Students Juggle More than Academics Page 5 Monday, August 27, 2012
“About You, For You”
University of Arkansas Student-Run Newspaper Since 1906
Vol. 107, No. 5
Pep Rally Prepares Students for First Game
Razorback Greenway to Connect NWA Metro area to be connected by trails. Full Story, Page 5
Logan Webster Staff Photographer An Arkansas cheerleader leads students as they call the Hogs at the Freshmen Pep Rally Thursday, Aug. 23. The pep rally was put on by the New Student and Family Programs Welcome Week event.
Razorbacks Become Invitational Champs Razorbacks win all three games. Full Story, Page 9
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Razorbacks in the NFL
Newly drafted Razorbacks into the NFL. Full Story, Page 11
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Today’s Forecast
Jannee Sullivan Staff Writer College students make up a large voting block in the U.S., with about 12.8 million registered voters, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Seventy-four percent of surveyed college students said they were already registered to vote and were “definitely or probably” going to vote in the 2012 election, ac-
cording to a study done by the Harvard Institute of Politics last spring. As a result, candidates are increasingly relying on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to reach out to the 18 to 29-year-old voting block, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. “Candidates’ use of social media will definitely have an effect on college voters because college kids are so tech savvy these days,” said freshman international relations
major, Kelsey Cline. Another report done by Pew this month shows that Barack Obama’s campaign is trouncing Mitt Romney’s in the use of social media. Pew monitored both campaigns’ social media platforms for two weeks and found that the Obama campaign posts nearly four times as much content and is active on twice as many platforms as the Romney campaign. In turn, social media users are interacting more with the Obama campaign through those sites — with twice as many comments, views and shares.
Retaining Scholarhips Challenges Students
Alex Golden Staff Writer
Poor class attendance is the most common cause of lost scholarships, officials said. “The number one way to keep a scholarship is to go to
89 / 64°F T-Storms Tomorrow’s Forecast 91 / 61°F
McCray class,” said Suzanne McCray, vice provost for Enrollment Management and dean of Admissions. Students often get in over their heads in regards to their course loads and that high ability students
often arrive to college feeling over confident. As a result, they take on too much and do not put forth the effort that is needed, she said. To students who have overloaded their schedules, McCray said, “dropping is better than failing.” Early grade reports exist so that students know their academic standing in a class and can determine whether dropping is a good course of action, she said. Scholarships have minimum hour requirements for recipients, but sometimes students drop courses early in the semester and still receive scholarship money. This is rarely seen at the UA because they are “pretty rigorous” at keeping an eye on whether or not scholarship requirements are being met, she said. “Students are not scamming the system when they do that. They may get by for a semester, but not for two,” she said. Students who lose their scholarships this way often
wind up taking out loans that they must pay back, rather than working to maintain awards. “It’s not a smart way to approach college,” McCray said. Stouffer agreed that falling short on minimum hour requirements affects the renewability of scholarships. Financial aid, however, will adjust depending on the number of hours taken, said Wendy Stouffer, executive director of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Adjusting to college is a primary cause of lost scholarships. “A lot of students talk about how they didn’t have to study in high school,” Stouffer said, “and a lot of students have to work.” Stouffer recommended getting help at the Enhanced Learning Center or the Quality Writing Center to struggling students. These centers will have time and budget management seminars for
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Can Twitter Matter?
John Timpane The Philadelphia Inquirer
“It seems that Obama, being the younger of the two, would have more of a pull with social media because, let’s face it, old people seldom know how to work the Internet,” Cline said. “Romney is more of a television type of guy which would make sense if you consider the 14 year age difference between the two.” The reason, perhaps, for Obama’s large following is because young people are more connected to the internet. They supported the president by a 2-to-1 margin
The Republican and Democratic parties think so. In this tight presidential race, a national battle is on. And the ammo includes thousands of tweets, 140-character messages shot off to hundreds of thousands of followers, a blizzard of news, talking points, zingers, datelines and instructions to the faithful. Nowhere is it fiercer than in Pennsylvania. The commonwealth has lost 45 percent of its electoral clout since 1932, and it hasn’t backed a GOP presidential candidate since 1988. But in a year when ev-
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see TWITTER page 3
New Nursing Director Trevor Bloomfield Contributing Writer The Eleanor Mann College of Nursing has accepted a new Director of Nursing, an official said. Pegge Bell is joining to the nursing school with big plans. Bell is looking forward to heading the program and meeting new challenges. The school has a new building, next to Reid
Bell Hall, and a new group of students to fill the classrooms. “Enrollment has doubled,” Bell said. “Over 100 students enrolled in the fall and another 100 will enroll in the spring.” One of Bell’s goals is to
change the fact that nearly 78 percent of registered nurses in Arkansas do not have a bachelor’s degree, she said. The College of Nursing is also offering an online program that allows registered nurses to earn their bachelor’s degree. The program gives nurses the opportunity to advance their training while learning at their own pace, often while still employed, she said. This will direct resources to better serve undergraduates on campus. Since most registered nurses seeking a bachelor’s degree already have job experience, they are already putting their skills into practice and online courses cater to their busy lives and encourage selfmotivation, Bell said. Pegge Bell previously completed the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner program in 1997 at University of Arkansas Medical School in Little Rock and served as associate dean and department chair for two years. She later went on to Barry University as professor and dean of the School of Nursing from 2002 to 2008. She then worked at the College of Health Sciences from until this spring before coming to UA.