EXPECTATIONS SOAR, BUT CAN HOGS FLY? PAGE 1C
VOL. 105, NO. 1
PAGE 1A WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2010
Welcome Home, Freshmen Officials have been expecting an incoming freshmen class of about 3,400. The problem, however, is that it was not supposed to happen until 2015.
UATRAV.COM
August 16
Sorority Rush Begins
August 23 Students Head Back to Class
by NICK DEMOSS News Editor
August 26
W
ith help from the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship Program, the UA community will welcome 3,458 freshmen to campus when classes start in the fall, exceeding last year’s class size by 500 students. Such a dramatic increase has sent university departments into overdrive to help accommodate the recordsetting class of 2014. One of the most pressing issues has been finding living space for everyone who needs it. UA officials are spending $1.6 million to renovate residence halls that were unused, or unusable, during the 2009 school year. Walton Hall, located next to the Arkansas Union parking garage, will be undergoing the most renovations, costing about $1.1 million. Previously the see WELCOME on page 6A
Razorbash on Union Mall
August 27
Last Day to Drop Classes for Full Refund
Hey, you! Want more stories? More news, less paper. LARRY ASH Photo Editor Buchanan Droke Hall is the site of intensive construction work to get the building renovated and ready for student occupancy by the beginning of the Fall Semester. Local construction workers are seen here installing new carpeting.
New Ticket Policy Takes Effect by LIBBI STURM Staff Writer
Changes to the UA student ticket system are in response to the need to give students an incentive to attend home games and not just to buy tickets, Billy Fleming, Assocated Student Government president, said. Though skeptical about initial student reaction to the announcement that Razorback football tickets are five times last season’s price, Fleming said the new Student Access Pass is “a plan that truly serves our students’ best interests.” Even though the once $1 per game student ticket is now $5, the Athletic Department’s new system aims to maintain convenience and affordability to students, Jeff Long, Director of Athletics, said. The new package deal offered this year—the Student Access Pass—includes entrance into every home football and men’s basketball game for $65. Previously, this deal would have cost students $115, and the football and basketball tickets were offered separately. The pass, added electronically to student ID cards instead of using separate tickets or vouchers, also includes access to the 17 other Razorback home
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sports events. Activation of ID cards with the access pass is automatic when students choose to have the $65 added to their bill for tuition and fees on the Athletic Department website, arkansasrazorbacks.com. Without the pass, available student football tickets can be bought for $5 until Friday of game week or for $10 on game day. The only option for men’s basketball tickets outside of the access pass will be $10 per
dent support system in the stands for home games, and this access pass addresses the issues and lines up with Chancellor Gearhart’s “student’s first initiative.” It was obvious to the Athletic Department, Fleming said, that they couldn’t get away with $30 or $40 student ticket prices or extra student fees like other universities because of the precedent of affordability at the U of A. The voucher system used last year in which stu-
The Student Access Pass includes entrance into every home football and men’s basketball game for $65. game instead of five-game packages like in the past. The problem that prompted the partnership between the ASG and the Athletic Department on this issue last February, Fleming said, was that when the Athletic Department sold out of student tickets, they made the extra effort to accommodate the large numbers expected to attend home games, and they didn’t want to be left with empty bleachers. What’s important, Long said, is to have a strong stu-
dents who bought tickets also had to pick up a separate paper voucher for each game before Wednesday during game week also failed, Fleming said. The access pass meets the needs of the Athletic Department while taking into account the student perspective, thanks to the ASG’s partnership. The ASG had a direct effect on access pass features like the easy-to-buy online option and giving students who buy the pass priority to games played in Lit-
tle Rock and to tickets for the Southwest Classic game in Arlington, Texas, with Texas A&M, Fleming said Tickets to the football games in Little Rock will automatically be added to the first 2,000 passes. Buyers of these passes can pick up their Little Rock game voucher at the ticket office the Thursday or Friday a week before the game. After that, available student tickets to the Little Rock games can be bought for $10 Monday and Tuesday of game week. Access pass holders can also begin purchasing the $50 ticket to the October 9 Southwest Classic on September 7—more than two weeks earlier than non-pass holders. Making sure that the new process would be clear and confusion-free for students was another ASG priority, Fleming said. There will be 9,500 access passes available to fulltime students who must activate their ID cards by 5 p.m. Sept. 1 by going to ArkansasRazorbacks.com and clicking on “Student Tickets.” For the Southwest Classic, there will be 3,500 student tickets available. Unsold student football tickets will become available to the general public Thursday of game week for $25.
UATRAV.COM
Smoking Fines to be Enforced This Semester by NICK DEMOSS News Editor
Though the UA has had a tobacco-free policy for more than two years, a state law that took effect Aug. 1 could burn smokers in a much bigger way. Signed into law last year by Gov. Mike Beebe, the “Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009 prohibits any tobacco use on publicly funded higher education campuses in Arkansas. Breaking the law is punishable by a fine between $100 and $500, and the law doesn’t apply only to smokers – even smokeless tobacco is prohibited. The reasoning behind the ban is to help mitigate the health risks posed by second-hand smoke on campuses across Arkansas, according to the law. Though UA officials initially struggled to enforce the university’s tobacco-free policy, now that the ban is state law it will be the job of university police to implement the regulations. Students, staff and visitors to the UA may be able to catch a break during their early days on campus, but at the end of the day, the law will be enforced, as will the fines associated with it, said UAPD Lt. Gary Crain. “At first, people may receive a written warning – it’s a ticket, but there is no cost associated with it,” Crain
said. “However, if that same individual is caught smoking two days later, they won’t get another warning. It will be the fine.” Before the law took effect, the policy was not strictly enforced, stating that, “members of our campus community are empowered to respectfully inform others about the policy in an ongoing effort to enhance awareness and encourage compliance.” However, officials said they expect the hefty fine associated with a violation to serve as a more powerful deterrent. “We’ll definitely see a curb in those few people who violate the policy, because now there’s a fine attached and that hits people in their pocketbooks,” said Scott Flanagin, director of communications and outreach for the division of student affairs. UA public relations officials will continue their campaign to ensure students, staff, faculty and visitors are aware of the new law, Flanagin said. Officials are planning public service announcements on UATV, and are hoping to work with local cable outlets as well. The goal, Flanagin said, is to change the culture of tobacco use on campus so that incoming students will never be tempted to light that first cigarette. “We know that some people come to college and experiment with things they may not have tried at home, but picking up tobacco is just not a good idea for anyone,” he said. “It kills you and the people around you.”