6%#78$,$4*$)(2+(3()7$%/$9.($ :";#-$<"4=7$3()($>?4"3#$ away by the movie.” With such hype for the final end of the theatrical Harry Potter movies, “Part Two promises to be a one in a lifetime cinematic event.”

The Softer Side of War

by EMILY DE LONG Staff Writer

150th anniversary of the war’s beginnings. Battle reenactments, educational presentations, speeches, special museum exhibits and more will be organized this year across the state to commemorate important battles, key events and historical points of interest pertaining to the conflict.

Wendy Castro, tour guide at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock and associate professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas, has high hopes for this series of ambitious events.

“History books don’t talk much about battles in Arkansas,” Castro said. “Most Arkansans don’t realize that so much of the Civil War took place in their state.”

Many who enter the Old State House Museum of Arkansas History in Little Rock are shocked to learn of crucial battles and clashes that took place virtually in their backyards.

The State House Museum is particularly devoted to exposing these facts to the public. “I am surprised at

It’s not often that a debut album from a previously unknown band on a tiny record label will top any chart, or be loved by more people than a few indie fans knee-deep in the obscure. Ten years ago, such a thing would have been highly improbable and likely impossible. Yet today, in a world of instant and mass communication, such tiny events as a tweet by Taylor Swift or a feature on Grey’s Anatomy can make an otherwise unknown album into an iTunes and Billboard chart-topper.

Barton Hollow, the debut full-length by duo The Civil Wars, is an example of this modern phenomenon. At its core, it is a folk album. A beautiful, soulful, poignant folk album, with aspects of country, americana, and pop all mixed in. It’s the product of guitarist John Paul White and vocalist Joy Williams, who met at a songwriting camp. Many of the tracks are slow, although none of them slow in the boring sort of way: the slowness, in fact, has the uncanny knack of rending the heartstrings better than a faster song would. The

see CIVIL WAR on page 9

see SOFTER SIDE on page 9

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 7

Fayetteville’s Drive-in

Welcomes Summer Crowds

Sergio Maldonado STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

112 Drive-In Theatre provides throwback entertainment for movie-goers and retro enthusiasts alike. Check out their website for upcoming shows and times at 112driveintheatre.com.

by ANDREW VAN GENDEREN Staff Writer

Noontime at the 112 Drive-in Theatre is deceptively deserted.

This place is nocturnal, springing to life only in the evenings, awakened by moonlight and headlights alike.

The screen looms in the distance along a lonely stretch of Highway 112. The projector illuminates hundreds of small, whitewashed metal poles that serve as both speakers and parking space markers for the several dozen cars parked on the gravel lot.

UA junior Josh Watson said he could see the screen “half a mile away” as he and his friends drove towards the complex. “We were running late and really worried that we were going to miss the movie,” he said. “But then we saw the commercials all the way from

the highway and calmed down a bit.”

Junior Hannah Rabon’s first impression of the drive-in was that it felt “a little bit old-timey.”

“I thought it was really cool,” she said. “It was neat to see everybody else in their cars. I felt like I was in a scene from ‘Grease.’”

The two movies shown this past weekend were “The Green Hornet” and “Just Go With It,” shown back-to-back with an intermission in between. Regardless of entry time or number of passengers, admission is $12 per car.

Economically speaking, this is an ideal past time for large groups with a few hours to kill.

“The only problem is you have to pay with cash,” Rabon said.

“They don’t take debit or credit cards.”

Convenient, however, is that patrons need only tune in to a lo-

cal radio station in their own vehicles to listen to the film audio, which is broadcast nightly on 92.7 FM. Volume can be adjusted to whatever decibel level the driver pleases - or, if it’s a Paris Hilton movie, can be turned off altogether.

Entering the drive-in, the sign above the toll booth reads two things: “tickets” and “no alcohol.”

The latter statement poses a slight problem to some which is easily bypassed with a minimal amount of creativity and rolled up windows. On any given Friday night, patrons can expect to see a combination of vehicles filled with laughing teenagers and college students, along with a proportional share of notably silent cars, replete with foggy windows.

“It felt like a typical 1950’s date night,” Watson said. “You could definitely tell who was there to

Walking to Remember Rwanda

Contessa Shew STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A “Walk to Remember” raised awareness for Rwandan victims in hopes that the past will not repeat itself.

watch the movie and who was there to, well...be at the movies.”

As the previews run, thousands of crickets and cicadas drone in unison while the stars fade into view around a full April moon.

“It is an awesome summer experience, and it would be a great date night idea,” Rabon said. “You have a lot more freedom to eat, laugh and talk with other people without bothering anybody, and you get to experience a little bit of what your parents did.”

Watson also enjoyed his first experience at a drive-in and recommends it, especially for couples.

“If you were to take a girl to a drive-in movie, you would definitely get originality points and romantic points,” he said. “With a drive-in theatre, it is as much about the experience as it is about the movie. It is a throwback to an older time. You get to experience something that is rare now. Definitely a time-traveling moment.”

When asked what an ideal movie to watch on the projector screen would be, Watson responded immediately. “A horror flick would be great,” he said.

“When you are in your car with your friends out in the middle of nowhere, it would be easy to get lost in the movie.”

Rabon said she would love to see another movie at the 112 Drive-In. “Its just more simple.

You don’t feel like you have to get dressed up to go out somewhere,” she said. “You can just relax and hang out with all of your friends.

And it’s summer, so you feel like you can enjoy the outside more.”

Watson is already checking the drive-in’s movie schedule to plan his next visit. “Next time they are showing a horror movie there, I am definitely going to go,” he said.

PAGE 8

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

UA Grad Student Qualifies for Boston Marathon

Courtesy Photo

The Boston Marathon is hosted anually by the city of Boston, Mass., on Patriots’ Day. Katie Thompson, a UA grad student, is one of 26,895 participants in this year’s marathon.

by SHELBY GILL Staff Writer

While most students are asleep, Katie Thompson is up and running at 4:15 a.m. She is training for the 2011 Boston Marathon, one of the most prestigious races

in America. In addition to achieving her qualifying marathon time to compete in the race, she is also working to get her master’s in education at the UA. She began competitively running at the age of 10 and hasn’t stopped since.

“Katie has been running her

entire life. I mean that literally. Her mom and I have always said that she didn’t go from crawling to walking when she was an infant...she got up and ran. She would run through the house so fast when she was little that she would run right into a wall or door facing, start crying and then get up and go again,” said Kyle Smith, Thompson’s father.

Smith has been an instrumental figure and mentor in Thompson’s running career.

“My dad coached a high school cross country and track team and I wanted to be cool like the high school kids so I started running and I ran all the way through high school,” she said.

In order to focus heavily on her education, Thompson didn’t continue competitively running in college, but this extra time allowed her to begin training for marathons.

“Since I didn’t want to run in college, I just wanted to be nonchalant about the whole thing; I had the time to start running marathons,” she said.

Running a marathon had always been a life goal for Thompson and she finally got to complete this goal when she and her

father ran her first marathon, the 2006 Oklahoma City Marathon in record high temperatures.

“It was so hot. We about died. I began thinking ‘This is not worth it’, but a couple months later I was like ‘I have to run another one.’ Now I do about two a year,” Thompson said.

The upcoming Boston Marathon will mark Thompson’s eighth so far. Her success is marked by her dedication and ability to find equilibrium between her tedious schoolwork and training.

“I think the hardest part of training is finding a balance between my schoolwork and preparing for the marathon. Oh and I’m married, so making sure he’s okay too. There was a time when I was like ‘Do I really want to do this? This is pointless,’ but I thought ‘Well I love it and I’ve done it for so long,’” Thompson said.

Thompson’s strict attention to her schoolwork has allowed her to flourish at the UA as well as become a role model for her students at George Elementary School.

“She has continued to train, often running for 10 miles before coming to school at 7:30 a.m.,

while always having her lessons ready and assignments completed on time. She is an excellent teacher – designing learning experiences that are both engaging and challenging to her students. Her students like her because she takes time to get to know them and build a relationship with them,” said Marcia B. Imbeau, Thompson’s advisor and MAT liaison at George Elementary School.

Thompson hopes to beat her best time so far, 3 hours and 26 minutes, in Boston. She is aiming for 3 hours and 20 minutes.

“It’s known as the biggest race, the mother of all marathons. If you want to go to a marathon, you choose Boston. You have to qualify for it by running a specific time for your age,” Thompson said.

After running her first marathon, it has been on her “bucket list” to run the Boston Marathon.

Her passion is evident due to her complete dedication and hard work toward her sport.

“Although her running was a part of her life growing up, it was only just one part of it. Her qualifying for the Boston Marathon is the result of hard work and commitment, which is how she does everything. She has always been

committed to her schoolwork, her family and her faith. She is an extraordinary young woman,” Smith said.

In addition to helping her succeed in the marathon, running has become somewhat of a lifestyle for Smith. By implementing it into her daily life, not only is she physically prepared, but also mentally prepared for the day at hand.

“Running gives me time by myself on the road and time to focus on what I’m going to do for the day. I have a chance to relax and get into a rhythm. It really is a huge stress reliever. I found out during grad school I had to do something to get my mind off school,” Thompson said.

Her love for running far exceeds marathon training, but is a connection to her family and herself. She views running as a universal commonality between everyone.

“I think anybody could run.

Anybody can put shoes, shorts and a T-shirt on and go run,” she said. “You have to have good shoes, but it’s not like softball where you have to have the exact equipment. I love it because it’s so simple.”

Fayetteville’s ‘Piano Man’ to Play Benefit Concert

by JENNIFER JOYNER Staff Writer

Local pianist Jonathan Story will perform a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity on May 2 on the Inn at Carnall Hall lawn.

Story approached Habitat for Humanity last year about doing an annual “Concert on the Lawn” for the cause, said Michelle Davis, event coordinator for Habitat for Humanity. The event was so successful, with more than 300 attending, that the tradition will continue again this year.

“It will be a great night,” Davis said.

“Everyone is coming together for good music and a good cause.”

“Story is a gifted performer,” said Wendi Jones, executive director for Habitat for Humanity. “He can play anything from classical to jazz and more.”

Story earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the UA and continues to perform at various nonprofit fundraisers, but music is only his hobby.

He serves as organist for Central United Methodist Church, plays piano for the Singing Men of Arkansas and makes his living as a real estate agent with Coldwell

Banker Harris McHaney Faucette.

“He is marvelous. There’s nothing like it,” Davis said. “Last year, people had so much fun. It’s in a relaxed atmosphere, and Ella’s is a beautiful locale.”

The Concert on the Lawn committee is aiming for 500 people this year, Jones said.

“I think the concert will be worthwhile for students and music lovers because it gives them the wonderful opportunity of seeing someone performing professionally and also helping a non-profit organization to further their mission,” Jones said.

“We are hoping to double their $10,000

earnings from last year and raise $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity.”

Since its inception in 1991, Habitat for Humanity of Washington County, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, has financed and built 44 homes, 10 of which have been rehabilitated and deeded to new Habitat owners, according to a press release.

“Initially, I just thought Habitat for Humanity built houses and gave them away,” Jones said.

However, families have to qualify to purchase a home and earn a “sweat equity” by assisting in building homes, she

said.

“Helping people out of sub-standard housing and into a stable home can change everything for them,” Davis said.

The reception starts at 5 p.m. followed by the concert at 6 p.m. In case of rain, the concert will be held inside in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main.

Concert tickets are $30 and include the concert and reception. Dinner tickets are $125 and include a post-performance meal at Ella’s.

The best way to get tickets for the event is to call the Habitat for Humanity office at 479-575-9696, Jones said.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 9

arkansauced:

by BAILEY MCBRIDE Editor in Chief

If you are on Twitter, or even if you aren’t, chances are you have seen one of the satirical Twitters that have ruled the Twitterverse in the last year.

What began with @wheresparice and

ed a couple of my really funny friends and the team was born.

We’re down to two now after a recent spat with A2.”

The third member of the team left because of security concerns.

Some of the concern may have come from the recent removal of UA satire Twitter @wheresparice,

A Traveler Exclusive “Most of it’s crap, honestly. We’ve got a handful of stories that will never see the light of day, because they’re too long or not that funny or whatever reason.”

The bloggers try to have several components in each of their stories: Campus relevance, reader relatability, an anchor point and a goofy twist.

“We don’t want to be overly tacky, though,” A3 said. “That’s why we never made fun of Charlie Sheen.

Too easy.”

Beside @arkansauced, @saferidedriver, @FourthMealFay, @DicksonSpy, @UAdiary, @FaytownFuzz, @UofA_Moses @UA_Ticketmaster have all begun accounts to chronicle various aspects of Fayetteville life.

“I started @saferidedriver because I’ve been that blacked out person on the safe ride wishing I

@summerofmallett last summer has now evolved to a network of about 10 Twitter users bringing comedy and entertainment to all who follow them.

Perhaps best-known among the Twitter personalities is @arkansauced, run by mystery bloggers A1 and A3, who chronicle UA Greek and campus life through their “exclusive” news posts each week.

The Traveler wondered who these elusive writers were, and where exactly @arkansauced came from. A1 and A3 were kind enough to speak with us via email, and provided insight into the genesis of one of the UA’s favorite blogs.

“I’d always been a fan of The Onion, but the idea came from some of the really funny joke Twitters: @SummerofMallett

which was an attempt to “satirize the Greek life community and the rules and regulations it must follow by being absurd,” according to @wheresparice’s creator.

“The account evolved to comment on certain aspects of the university and what ever I felt like tweeting,” @wheresparice’s creator said. “I recently ended the account for several reasons.

First and foremost, it was brought to my attention that I had offended Parice [Director of Greek Life].

This was never my intent, and I really offer her my deepest apologies. Second, it got too involved in the ASG election and more feelings got hurt. So in the end, it was no longer funny and time to retire.”

In order to stay above the

[and] @Wheresparice. People were going nuts for their stuff, and I thought if we could make fun of stuff going on in Fayetteville in a more long-form journalism basis and throw in a couple cool recurring jokes, we had a shot to make some people laugh,” A1 said. “I recruit-

fray of the ASG election, @arkansauced refrained from endorsing a candidate and instead endorsed themselves. That story, along with a slew of others, have made the past four months very busy for the bloggers.

“We sit down a couple times a week and brainstorm,” A3 said.

knew what kind of crazy antics I was getting myself into,” said the creator of @saferidedriver. “I started with stories which I witnessed happen, and continued with a few fabrications. It’s for me personal entertainment and my friends, too.”

Though some accounts seek to embarrass the students, others were created as a forum for student concerns.

“UA_Ticketmaster was started to provide a satirical forum for students to share their experiences, positive or negative, with the parking and transit department,” said @UA_Ticketmaster’s creator. “It seems like providing such a forum for all these different Twitter accounts

from CIVIL WAR on page 6

state, like the undeservedly anonymous town of DeValls Bluff, a small community captured and fortified by Union troops in 1863. Stacy Sawyer, event coordinator for the DeValls Bluff Civil War commemoration on April 23, thinks of her town as one of the hidden jewels of Civil War history. She is optimistic about the effect the Sesquicentennial memorials will have on DeValls Bluff and other towns like it.

“I think it’s going to bring to light a lot of knowledge about the places where people live, facts that they did not know existed about their own town,” Sawyer said. “There are a lot of things about DeValls Bluff that I didn’t even know until I started researching it. Our port was very important at a pivotal point during the war, and a lot of people don’t know that. They just think that we are another small town.”

The DeValls Bluff commemoration, like many other sites, will feature family-friendly yet academically sound presentations, including battle reenactments, lectures from Civil War experts, a flag presentation, an artillery display, and a dedication from Sen. Eddie Joe Williams.

Sawyer hopes that the events as a whole will help bring together two zones of the country that still

remain quietly embittered toward one another even a century and a half after the resolution of the Civil War. Although the conflict cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides, the American South certainly felt the harshest effects of the war. The vast majority of the war’s battles were fought in Confederate territory, devastating families, their land, and the region’s economy. After the Reconstruction, it took the demands of World War I to create anything resembling unity between the two halves of the country again. Prior to 1918, in fact, the Southern United States recognized a different Memorial Day than the North.

By promoting an understanding of the goals and motivations of both sides, memorials like Sawyer’s aim to reconcile differences and reinvigorate a sense regional pride in the South. “I think [the Sesquicentennial Commission] will help ease a lot of wounds that people have,” Sawyer said.

The most important thing now is not whose side who was on, but what the end result was and how we can continue to progress as a nation by learning from our country’s shared history, Sawyer said. “Let’s celebrate our freedom and honor those who fought for freedom.”

Although there is statewide optimism surrounding the

how many Arkansans come into the State House that have never been there before,” Castro said. “I think most average Arkansans have no idea how cool some of these sites really are.”

While the famous colonial sites of New England draw thousands of tourists each year, relatively few people know about the importance of Arkansas’ Civil War sites, Castro said. Some of the most significant are located in Northwest Arkansas, where American soldiers clashed near the border of the MasonDixon line. Prairie Grove has one of most accurate and well-preserved civil war sites in the nation, Castro said.

“Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge, from a military perspective, are probably the two biggest in the state,” she said. “Most historians are really excited about these sites because they still look so much like the battlefields of the 1860s.”

“I am going to be totally fascinated to see who comes to these events,” Castro said.

History buffs, Arkansans whose ancestors fought in the war and students will likely make up a sizable percentage of attendees, but there are sure to be some colorful figures as well.

“I think we will definitely get some dyed-in-the-wool people who want mostly to represent what they feel is their side,” Castro said.

One of the goals of the Sesquicentennial Commission is to promote attendance of the average Arkansan, Castro said. A “passport” to the different sites around the state will be given to visitors, with the incentive to get a stamp for successful pilgrimage to each location. Those who attain all the stamps will receive a commemorative patch.

To get the patch will require a good map and an advanced knowledge of Arkansas backroads. Major events will be held in some allbut-forgotten places in the

!

LGBT Faculty & Staff Picnic Please join the Faculty and Staff LGBT Resource Group as we celebrate the warmer weather with a POTLUCK PICNIC! All allies, friends ,and LGBT faculty and staff are welcome. Join us to feast, network, and learn about ways you can become more involved in your LGBT community.

When: April 21st, 5:30­7:30 Where: Wilson Park Pavilion Please bring a dish to share. The Office of Diversity is generously providing drinks, plates, napkins and utensils. ­BYOF (bring your own Frisbee)!

has been successful because many of them boast large followings…[and] are tweeted at frequently.”

All accounts seem to share a respect of @arkansauced as the leader in satirical campus news.

“Arkansauced is by far the most clever account,” @ UA_Ticketmaster’s creator said. “While most of these fake accounts exist at the expense of the people or groups they denigrate, arkansauced is purely fictional and is able to find humor without pulling any person or group down.”

And the numbers don’t lie.

Arkansauced has had more than 15,000 unique page visits since they began at the beginning of the year, and average three to 400 unique views each time they publish an article.

So why so Greek-centric in their coverage of the

Courtesy Photo

Joy Williams and John Paul White from The Civil Wars. from SOFTER SIDE on page 6

album does include well-paced numbers with more upbeat tempos, though, including the album’s title track, a gritty country rocker filled with southern imagery. The song is led by White (a southerner) and is complemented with Williams’s vocals.

The best songs on Barton Hollow, however, are the ones that emphasize Williams’s voice. While White certainly campus?

“Because Roman jokes just has a capable voice, his taldon’t have that oomph,” A3 said. ents work best when accom“We think the Greek system panying the gorgeous croon gets a bad rap,” A1 said. “So we of Williams, such as on “Falloccasionally try to be a positive ing.” “Falling,” the one breakup voice for them but also know song on the album, is painfully that they’re a very strange beast beautiful and heartbreaking. so they deserve to be made fun While many breakup songs of ad nauseum. Plus, our Greek end up being overly melodraarticles are always the biggest matic and weepy, the restraint hits. We had more than 1,100 of the instrumentation and the views Monday with that Chi-O sincerity of Williams’s voice joke alone, which we broke out contribute to the track’s poignant simplicity. the champagne for. Big day.”

Album opener “20 Years” After our exclusive interview, the Traveler was left with only evokes a similar mood. It’s a one question: Where does ar- straightforward guitar ballad which, combined with Wilkansauced go from here?

“To the chancellor’s office,” liams and White’s voices, feels A3 said. “He’s been trying to set mysterious. Again, it’s the unup a meeting with us for weeks. derstatedness of the instrumentation and the simplicWe’re just very busy.”

ity of the songwriting which makes this song as touching as it is.

“I’ve Got This Friend” provides a change in mood early in Barton Hollow, and it is easily the most upbeat track on the album. Featuring happier lyrics and a bubbly, folk-pop melody, the song demonstrates the band’s emotional range.

“Poison & Wine,” the track which gained popularity after a feature on Grey’s Anatomy, may be the most accessible and immediately affecting song on the album. It follows the classic structure of a piano ballad: a gradual crescendo, coupled with a steady addition of instrumentation, finally climaxes, ending the song in a massive, satisfying conclusion. It’s catharsis at its strongest, and deeply, deeply moving.

The Civil Wars have gotten a lot of positive press from this release, and all of it is welldeserved. As far as music promoted entirely on the internet goes, Barton Hollow is one of the best things an internetsearcher could bump into.

The Civil Wars have the entire package necessary for a fantastic folk duo: great songwriting, great vocals, and great instrumentation. Who knows where

Sesquicentennial events, the bitter realities of modern America remain near the forefront of social issues.

“We are a country that still deals with race issues,” Castro said. Although economic factors and states-rights debates were undoubtedly a major part of the build-up towards war, Castro said that division of the country over slavery was the fundamental issue. She is a historian of the school that agrees with President Abraham Lincoln’s famous statement: ‘I believe this government cannot endure permanently halfslave and half free...I expect it will cease to be divided. It

“People automatically get a little defensive talking about the Civil War when they are from the South.

They shouldn’t,” Sawyer said, starting to tear up a bit.

“When I look at photos of the Southern black regiments - their rifles, their ragtag clothing, their straight backs - they, too, were fighting for freedom. And who in our world today can even fathom what that feels like?”

Sawyer’s equation for appreciation of the Sesquicentennial events is simple, yet profound. “Men fought for freedom, died for freedom and now they are free. Praise God,” she said.

will become all one thing or all the other.’

Despite the horrific nature of the Civil War and the pain it inflicted on the country, its complex and sometimes surreal history continues to captivate students of all ages.

“I think we continue to be fascinated with the Civil War because it was a struggle of Americans against Americans, and those scars have not left us as a country,” Castro said.

“As bad as people think it was, it was worse than that,” Sawyer said. “We need to learn from our history and our past so that we don’t make those mistakes again.”

THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

You can check out the Traveler online at uatrav.com or by scanning here:

PAGE 10 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

Comics, Games, & Much Much More!

WORD SEARCH

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Ballad Elegy Haiku Limerick Sonnet Epic

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Couplet Epigram Idyll Quatrain Synecdoche Tanka

Difficulty:

THIS WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

LAUGH IT UP Q: What’s green and fuzzy, has four legs, and will kill you if it falls out of a tree?

A magician was walking down the street. Then he turned into a grocery store.

A: A pool table.

THAT MONKEY TUNE Michael A. Kandalaft

WONDERMARK David Malki!

BREWSTER ROCKIT Tim Rickard

CALAMITIES OF NATURE Tony Piro

CROSSWORD ACROSS

1 Chase, as a fly 5 Comme ci, comme ça 9 Whaler’s rear end 14 “__ Fly With Me”: Sinatra standard 15 Swan’s “Swan Lake” wear 16 Hawk’s home 17 Boo-boo, in tot talk 18 Grassland burrower 20 “Hungarian Rhapsodies” composer Franz 22 “My __!”

23 Mojave lizard 26 Boulevard, e.g.

27 Comical Coca 31 “You betcha!”

35 Bad doings 36 Soft drink suffix 37 Flippered ocean critter 41 Jack Horner’s last words 42 Zoom or macro 44 Orange-and-black-winged butterflies 46 Dangles a carrot in front of 50 Jay with jokes 51 Sure-footed Rockies denizen 56 Prayer set to music by Schubert and Gounod 59 1945 conference site 60 Playful swimmer 63 Object of worship 64 Some ‘80s Chryslers 65 Crescent’s tip 66 It flows through Egypt 67 Feel intuitively 68 AMA concerns 69 Slippery fish

DOWN

1 Chew out 2 Canadian comic Mandel 3 Not quite right 4 Old coots 5 “The Racer’s Edge” 6 “... __ daily bread” 7 College football immortal Amos Alonzo __ 8 “Yes, yes, Fifi” 9 Verbally refused 10 Like most adolescents 11 Earth, in Germany 12 60-Across habitats, to José 13 Strips in a photo lab 19 Wander 21 Cinq moins deux 24 Container weight 25 Gray matter creation 28 Flood emergency op 29 Gp. that funds psychiatric drug testing 30 “Boola Boola” singers 31 “Boola Boola” university 32 Paradise 33 Email status 34 “Slippery” tree 38 Kansas city 39 R.E.M.’s “The __ Love” 40 Au pair 43 Almost boils 45 Hair-raising product?

47 Like some sandpaper 48 Continental coin 49 Tattletale 52 “Paper Moon” Oscar winner O’Neal 53 Nostalgic record 54 Ring-shaped reef 55 Fairy stories 56 Torah holders 57 Smoking or drinking, some say 58 “__ Almighty”: 2007 film 61 That, in Toledo 62 Fast-spinning meas.

SOLUTION

Crossword by MCT Campus

THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

You can check out the Traveler online at uatrav.com or by scanning here:

SPORTS EDITOR: Jimmy Carter ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: Zach Turner

PAGE 11 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

FOOTBALL

Run Game Questions Remain

by ZACH TURNER

Assistant Sports Editor

Last season the question mark on Arkansas’ offense was who would emerge at running back.

Knile Davis began the 2010 season fourth on the depth chart, but finished the season with 1,362 yards and firstteam All-Southeastern Conference honors.

He was named team MVP Saturday at halftime of the Red-White game in recognition of his contributions to the Razorbacks’ 10-3 record and Sugar Bowl appearance last season.

This spring, the coaching staff is trying to find linemen to block for Davis.

The Hogs have to replace three starters on the offensive line that paved the way for Davis’ breakout season so successful. The transition hasn’t been smooth this spring and the running game has struggled.

“We just have some young guys and some guys that are inexperienced, especially at the tackles,” Davis said. “That’s something that’s going to come.”

In the three Saturday scrimmages including the spring game, Davis carried the ball 47 times for 146 yards and three touchdowns, two coming in the second half of the White team’s 45-14 bashing of Davis’ Red squad in the spring game.

“I don’t think it was a spring that we have done re-

RYAN MILLER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior running back Knile Davis and Arkansas’ offense have struggled to adjust to three new starters on the offensive line this spring.

ally well in our run game,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “I don’t think it is Knile Davis, I just think overall the running game needs to improve with the quarterbacks, the offensive front, with our running backs and our receivers blocking better down field.”

Although the junior running back was only able to muster 3.1 yards per carry in the spring, his backup, junior

OLYMPIC SPORTS NOTEBOOK

Razorbacks Gymnastics Finishes Season Strong

by BRANDON HOWARD Staff Writer

Arkansas’ gymnastics squad didn’t win it all at the NCAA Championships, but they still put together one of the best regular seasons in school history.

The Razorbacks tied for fourth in the NCAA Semifinal and missed the Super Six by one spot. Overall, Arkansas tied for ninth place nationally, the seventh straight time the Razorbacks finished in the top 15.

“We did very, very well,” said Arkansas co-head coach Mark Cook. “We started off on vault and did phenomenal. That gave us a first place finish in the first rotation, but some errors in our routine hurt us late.”

Individually, Arkansas sent three players to the semifinals, which tied them for eighth nationally and set a school record.

Junior Jamie Pisani and freshman Katherine Grable competed in the floor events in the semifinals. Sophomore Amy

Borsellino competed in vaults.

Pisani won the session event for floors and finished fifth nationally while Grable tied for ninth. On vaults, Borsellino averaged high enough scores to fifteenth nationally.

“Scoring was tight all across the board, for both teams,” Cook said. “It was a really great and competitive meet.”

Along with the individual titles, Arkansas also earned seven combined All-American honors from Pisani, Borsellino, Grable and sophomore Kelci Lewis. First-teamers include Pisani and Grable on the floor events and Borsellino in vaults.

The Arkansas gymnastics program has only been around since 2003, but it has soared to national prominence. This season marked the eighth straight regional appearance and the fourth in five years for the NCAA Championships.

see OLYMPIC on page 13

Ronnie Wingo, had a productive spring. The St. Louis product showed off his sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash time plenty throughout the 15 practices.

“Ronnie took a little lesson from Knile’s fall last year and really concentrated on getting to his speed as quick as he can,” Petrino said. “I thought he did a much better job of running with his pads over his legs.”

Wingo had 36 carries for

180 yards and a touchdown in the three scrimmages this spring. Last season, Wingo had his biggest impact as a receiving threat coming out of the backfield.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound speedster was recruited by some schools out of high school to play receiver. Wingo totaled 27 catches for 274

see FOOTBALL on page 12

BASEBALL

Diamond Hogs Not Satisfied Arkansas isn’t content with first-place tie

by PATRICK GRINNAN Staff Writer

The Arkansas baseball team won two games against Mississippi State this weekend, moving into a tie for first place in the SEC West.

Alabama had been alone in first place, but dropped two games against Tennessee this weekend. The Hogs (269, 8-7) have the best overall record and the fewest home losses in the SEC West.

The Razorbacks totaled 30 hits and 15 runs and had just two errors on the weekend.

Second baseman Bo Bigham extended his hitting streak to 15 games, producing four hits, two runs and an RBI in the series.

“It was good to win the series, but we needed to win (Sunday),” Bigham said. “Just for momentum, staying up and keeping it rolling. We have to look past this game.”

Bigham’s hit streak is impressive, but he doesn’t spend much time thinking about it.

“I’m just going up there and trying to swing the bat,” Bigham said. “I try to find good pitches and put a swing on them.”

Bigham is tied for the team lead with 13 stolen bases with center fielder Collin Kuhn. The Razorbacks lead the SEC with 23 total stolen bases. Bigham’s six stolen bases is tied with LSU’s Mikie Mahtook for first in the conference.

Kuhn touts a .379 on-base percentage, has a .283 batting percentage and had two runs and an RBI in the weekend’s

series.

The Razorbacks have won two consecutive SEC series – five of six games – after dropping their opening three conference series.

“We’re halfway through (conference play) and we just know that we have to play better than we did the first half,” Kuhn said. “It’s good

UPCOMING GAMES Friday — Kentucky, 5:30 p.m.

Hagan Baseball Stadium, Lexington, Ky.

Saturday — Kentucky, 6:00 p.m.

Hagan Baseball Stadium, Lexington, Ky. TV: FSN

Sunday — Kentucky, 12:00 p.m.

Hagan Baseball Stadium, Lexington, Ky. for our team to know that even if we are down and out and we’re struggling, we can find a way to claw out of the hole we’re in. It shows good team chemistry, being able to come from behind.”

In the last two conference series, the Razorbacks’ pitching staff has allowed just 18 runs, compared to 42 runs in the first three series.

Left-handed pitcher Trent Daniel played a major role in the series against Mississippi State, throwing 4 2/3 innings and allowing just one run on two hits.

DJ Baxendale, who is ranked second in the SEC in individual pitching, left his

see BASEBALL on page 12

MEN’S GOLF

Golf Practicing for NCAA Championships

by MEAGAN HUCKABY Staff Writer

Two years after a miracle shot from Texas A&M took the NCAA championship away from the Arkansas men’s golf team, the Razorbacks are prepared to take another swing at the title.

No. 15 Arkansas has won four tournaments this season and is preparing for NCAA Regionals, beginning May 19.

“We have a great team and we have had a good year,” said Arkansas coach Brad McMakin. “Our players are confident that we will be successful at the next stage.”

The Razorbacks finished sixth in the Southeastern Conference tournament, a finish that didn’t meet their expectations.

“I think the team expected better because we are better than that,” freshman Sebas-

see MEN’S GOLF on page 12

GARETH PATTERSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Sebastian Cappelen and Ethan Tracy (right) will compete in the NCAA Regionals May 19. Arkansas is trying to a !"##"$%&#'%()**%$+,,"$-+.%/%,&'0%1$23%#42%5"6$'%6728%

COMMENTARY

Summer Important for Hog Football Extra Points

JIMMY CARTER jicarter@uark.edu

Tyler Wilson will be Arkansas’ starting quarterback Sept. 3 against Missouri State, barring injury.

He’s in the same position Ryan Mallett was in two years ago.

He’s the most talented quarterback on campus, but isn’t getting the starting job handed to him.

Mallett’s competition then was Wilson. Wilson’s competition now is sophomore Brandon Mitchell.

Everyone knew Wilson would be a good quarterback in the spring of 2009, even though Mallett was the better player. Mitchell has a chance to be good, too.

Wilson will have to earn the job this summer. Bobby Petrino doesn’t hand his players anything.

He was asked if Wilson had clinched the starting job after the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game, a contest Mitchell threw three interceptions in.

“There’s no solidification,” Petrino said. “We evaluate the entire spring. We’re going to go into two-a-days and give them

both an opportunity. I want to see them work and show leadership over the summer. They have a lot of responsibilities they have to take care of over the summer.”

Wilson struggled at times during spring practice and Petrino responded by giving Mitchell more first-team reps. Petrinocoached quarterbacks are prepared for the challenges of the SEC in large part because of the pressure he puts on them in practice.

Petrino often talks about trying to rattle his quarterbacks. It’s a recipe that’s worked in preparing Ryan Mallett and Brian Brohm for the NFL. He’s voiced his displeasure with Wilson some this spring, but the Greenwood native has performed well under pressure most

of the 15 practices.

“There’s been days I’ve come off the practice field mad at him, frustrated a little bit because of him calling the play wrong in the huddle or not doing something in the run game,” Petrino said.

“Then I look at his stats and he’s 34-for-39. He can really throw the ball and complete passes. His understanding of the offense just keeps getting better and better.”

He’ll have an opportunity to succeed immediately, thanks in large part to a talented supporting cast.

Knile Davis, Greg Childs, Joe Adams, Jarius Wright, Cobi Hamilton and Chris Gragg could start on any team in the nation.

Ronnie Wingo, Dennis Johnson, Javontee Herndon and Marquel Wade will make big plays for the

Razorbacks next season.

The supporting cast can’t get too content, though.

Davis has struggled at times this spring behind an offensive line replacing three starters. He hasn’t been his typical explosive self.

Childs has to heal fully from the patella tendon injury he suffered against Vanderbilt last season. He’s said his recovery is going well and a healthy Childs is one of the best receivers in the nation.

The rest of the receiving corps has been solid this spring, but struggled with drops for the second consecutive time on national TV Saturday. Wilson missed some throws, but the drops were part of the reason he was just 12of-25.

The receivers want to think of

themselves as the top group in the nation, but need to consistently prove that.

The Hogs won’t slack in the summer.

“Coaches can’t be out there now, but that’s something as leaders that we’re going to keep that chemistry going and keep building from here,” Mitchell said.

“We’ll set goals as a team, individual and position.”

Petrino won’t slack in fall practice.

His program is built on practice, preperation and attention to detail.

The talent is there.

He’ll have it ready.

Jimmy Carter is the sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler.

His column appears every other Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 12 tack in the spring practice period was much like its first four games of the 2010 season – minimal. The Razorbacks averaged just 72 yards against their first three NCAA Bowl Series Division opponents and failed to establish a go-to runner.

Tides turned after the 24-21 home loss to then-No. 1 Alabama, as Davis emerged and Arkansas averaged 169.2 yards per game through the final nine contests.

“We were in this position last year,” Davis said. “We were struggling on the offensive

line and they came through for us. We just have to be patient, keep practicing and keep working.”

With Arkansas four leading rushers from a season ago back for 2011, the rushing attack will have to help out an inexperienced offensive line along with the change at quarterback.

“It’s a group effort,” Petrino said about the run game.

“When we get started up in August we will definitely make a huge emphasis.”

Sports editor Jimmy Carter contributed to this story.

“I was a freshman at the time and that experience helped a lot,” junior Ethan Tracy said. “It was a great shot from that deep in the rough and he deserves the credit.”

The Razorbacks will have to perform better in the regionals than they did at the SEC Championships.

month before the NCAA Regionals.

“We have to improve on a few weaknesses that we have,” McMakin said. “We haven’t chipped or putted very well and if we can improve on those things we will be in good shape.”

If Arkansas advances from their regional, the Razor-

Brad McMakin

Ethan Tracey

Sebastian Cappelen

golf, finishing in the top 10 in four of his last five tournaments. He leads the team with a 71.24 scoring average in 29 rounds played. He has shot par or better in six of those 29 rounds.

The team has moved on from losing the national championship on the final hole two years ago.

“We have let that go and hopefully this year we will be the team that makes that shot,” McMakin said.

The players remember watching the shot and losing on the last hole.

“We try to improve on anything we need and that mainly includes short game,” Tracy said.

Tracy is second on the team with a scoring average of 72.10. He has shot par or better five times out of 29 rounds this season.

Despite room for improvement, the Razorbacks know that they have another shot at NCAA title.

“We have some really good players on the team and I feel we have a great shot at it,” Cappelen said.

The Razorbacks have a

backs will head to Oklahoma for the NCAA Championships.

“The NCAA tournament is played on Oklahoma State’s golf course this year and it is very similar to the one we have here,” McMakin said.

“We feel like we will be very prepared and have a great chance on that golf course and with the way it is set up, if you make it to the NCAA championship anybody has a chance to win.”

The NCAA Regionals are followed by the championship rounds May 31-June 5.

from FOOTBALL on page 11 yards last season, scoring in three games on wheel routes.

He had just one rushing touchdown. That’s changed this spring.

“He is being more physical and breaking tackles,” Petrino said. “He is a big guy that is very fast. We all know he can catch the ball real well, but his concentration of running harder and on the right tracks while getting to his speed has really helped him. He had a good spring.”

Arkansas’ rushing at-

from MEN’S GOLF on page 11 tian Cappelen said. “I had a feeling before the tournament that we should finish in the top three, but it just didn’t happen.”

Cappelen is playing well in his first year of collegiate

from BASEBALL on page 11 Friday start early with a blister on his hand. Baxendale has a 1.62 earned run average and owns a 5-1 record.

The coaching staff tried to use him as a reliever Sunday, but his blister prevented it.

“He was coming in in the fourth (inning Sunday) and kind of tore it open,” Van

Horn said. “Whenever you lose a guy like DJ, who usually eats up seven innings a weekend, its hard. Especially when you have some young guys that aren’t too experienced.”

Team captain and catcher James McCann was bittersweet about the series win over the Bulldogs.

“Its a good feeling knowing that we can put together a big streak,” McCann said.

“At the same time, we should have swept today.”

The Hogs play two consecutive conference road series before returning to Baum Stadium May 5 to take on Florida. The Razorbacks play at Oral Roberts Tuesday before heading to Kentucky.

“We really take it one series at a time,” Kuhn said.

“We’ll worry about our game on Tuesday, and then we’ll worry about Kentucky.”

RYAN MILLER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior Kyle Robinson was named SEC player of the week after going 5-for-9 with two home runs and six RBIs in Arkanasas’ series win against Mississippi State.

PAGE 13

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 RYAN MILLER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior receiver Jarius Wright talked about his big spring game, the maturation of quarterback Tyler Wilson and Arkansas’ highly-touted receiving corps following the Red-White game Saturday. The Warren native caught five passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, helping lead the White team to a 45-14 win in the spring game.

You had a big play at the beginning of the Red-White game, taking a short pass from Tyler Wilson, breaking a tackle and going 57 yards for a touchdown.

What happened?

We talked about breaking tackles for long yardage and I took that upon myself. I’ve gotten stronger in the weight room this year. Last year I would have went down easily. I just maintained my balance, looked up and all I saw was open field.

I mean, I run a 4.27, so I wasn’t expecting to get caught.

You normally don’t see high-scoring spring games. What was it like to be on the winning side of one?

It was real fun getting out there and being able to score a lot of points, especially seeing Tyler throwing the ball the way he did, the running backs run the way they did and the offensive line block the way they did. The teams were split up, so it was good to see people you normally don’t see get out there and do good.

How has Wilson matured this spring?

Tyler has grown as a quarterback. He’s doing a better job at getting more insync with his players. He’s doing a better job this spring with timing. In the game, a couple passes Tyler threw to me were perfectly timed and gave me enough time to catch the ball and run. We practice that and it’s good to get out there and see it work.

The receiving corps was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Athlon before last season and had a good season. Wilson said it could be the top unit in the country next season. Is he right?

I definitely believe that. We’ve got three seniors, with me, Joe Adams and Greg Childs. Then you’ve got young guys coming up. You’ve got Chris Gragg at tight end, but we pretty much call him a receiver, too. He’s one of us. We’ve got a lot of good, young, talented receivers to come in and take our spots when we get tired.

We’re different. I bring speed. Greg Childs is more big and powerful. Joe is more hips and yards-after-catch. Marquel (Wade) is more hips. Maudrecus (Humphrey) has speed. Javontee Herndon can do a lot of different things. He’s real smart and can understand plays. We’ve got a lot of talented receivers this year.

Jarius Wright

Senior, WR 5-foot-10 180 pounds 42 catches, 788 yards, 5 TDs (2010)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011 PAGE 14 from OLYMPIC on page 11

her for second-fastest in the nation.

Arkansas got three more vic-

Arkansas’ record high came in 2009 when they finished No. 5 nationally.

Women’s Track Kicking into Gear Two consecutive road meets haven’t slowed down Arkansas’ distance runners.

The team returned home from the Mt. SAC relays and Jacobs Invitational in California and Oklahoma with multiple wins and a new personal records.

Senior Shelise Williams, who was returning to her home state, won the 400-meter dash in 52.1 seconds. The time tied

and 4x400-meter relay.

“They both turned out better than expected,” said Arkansas head coach Lance Harter.

“We took people we thought would succeed and they did.

Now we look to run more people in their respective events.”

Arkansas will be at home this weekend to host the John McDonnell Invitational. The meet is Saturday and Sunday.

Phillips Bounces Back

Shelise Williams tories at the Jacobs Invitational with junior Brittany Hyter’s victory in the 100-meter hurdles and sophomore Natanya Luther’s wins in the 1,500-meter

Dealt a serious foot injury early in his career, junior Duncan Phillips rebounded at the Mt. SAC relays to finish second in the mile run.

“We got him back last year at the outdoor championships,” said head coach Chris Bucknam. “At some points, we didn’t

know if we’d get him back. It was a break-through performance.”

With most of the athletes running in the Texas Relays, Bucknam planned to rest as many as he could during the Mt. SAC meet. The team will be gearing up for the Penn Relays after the John McDonnell event, and many needed time to scale back their training and get some down time.

“We’ve been really focused on the relays,” Bucknam said.

“But there was so much going on at the Texas Relays we thought some kids needed to stay behind and get school straight and get their body straight. As long as weather permits this weekend, we look for almost every to run.”

GARETH PATTERSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Jamie Pisani and the Razorbacks finished in the top 15 for the seventh straight year.