November 14, 2012

UA Students Get Classy on the Dance Floor Page 7 Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

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On-Campus Gun Carry Legislation to be Reintroduced Staff Report State rep. Charlie Collins, a Republican, will reintroduce legislation that, if passed, would make it legal for staff and faculty to carry handguns on campus through HB 1479.

The bill failed in committee in the last legislative session, but Republicans, eager to flex their new majority, will take up the issue again.

Collins is more confident the bill can pass “given the increase of conservatives and Republicans.”

The first priority for the legislature is not the campus carry bill, but to reduce the income tax in Arkansas, Collins said.

Though he said this is the first priority, Collins also said the bill will be introduced early in the session, which starts in January.

A niche store in Fayetteville sells international decor.

Full Story, Page 5

UA Functional Foods Researchers Work to Improve Food Processing

UA lab works to improve food processing techniques.

The bill states that the act would allow trained and licensed staff and faculty to carry a concealed handgun on a university, college or community college campus under certain circumstances.

Mississippi passed a campus carry law in 2011, according to the National Conference of State Legislature. Students are allowed to carry a concealed handgun if they have taken a voluntary course on safe handling of firearms from a certified instructor.

Oklahoma now has an open holster law, allowing those who have concealed carry permits to carry guns in their holsters.

Collins ran in a district that encompassed part of Fayetteville. He won reelection against Democrat Adella Gray, 54 percent to 46 percent. He ran on a message of lowering taxes and repeatedly saying he wanted to make the state a “good jobs magnet.”

For a Map of States in the US with Concealed Carry Laws, See Page 3.

Full Story, Page 2

Study Abroad Fair Today Staff Report

Razorbacks Headed to Houston

The Arkansas swimming and diving team is heading into their second road test as they travel to Houston for the Phil Hansel Invitational.

Full Story, Page 8

Check Out More Traveler Stories At UAtrav.com Today’s Forecast

56 / 32° Tomorrow Sunny 59 / 34°

Rebekah Harvey Staff Photographer Veteran David Harris poses for a shot in front in the Union on Nov. 13th.

Jaime Dunaway Staff Writer During his 11-month deployment to southern Afghanistan, UA veteran David Harris and a friend were working on a project when a little girl came to them asking for a pen. As

Harris’ friend handed her the pen, she took his hand and kissed it.

“That, on a level, engulfed what our mission was about,” Harris said.

For Harris, the small things make all the difference. Where the child came from and her background was a mystery to him, but the deep appreciation

from such a small act of service became implanted in his mind forever.

A native of Cabot, a suburb of Little Rock, Harris comes from a military family. His step-brother, grandfather and uncle all served in the military.

“It’s not like I didn’t know

see VETERAN page 3

The International Business Club will be hosting the Sam M. Walton College of Business Study Abroad Fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in Willard J. Walker Hall.

Faculty will be available to discuss Walton College Exchange Programs in various countries including Denmark, France, Germa-

ny, Spain and Sweden, according to a news release.

Officials from the Arkansas World Trade Center and UA foreign language departments will also be present, according to a news release.

The fair is open to all majors.

Students can also learn about the BS degree in International Business and minors at the fair, according to a news release.

Arkansas Implements New Teaching Standards

Bailey Deloney Staff Writer

Arkansas and 45 other states have implemented new educational standards for teachers.

The Common Core State Standards covers two subject sets: English language arts and mathematics, said Dr. Michael Daugherty, head of the department of curriculum and instruction.

“The Common Core State Standards are a new set of expectations designed to ensure all students achieve college and career readiness,” according to achievethecore.org.

The new standards push teachers to stretch their thinking, Beasley said. For example, it causes them to delve deeper in expository texts, close reading and helps them to look at teaching strategies in new ways, said Jennifer Beasley, assistant professor of childhood education said.

One difference between the Common Core State Standards and those used in

the past is that these standards have been written in a way that the average parent can understand, Daugherty said.

Beasley thinks this is a good idea.

“I think these standards hold a lot of promise as far as just going deeper with the content that teachers teach,” she said.

The set of standards will not change everything in the realm of education; teachers have to put them into practice, Beasley said. However, these standards hold promise because “they make teachers will rethink how they teach and why they teach those subjects.”

Aside from the involvement from people in the education field itself, there was a lot more community input in the development of these standards, Daugherty said.

The Student Achievement Partners, a non-profit organization played a major role in the development of these standards, Beasley said.

UA faculty are taking steps to train future teachers on how to abide by these

Ashley Swindell Staff Photographer Student teachers at the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center interact with infants, Friday, Nov. 9. The new Tyson Center opened last Friday as a learning facility for education students. standards. In faculty meetings, there has been discussion over how to embed these education practices into the classes offered here, Beasley said.

In addition, a group of faculty members recently went

to Memphis, Tenn. for training on the Common Core State Standards.

The new standards will be implemented in phases, Daugherty said. Last year in Arkansas, teachers in kindergarten through the second

grade began using the standards. This year, teachers in the third grade through the eighth grade implemented the standards and next year, teachers in ninth through the 12th grades will institute them as well.

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The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

UA Functional Foods Researchers Work to Improve Food Processing

Students Continue Search for Summer Internships Nuri Heo Staff Writer

Contact

119 Kimpel Hall University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 Main 479 575 3406 Fax 479 575 3306 traveler@uark.edu

Nick Brothers Companion Editor Luke Howard, associate professor of food science, examines a bottle of chokeberry extract to study the effect of it gaining nutrients during certain storage methods. In his Functional Foods lab, Howard and students research methods to improve the quantity and quality of nutrients in processed food.

Nick Brothers Companion Editor As health food standards gain popularity, companies are eager to get the maximum benefits in their foods, and UA Food Science department researchers are finding better methods to retain healthpromoting compounds in processed foods, a UA researcher said.

Luke Howard, professor of food science, leads the Functional Foods lab in an aim to study how health compounds are lost in processing, and then seeks to improve nutritional content food, with the knowledge of what is lost in the process.

For the quantity and quality of nutrients, fresh food is optimum. Whenever food is processed, be it frozen for storage, heated or juiced, it loses nutrients in the process, Howard said.

“Ultimately what we want to do is preserve these [health promoting compounds]. During processing we’ve done a bunch of studies and we know especially with juices you lose a lot,” he said. “With a berry to make a juice, the solid fraction that’s left — the solid waste material — that’s thrown away.

We’ve found frozen is better than any other process.”

The lab started researching functional foods in 2000, and support comes from national grants, Howard said.

“We’re just now getting into the phase where we’ve observed all these losses of antioxidants that occur and come up with methods to better preserve these polyphenolics (health compounds),” he said.

“Some of the work that we’ve done on trying to recover the compounds from the waste products that are generated during processing have received a lot of attention.”

Program associate Cindi Brownmiller is the only undergraduate in the laboratory.

Her job in Howard’s lab is to process foods, mainly berries, and “identify and quantify polyphenolics,” which are health promoting compounds like anti-oxidants, within the processed versions of them.

The lab has a patent for breaking down complex “polymer” compounds into simpler and singular compounds that are easier to extract from processed food. The students in the lab are also trying to identify polymers that are formed during storage of berry juices, and “nobody has really done that before,” Howard said.

With the advent of the health food standard and the popularity of the Food Network, Howard said there has been a lot more student interest in the food science department.

“The area of functional

foods is very popular right now. People want healthier foods,” he said. “We all teach as well. I teach Introduction to Food Science A lot of people are getting familiar with food science. Ten years ago no one knew what it was, and a lot of times they get it confused with food service.”

Among the newfound interest in food sciences, Howard found the finger-pointing at food companies is needless for the nation’s high obesity rate and malnutrition.

“People blame all the food companies for obesity. They’re making food people want. I don’t think you can blame the food company. People have to make the decision,” Howard said. “If you hear fish is good, and you think, well I don’t like fish, why can’t you isolate the Omega-3 fatty acids and stick

it in something else? Food companies tend to do that, whatever is hot. I don’t think that’s a good idea. You need to

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know specifically it’s that one compound that’s beneficial, and if it will behave the same way in a junk food.”

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Corrections The Arkansas Traveler strives for accuracy in its reporting and will correct all matters of fact. If you believe the paper has printed an error, please notify the editor at 479 575 8455 or at traveler@uark.edu.

Even before the spring semester starts, the summer internship application process has begun.

“We know that recruiters looking for candidates to hire for their organizations want college graduates who are a proper fit for their culture and industry,” said Angela Williams, director at the career development center.

“The best way to impress potential employers during your job search is to gain and highlight relevant work experience,” she said.

The University Career Center provides a variety of ways for students to find an internship, such as providing career fairs and events. The career center is a resource for career and job search information.

“We host a number of career fairs each semester, so attending career fairs will

help students better,” Williams said. “Also, students can use Razorback CareerLink (RCL) to search, which is the university’s electronic job posting system that allows students to search for and apply for part-time, fulltime jobs and internships.

“The other way is working personal networks to learn about job opportunities,” she said. “Most students have a bigger job search network than they think. They can establish or expand a job search network.”

The National Association of Colleges and Employers recommend an internship timeline.

It is never too early to apply, and work on the application should be thorough, representatives said.

Internship statistics are hard to track at the university level, but Williams still said they are necessary.

“We know that several UA students do some type of internship prior to graduation. However, it has been

very difficult for us to track the internship’s information. Very few students or employers report this information back to us,” Williams said.

“I had an internship at the National Right to Life Committee, Students for Life of America, Republican House Committee and Expectant Mother Care [internships],” said Julia Pritchett, a psychology major. “Although I finally got these internships, it was really hard to get them. I had to do a written application including an essay, phone interview and reference letters.”

Companies look at not only how talented the applicants are but also how well they do in school.

“GPA requirements vary for different internships,” Williams said. “However, most employers want students with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. A strong academic background and leadership experience are highly valued by employers.”

VETERAN continued from page 1 exactly what I was getting in to,” he said with a laugh.

Harris describes his mission in Afghanistan as a humanitarian effort to help the people of Afghanistan and to bring about a better image of the United States by winning the hearts and minds of the people. He was personally responsible for guarding the people while the army taught the civilians how to stabilize their lives.

“I’m a big believer that everyone should help everyone, and everyone should help their fellow man, and I don’t mean that in a political sense,” he said. “I think, in a way, it was something that appealed to me about this mission.”

Harris worked on the agriculture development team, in which each state was assigned a different area of Afghanistan with the goal of improving the economics of the area in the hopes of rebuilding the country.

Upon his return to the U.S., Harris is back at school as a second -year undergrad pursuing an international business degree with minors in French and military science. He came to the UA to take some personal time to consider his future in the military after his six-year contract expires.

The National Guard is paying for most of his education in return for his service overseas, but Harris’ sense of duty and responsibility was still evident in his choice to pursue higher education.

“It was almost a way that I could give back,” he said. “I felt like I was earning it opposed to signing a student loan.”

His only complaint is that drill always seems to be scheduled on the same day as Razorback football games.

Despite the everyday business of school, humanitarian issues remain an important part of his life. He said he plans to run for the operations and philanthropy chair in his fraternity.

However, Harris did not escape deployment without experiencing significant changes in his interests and ambitions.

“Before I joined the military, I was actually really big into politics,” Harris said. “I was more just geared towards going to law school and maybe making a political career for myself. When I got back, I became very impartial to politics. I became less concerned with affiliating myself with a party or trying to have political ambitions and became more concerned with what I can actually do myself.”

He credits this change to the variety of people involved in the army. Surrounded by people with different world views and opinions, he said he learned to discuss important beliefs without disrupting the harmony of the unit or distracting others from their main mission.

“I became more along the lines of someone who was willing to listen instead of voicing my opinion,” Harris

another, my job is to serve the people of the United States.”

Harris believes regaining trust in the media will rely on the people over a period of time. It’s going to take people turning off their television and trying to find other sources of news from inside and outside the U.S., he said.

Overall, Harris thinks the media portray the military in decent light by addressing people who are doing the right thing and exposing the people who are not following protocol, but he is critical of Hollywood taking events out of context to create a story that people will buy in to.

However, Harris does give credit to the media, especially at the local level, for connecting the people of the United States with soldiers stationed all over the world. He insists the human aspect of the military has not been lost. The

“It was almost a way that I could give back.”

Harris said. “I wanted to know what people thought.”

Harris’ views of the media have also changed since becoming a soldier. He praises reporters such as Walter Cronkite from years past for presenting unbiased news that people could trust. He believes today, many Americans are receiving an accurate, yet biased report of military events.

“People are being driven to two different polar opposites,” he said. “The military, specifically, in the middle of this has become somewhat of a puppet. It looks like they’re both using us as a bargaining chip. It’s a way to try to get votes now.”

Lines of deep concentration form on his forehead while he pauses to collect his thoughts.

“I don’t like to think of myself as someone who’s completely politically influenced. My job as a soldier is not to lean toward one way or

media help the military by creating an emotional connection between U.S. citizens and soldiers, he said.

“It made people realize that this is my family member, this is the guy I went to high school with, this is the guy who sat behind me in French class,” he said.

Despite the difficulties of being away from his family, living the rigorous life a soldier and moving to a distant land surrounded by foreign customs, languages and practices, Harris’ remains committed to serving the Afghan and American people and finishing the job of rebuilding Afghanistan.

“If I was presented the orders to go back to Afghanistan, I wouldn’t hesitate in going back,” he said. “It’s something I really just can’t explain. I don’t know if it’s a desire to serve, or if it’s the money. In all honesty, I don’t think I would have a problem going back.”

Briefly Speaking Islamic Awareness Day 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Arkansas UnionConnection Lounge

Sam M. Walton College of Business Study Abroad Fair 11 a.m.- 1 p.m.

Willard J. Walker Hall

Musician: Jamie Lono 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Au Bon Pain

Online Classes More Popular From Enrollment Increases

Nick Brothers Companion Editor

As thousands more students are pursuing degrees online, the University of Arkansas administration and faculty are making online courses a priority for maintaining academic integrity, quality of education, and competitive pricing against other online universities, an official said.

Throughout the last four years at the UA, online enrollments have increased by 234 percent throughout the 20082012 period, with a 100 percent increase in students taking online only courses, according to the UA Global Campus.

About 6,600 UA students are taking online courses and 1,200 students are enrolled in online only courses, said Javier Reyes, vice provost for distance education. There are 21 primarily online degree programs and a total of 367 unique online courses, and there are 20 online courses being developed for spring 2013, according to the UA Global Campus.

A degree online is more affordable than one attained by enrolling in courses on campus. Various campus activity fees add to the cost of taking courses on campus, according to the UA treasurer’s office. Instate students pay $4,415.85 for tuition on campus; a semester online costs about $3,500.

When compared to other nationally known online school programs such as the University of Phoenix and DeVry University, the UA is generally more affordable and provides numerous graduate degree programs. A full-time, 15-credit hour semester at the University of Phoenix for a degree in business marketing costs $7,400 while a semester at DeVry costs $9,135 including both tuition and fees, an University of Phoenix official and according to DeVry Institute’s website.

“Students recognize quality when they see it,” Reyes said.

“We may not be putting an ad in the Super Bowl, but we’re going to show students that we’re a ranked-worldwide university and we offer programs from [all of our accredited colleges].”

To compete with other online universities, in addition to the university’s reputation, the goal is to have “Razorbacks tutoring Razorbacks” from anywhere around the world and offering online features with campus services such as the Enhanced Learning Center, Center for Career Services, and the Center for Educational Access, which some universities don’t provide online, Reyes said.

When it comes to keeping

coursework honest, Reyes said academic integrity is something they take very seriously.

To counteract cheating, the UA has several technologies and methods to ensure fair testing.

One such method is the use of a proctor, a personal test observer. A proctor site can be anywhere, but the Global Campuses and UA branches throughout Arkansas provide face-to-face testing when necessary, depending on the students’ location.

One online proctor service that the UA uses is proctoru. com. The service has a process where the proctor, via web cam, checks the students’ ID and asks to see their work environment, pulls public records from the Internet and have the student verify personal information through a quiz to authenticate their identity and then the proctor watches them through the live stream web cam as the student takes the test, according to the service’s website.

They also can see what you’re doing on your shared computer screen as well to make sure you aren’t using prohibited resources.

“The personal questions that they find will be hard to come up with,” Reyes said.

“When I did it, they asked when I first came to the U.S., and what the first car I registered in the U.S. was. They can get pretty personal.”

The layout for each course is a collaboration between an instructional designer and the professor with the course plan.

The first two weeks are about learning the course objectives and mapping the concepts and material the instructor is going to cover, and then the two decide what types of methods and technology they want to implement with their students, Reyes said.

“I have the best instructional designer on campus, Liz Stover, ” said Alishia Ferguson, a school of social work assistant professor who teaches On Death and Dying, an all-online course. “I want to learn to do things myself, so I either figure it out or mess it up. When I really mess things up Liz fixes it for me or tells me ‘this doesn’t work this way.’ We had a couple of sessions a few weeks before classes where we were going over the course content and how Blackboard worked.”

Ferguson has taught her class for four years and she has “really liked” being able to teach the online course, she said.

“I’ve had no regrets, it’s been a huge success. It works well for me with this subject matter and the size of class. It’s probably the best it can be. I teach in the classroom in spring as well, but with teaching online and it’s all there, it’s not like preparing for

class three times a week.”

Professors can have students write assignments on a blog, record them in a video, or make a wiki page. Students can use their cell phones to ask questions to professors by taking pictures of the problems they are facing in their assignments.

Professors also can do online sessions with Blackboard Collaborate, a multi-platform education software, Reyes said.

“Imagine a general classroom online,” Reyes said. “A professor can put groups of online students into five groups of four with a specific discussion topic, and then afterwards, each group can display to the entire class what they did.”

There’s also the Softchalk service, where students and professors can annotate on lessons on smartphones and tablets, Reyes said. With its use, a professor could circle a trend on a graph and ask, “where is this trend headed?”

Students’ opinions about online classes vary from it being convenient, to being a “nightmare,” according to interviews.

“Having been out of college for 20 years, taking a class online was helpful in the sense that I could multi-task in the comfort of my own home without being disruptive of the class and without feeling like my life’s responsibilities were being put on hold in regards to daily life and my school requirements,” said Anh Ðào, a second-year social work graduate student.

Generally the negative comments were about technical difficulties and limitations the students were facing with the programs.

“I personally do not care for online classes. You lose all the interaction that is needed for effective learning. I know I need that type of interaction,” Sonya Castillo said. “ I’ve taken a hybrid class, part online and part in class, that I liked at NWACC because I still received that personal interaction with my professor and classmates.”

As technology expands and enrollments increase, making sure students come first with quality and faculty are supported so they can ensure that quality is key, Reyes said.

“My job as the vice provost is to facilitate the position the deans and faculty have with distance education with the respect to their programs, and ask them where are you and how can we work with you and your faculty so we can facilitate resources for them,” Reyes said. “Whatever we do, it will be done with the quality we want for the students and with the full support of the faculty.”

Opinion Editor: Saba Naseem Page 4

The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

Twitter: Pros Surpass the Cons

Saba Naseem Opinion Editor When Twitter first got popular, I was strongly opposed to the idea. Who needs to post updates on every second of their lives, I thought to myself. And perhaps, at the beginning, that was what Twitter was used for. People who wanted to constantly update their status and let the world know what they were thinking and doing.

I figured one status a month on Facebook was enough-- I didn’t need to tweet about what I was eating or where I was going. To tell the truth, my life wasn’t that exciting .

It wasn’t until I became editor of the Arkansas Traveler last year when I realized the importance of Twitter. Yes, I was a little late to the game, but not too late. I quickly picked up on hashtags, tagging friends and watching trends. I quickly followed as many news organizations, and now, I receive almost all my breaking news from Twitter.

I honestly believe that every college student should have a Twitter account. I believe the benefits of Twitter far surpass any negative effects it has. Yes, perhaps it is a distraction, and yes, some people do use it to waste time, but it doesn’t have to be.

I follow Al-Jazeera English, Al-Jazeera Arabic, BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the local newspapers, The Fayetteville Flyer and many other news organizations. I can honestly say that I know more about what is going on

around the world than I ever have before.

Recent worldwide trends tell me what everybody is tweeting about.

Yesterday the trends in the U.S. were #BeiberMemory, #CallofDuty, or #MyOldTwitterName.

Worldwide trends included #DavidHaye and #ConMiNuevoMovistarYo -- hashtags I don’t know about until I click them. My tailored trends tell me that yesterday was the Hindu celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights, and that Thanksgiving is nearing.

There are more than 500 million Twitter users all around the world. It still has a long way to go from catching up to Facebook, which has more than 1 billion users around the world.

More than 26% of internet users ages 18-29 use Twitter and the 18-29 represents nearly double the usage rate for those ages 30-49, according to the 2012 Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

Some college professors are integrating Twitter into their courses. Besides journalism classes, which of course promote the use of Twitter as a news source, a study released from the Michigan State University discovered that courses “that engage students on Twitter may actually see higher interaction and better grades.”

The study concluded that students who use Twitter for academic reasons “gain the ability to write succinctly, stay up to date on current research, and also benefit from connecting with academic experts directly.”

I think more professors at the UA should try and incorporate Twitter into their classrooms. I think our generation is headed that way anyways so it only makes sense to start now.

Saba Naseem is the opinion editor. She is a senior journalism, Middle Eastern studies and French major.

Traveler Quote of the Day

People blame all the food companies for obesity. They’re making food people want.

Luke Howard, food science professor

“UA functional foods research work to improve food processing,” Page 2

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Opinion Editor

Chad Woodard Brittany Nims Saba Naseem

The Arkansas Traveler welcomes letters to the editor from all interested readers. Letters should be at most 300 words and should include your name, student classification and major or title with the university and a day-time telephone number for verification. Letters should be sent to traveler@uark.edu.

MCT Campus

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Larry Rosen The Free-Lance Star DOMINGUEZ HILLS, Calif. -- A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report surveyed 2,462 middle school and high school advanced placement and national writing project teachers and concluded that: “Overwhelming majorities agree with the assertions that today’s digital technologies are creating an easily distracted generation with short attention spans and today’s students are too ‘plugged in’ and need more time away from their digital technologies.” Two-thirds of the respondents agree with the notion that today’s digital technologies do more to distract students than to help them academically.

Mind you, we are talking about teachers who typically teach the best and brightest students and not those who we would generally think of as highly distractible.

Recently my research team observed 263 middle school, high school and university students studying for a mere 15 minutes in their homes.

We were interested in whether students could maintain focus and, if not, what might be distracting them. Every minute we noted exactly what they were doing, whether they were studying, if they were texting or listening to music or watching television in the background, and if they had a computer screen in front of them and what websites were being visited.

The results were startling considering that the students knew we were watching them and most likely assumed we were observing how well they were able to study. First, these students were only able to stay on task for an average of three to five minutes before losing their focus. Universally, their distractions came from technology, including: (1) having more devices available in their studying environment such as iPods, laptops and smartphones; (2) texting; and (3) accessing Facebook.

Other researchers have found similar attention spans

among computer programmers and medical students, and in those studies technology provided the major sources of distraction.

We also looked at whether these distractors might predict who was a better student in general. Not surprisingly those who stayed on task longer and had well-developed study strategies were better students.

The worst students were those who consumed more media each day and had a preference for switching back and forth between several tasks at the same time.

One additional result stunned us: If the students checked Facebook just once during the 15-minute study period they had a lower gradepoint average. It didn’t matter how many times they looked at Facebook; once was enough.

Not only did social media negatively impact their temporary focus and attention, but it ultimately impacted their entire school performance.

So, what was going on with these students? We have asked thousands of students this exact question and they tell us that when alerted by a beep, a vibration, or a flashing image they feel compelled or drawn to attend to that stimulus. However, they also tell us that even without the sensory intrusions they are constantly being distracted internally by thoughts such as, “I wonder if anyone commented on my Facebook post” or “I wonder if my friend responded to the text message I sent five minutes ago” or even “I wonder what interesting new YouTube videos my friends have liked.”

Three-fourths of teens and young adults check their devices every 15 minutes or less and if not allowed to do so get highly anxious. And anxiety inhibits learning.

I am convinced that learning to live with both internal and external distractions is all about teaching the concept of focus. In psychology we refer to the ability to understand when you need to focus and when it is not necessary to do so as “metacognition,” or knowing how your brain functions. In one recent study we found a perfect demonstration

of metacognition, albeit totally by accident. In this study we showed a video in several psychology courses, which was followed by a graded test.

Students were told that we might be texting them during the videotape and to answer our text messages. In fact, onethird did not get a text message, one-third got four texts during the 30-minute video, and the other third got eight texts, enough, we guessed, to distract them and make them unable to concentrate on the video. One other wrinkle was that we timed the text messages to occur when important material was being shown on the videotape that was going to be tested later.

We were right that the students who got eight texts did worse _ they averaged a “D” on the test _ but the students who received four texts and the students who did not receive a text message during the video got a “C” on our test. However, a mistake in our instructions told us more about what was going on inside the students’ heads when the text arrived.

We told students to reply to our text messages but we did not tell them when to reply.

Those students who manifested a knee-jerk reaction to their vibrating phone and answered our texts immediately were the ones who got the lower test grades. Those few students who opted to wait a few minutes to respond got the highest scores in the class.

After the study, when asked why they did not respond immediately they told us that they were waiting for a time when the videotape material seemed less important and not likely to be on the test. Those students were using their metacognitive skills to decide when was a good time to be distracted and when it was important to focus.

How do we teach focus in a world that is constantly drawing our attention elsewhere?

One strategy that we are using in classrooms around the world is called “technology breaks.” Here’s how it works: In many classrooms students are allowed to use their smartphones, tablets, or laptops as tools to search the Web, ac-

cess social media, or perform other activities that promote learning. In such classrooms teachers often report that in between times that students are using their devices for schoolwork, they are checking their email and text messages, tweeting, or accessing social media.

A tech break starts with the teacher asking all students to check their texts, the Web, Facebook, whatever, for a minute and then turn the device on silent and place it upside down on the desk in plain sight and “focus” on classroom work for 15 minutes. The upside down device prohibits external distractions from vibrations and flashing alerts and provides a signal to the brain that there is no need to be internally distracted since an opportunity to “check in” will be coming soon.

At the end of the 15-minute focus time the teacher declares a tech break and the students take another minute to check in with their virtual worlds followed by more focus times and more tech breaks. The trick is to gradually lengthen the time between tech breaks to teach students how to focus for longer periods of time without being distracted. I have teachers using this in classrooms, parents using it at the dinner table or at a restaurant, and bosses using tech breaks during meetings with great success. So far, though, the best we can get is about 30 minutes of focus thanks to Steve Jobs (and others) for making such alluring, distracting technologies.

Technology is not going to disappear from our world and, in fact, it is only going to get more appealing as screens become sharper, video become clearer, and touch screens become the norm, all of which attract our sensory system and beckon us to pay attention to them rather than schoolwork or the people in front of us.

With more electronic social connections in our lives internal distractors are also increasing and tech breaks can be used to train the brain to focus without the worry and anxiety about what we might be missing in our virtual social world.

“Making Your Journey Worthwhile” Companion Editor: Nick Brothers Assistant Companion Editor: Shelby Gill Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

Page 5

You Can’t Stop It, It’s Already Here: The CrossFit Generation

Sophia Anderson Contributing Writer

Georgia Carter Staff Writer World Treasures, located on 120 N. Block St., looks rather small and unassuming from the outside, but once you enter the surprisingly large shop, it turns into a treasure trove of items from around the world. With a myriad of colors, textures and prints, the store is a little overwhelming at first, but once you start perusing, you’ll find that it is full of interesting and unique clothing, accessories and home decor. The store also sells a great deal of bumper stickers sporting witty phrases, peaceful endeavors and famous quotations.

As made fairly obvious by its name, World Treasures sells items from all over the world, with an especially large selection from South America. Its location on Block Street, right off of the Fayetteville Square, puts it in the heart of “funky” Fayetteville and is a go-to location for those interested in international cultures or finding unique items.

The “eclectic” look has always been a fairly popular movement in interior design. It uses a mix of various design styles, like items from different countries and classic items, and puts them all in the same location. “(Decorating using world items) is usually done to create atmosphere,” said Emily Morton, a junior interior design major from Beebe, Ark. “People also often choose international items to display because the items are original.”

The eclectic style of design is greatly prevalent with college students, as they are able to finally branch out and decorate to their own tastes. Many parents are not very into having the home look eclectic, being more focused on order and comfort.

“Many college students have the kind of decor that if they like it, they use it to decorate with no matter what,” Morton said. “I kind of think it’s neat to mix it all together.”

World Treasures is home to many different items that can be used to decorate a house, dorm room or apartment.

One of the biggest issues for students moving into new apartments, dorm rooms or houses is the lack of decor.

Because of the temporariness of these residences, many people are not able to paint the boring, plain walls that dominate their living spaces.

One of the standards in college decor is the tapestry, and World Treasures has a huge selection of tapestries.

These colorful cloths are available in a variety colors and patterns, and they are usually very large. When placed behind a bed, couch or television, these tapestries can add visual interest to a plain wall, bringing color and texture into a room. They can even give the illusion of wallpaper when placed on smaller walls. Tapestries can also be used, with a little bit of sewing skills and craftiness, as pillowcases or duvet covers. Mixing various tapestries can also create the

Shaylyn Boyle Staff Photographer eclectic look.

Many tables, bookshelves and entertainment units remain unadorned and quite plain sitting in college students’ homes. Luckily, World Treasures is home to knickknacks that can add some character to the home. Mini Buddhas, different animal figurines and abstract shapes populate the shelves of World Treasures. Getting just a few of these hanging out around your house can do more than just decorate. They can also show off various interests.

If you particularly like a certain animal, World Treasures is likely to have a figurine of it that you can display in your home, showing off not only your interests, but also eclectic-fying your home. Just don’t get too crazy with the knickknacks, or else your home will look like a grandmother’s house or a flea market, or both.

You can also find various wall hangings, posters, throw rugs and blankets at World Treasures with which to adorn your home. Using these items and mixing them will classic items, such as plain-colored couches and chairs, cleanlined furniture, and the uniform items that came with your home or dorm room, you can create a homey, lived-in feel, even if you are hundreds of miles away from home and only plan on living in your space until the lease is up.

For anyone new to the eclectic look and wanting to add some international flair to your home, or anyone who just wants an interesting shop to explore on a Saturday afternoon, World Treasures is a great place to check out.

Bending down, taking deep breaths, he wiggles his fingers over the 135-pound bar, making sure his form is perfect. “I’m almost ready,” he says. “If you rush it, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Matt Heffron is an infant crossfitter.

At five months dedicated, he is completing his workout of the day, or WOD, that was posted on crossfit.com. This is the guideline that all crossfitters follow.

“With these workouts, you don’t need to do more than 30 minutes a day,” Heffron says.

He lifts the metal bar with a rubber weight on each end up to his shoulders, elbows pushed out, wrists bent over backward, and then brings it down, tapping the floor as quickly as he pulled it up. He does this repetitively with a series of push-ups in between lifting sets.

Heffron is not the only person who accepts these bursts of fast-paced workouts as a lifestyle. There are now more than 4,400 CrossFit gyms or affiliates, according to CrossFit, up from 18 in 2005, according to The Fitness Black Book.

In northwest Arkansas, there are seven gyms strictly operating CrossFit. The area resembles surrounding, bigger cities: St. Louis, which has seven CrossFit gyms and Tulsa, Okla. which has eight.

“I’ve never heard of anybody not falling in love with CrossFit,” Heffron said. “With the type of workout it is, you get so many chemicals rushing through your brain, it’s awesome!”

Sometimes Heffron makes up his own workout program. After completing the WOD, he may do two more workout sessions.

CrossFit is developed for and geared toward training policemen and armed forces. Created by a former gymnastics coach, Greg Glassman, the workouts mimic everyday movements, like throwing, pulling, jumping, pushing and lifting, and are supposed to be quick and intense. Inside a CrossFit gym, or “box,” as crossfitters call them, there aren’t any big exercise machines. Instead, you’ll see pull-up bars, medicine balls, kettle bells and ropes for climbing.

Bars and weights for power-lifting and Olympic lifting will be around, too.

The appeal is that routines can be done by anyone anywhere. The program is designed to disregard experience; the only thing that changes is intensity and degree, not movements. Makeshift boxes occupy a lot of garages and basements. People lay down rubber mats smothered by the bare minimum of an Olympic weight set, dumbbells, and a wall-mounted pull-up and dip bar. For the essentials of CrossFit cardio, this box would also need a rower, a bicycle, a jump rope and some running shoes.

Gyms devoted to CrossFit have cer-

tified CrossFit trainers who can give one-on-one attention and host small classes with a supportive atmosphere.

“There is a strong sense of community in the CrossFit gym,” said Trevor Belline, owner and trainer at CrossFit 540. “Most people become fast friends and actually start hanging out with people outside of the gym.”

Many devoted exercisers think CrossFit is too expensive. Discussion forums about CrossFit are peppered with frustration about the average $135 per month it costs to have a membership or the $20 you’ll pay per class.

“CrossFit is expensive,” Heffron said.

“I know about the CrossFit gyms, but I go to Powerhouse because it’s only $15 a month.”

The average cost of a gym membership nationwide is $55 per month, according to a website on gym statistics.

CrossFit 540 is close to Heffron’s house, but it charges $125 each month for a membership.

When prospective members of CrossFit 540 hear the price for the first time, Belline says, “We get some jawdropping, but surprisingly it turns into them saying that it’s actually a bargain because it’s like everything you would get with a personal trainer, but at a discounted price.”

Developers and followers of CrossFit believe that fitness is as much mental as it is physical. Athlete testimonials claim that they first got their body in shape (with CrossFit) and then the sharpness of their mind followed as they were able to perform daily mental tasks better.

Many parents keep their children on a CrossFit lifestyle hoping it will do just that. Children can start taking CrossFit classes at age 4.

CrossFit’s popularity has even taken a place next to religion with some of its followers.

CrossFit Born Again in Johnson boasts the phrase “life changing” on the homepage of its website, accompanied by a verse of the day and a cartoon underneath the WOD that has a woman jumping rope, captioned: “These bruises are because I Cross Fit not because my husband beats me, but thank you for your concern.”

Proof of CrossFit’s cult-like growth can be seen with this gym’s move to a newer, bigger location at the end of the month.

CrossFit as a sport has turned into a worldwide competition known as the CrossFit Games.

Last year, the CrossFit Games, held in California, opened doors for competing countries all around the world.

“People are always looking for something new,” Belline says. “CrossFit is effective, so once people see the results, it’s impossible for them not to get excited about it. Once they drink the Kool-Aid, they realize it’s awesome and they tell their friends, and they can’t help but try it.”

Veteran Globe-Trotter Shares Her Study Abroad Experiences Caitlin Murad Staff Writer

Culture shock is not a term Megan Peters is familiar with. The senior industrial engineering major has studied abroad four times in the past three years. She has traveled to many countries across the globe, including Italy, Belize and Mozambique.

Peters first traveled to Europe in high school, where she first fell in love with traveling. As a college student, Peters decided to study abroad in Italy.

“I had not been to Italy and knew I wanted to go there,” Peters said. “Honestly, I think it was mainly that I love history and Italian food, and the culture seemed fascinating.”

Peters contacted the UA Office of Study Abroad to discuss program options.

“I made an appointment with Laura Moix, and we talked about how I wanted to go to Italy,” Peters said. “I knew a girl who had done the AIFS Florence program and loved it.”

Moix provided Peters with scholarship information to help finance her trip both through her major and through the study abroad office. Peters was awarded a scholarship from the study abroad office for her study in Italy.

She studied in Florence, Italy, for five weeks over the summer in 2010. She studied Italian I and Culture and Style in Italy at Piazza del Academia. Peters stayed in an apartment outside Piazza del Academia

with three other students from the AIFS program.

Peters then went on the UA trip to Dangria, Belize, during the summer of 2011.

She, along with several other UA students, worked in separate parts of the Dangria community, learning about the social and economical aspects of a developing country.

“I have always had a large sensitivity to others and been passionate about helping those less fortunate,” Peters said. “I wanted to see what real community development was like. Also, more selfishly, I wanted to travel to a developing country to see what it was like, and Belize is beautiful.”

Her experience in Dangria sparked her interest in water resource management, and Peters began researching this problem in developing countries with her department head when she returned to Fayetteville.

“I presented my research at the International Water Conference during the fall of 2011 with another student, who happened to be the president of Arkansas Engineers Abroad,” Peters said. “He told me about the group’s initiative to build a water tower for the small rural village of More Tomorrow.”

The group spent one week in More Tomorrow living in a mission and successfully built a tower fountain for the village.

Peters and her group also did water testing and water perception interviews with locals, which aided her research.

Peters’ initial trip to Belize also played a factor in her next trip abroad to Mozambique. Dr. Amy Farmer, a UA faculty mem-

ber who accompanied the students on the trip to Dangria, Belize, started a Mozambique program at the UA in summer 2012.

“I had always wanted to go to Africa, and it was the perfect opportunity,” Peters said.

Peters spent five weeks in Mozambique working for Novos Horizontes Poultry Company in Nampula.

“There are really no words to describe how insightful and valuable that experience (Novos Horizontes Poultry Company) was,” Peters said. “These people literally had nothing but were working so hard with hope and diligence to better their situations. They were so inspiring.”

Peters believes her study abroad experiences have affected her both academically and personally. She completed her sustainability minor capstone with her project in Dangriga and presented her work in Belize and Mozambique at the American Society for Engineering Management Conference.

“I met one of my best friends in Belize and made many others on both trips to that country,” Peters said. “I still keep in touch with a few friends I met in Italy, and the Mozambique group does ‘family outings.’”

Peters is currently a mentor for UA international students. After she graduates, Peters plans on going to graduate school and then into the Peace Corps.

Her advice to all students considering studying abroad is, “Embrace the opportunity to be able to gain a different perspective, and enjoy every minute of it, even when you just want a cheeseburger. You literally have nothing to lose.”

Courtesy Photo Megan Peters has studied abroad four times in the past three years.

After Peters graduates she plans on joining the Peace Corps.

Page 6

The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

Comics Pearls Before Swine

Dilbert

Calvin and Hobbes

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

Sudoku Stephan Pastis

Scott Adams

Bill Watterson

© 2011 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.

Crossword

Doonesbury

Non Sequitur

Garry Trudeau

Wiley Miller

By Dan Schoenholz

The Argyle Sweater

Scott Hilburn

ACROSS 1 Harebrained prank 6 Casino freebie 10 Slow-cooked entrée 14 End of a series 15 Away from the breeze 16 The gallbladder is shaped like one 17 Noted storyteller 18 Circulate, as library books 19 Like some borrowed library books 20 Blast cause 21 Good name for a Gateway City gun dealer?

24 Slugging pct., e.g.

25 Be ready (for) 26 Good name for a Windy City nudist festival?

31 Air traffic control device 32 Thing 33 “Holy Toledo!”

36 The Bard’s river 37 Dig (into) 39 Andean capital 40 Actress Harris of “thirtysomething” 41 Stink 42 World Series game 43 Good name for a Motor City butcher

shop?

46 Certifiable 49 Civil disturbance 50 Good name for an Empire City comedy club?

53 Geologic time frame 56 Colorless 57 Fall from above 58 Swinelike beast 60 Just sitting around 61 Hamburg’s river 62 Are 63 Didn’t let out of one’s sight 64 They’re below average 65 Floors DOWN 1 Winter wear 2 “You said it, sister!”

3 Crop threat 4 It might need a boost 5 Andre 3000, for one 6 Beckon 7 Pats on pancakes, maybe 8 Array of choices 9 Dog’s breeding history 10 Impact sounds 11 Result of a sad story?

12 Invitation on a fictional cake 13 Take forcibly

22 Place for a price 23 Appear to be 24 Read quickly 26 Pull an all-nighter, maybe 27 Contain 28 One put on a pedestal 29 Sitcom noncom 30 Off-rd. conveyance 33 User-edited site 34 Broken mirror, say 35 Serious hostilities 37 Dissuaded 38 Racket or rocket extension 39 Booty 41 Gambling town on I-80 42 Schemed 43 Convertible sofa 44 Castle and Cara 45 “Whether __ nobler ...”: Hamlet 46 Many a low-budget film 47 Totally square 48 Low, moist area 51 Leafy veggie 52 Correspond 53 Many a high-budget film 54 Game of world domination 55 Skills 59 Cut from the staff

Sports Editor: Kristen Coppola Assistant Sports Editor: Haley Markle Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012

The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

Page 7

CLUB SPORT

UA Students Get Classy on the Dance Floor

Cameron McCauley Staff Writer

day nights as well as the competition class that practices Mondays from 7-9 p.m.

If you read this article’s headline and it interested you be-

McKenna Gallagher Staff Photographer

cause you can do the Gangnam Style, take your talents elsewhere.

Ballroom Dancing is for the sophisticated mind, with technical movements that take quality time to learn and years to master.

With the multiple combinations of dances the Ballroom Dancing Club works on every week, it makes it easy to tell that being on a dance floor is not all fun and games.

The ballroom dancing team started in 2009, and has since blossomed to 35 members who participate on a regular basis. There are two different components of the club that meets up, the social class that practices Thurs-

B e i ng social is a key component to ballroom dancing. While the girl members are in the majority as of now, president Laurelyn Ramoly said that the gender ratio continues to improve for the club.

“We are actually relatively close this year in the number with the girls and guys. There are still a few more girls. It is not really heavily lopsided right now,” Ramoly said.

A ballroom dancing class and club would probably get men of a different era on their feet, but today the chivalry of a nice dance has worn off.

Now, ‘dancing’ doesn’t seem to be real dancing at all. But one thing’s for sure, dancing is a lifelong skill that simply leaves a good impression on people, no matter how old fashioned it may seem to this generation.

The types of dances the club works on are some of the fare you would see on Dancing with the Stars.

Slow dances like the waltz, foxtrot and

tango are executed, as well as the faster rhythm dances such as the swing, cha cha and rumba.

The competition team has been hard at work, preparing for an event this weekend in Columbus, Ohio, which is one of the biggest competitions in the United States.

This will mark the first year the club has made a trip like this for performance, and they hope to get a chance to compete again next semester.

“In Columbus we are competing in the International Latin category, which is the cha cha, rumba and jive, and also in the international standard, which will be the waltz, quickstep and tango,” Ramoly said.

The team is sending 10 members to Columbus to participate, and they have been working on perfecting their moves for the big

stage.

Even though t h e com-

pet i t i o n t e a m is taking care of business on the big stage, the social class is just as important to the club’s overall makeup. The club has been able to use it’s talents to give back to the Northwest Arkansas community.

T h e y participated in

Dancing with the Stars of Northwest Arkansas, which benefitted the building of the new NWA Childrens Museum. The club also held a Day of Dance event, benefitting health awareness at Washington R e -

g i o n a l Medical Center.

Dues for the club are $40 for the social class and $75 for the competitive team, with the team having to pay a little out of pocket for costumes and travel.

The team has to pay out of pocket for the 14 hour trip to Columbus, but they have done fundraising to help cover costs. They held a Masquerade event a few weeks ago to support their causes.

Being able to participate in these events is all part of the fun that comes with ballroom dancing. There is always a party when there is dancing, which may be the reason to join the club in the first place.

“It is a really good opportunity to meet a lot of people, to make good friends and be able to learn a lifelong skill.

So that’s why we think a lot of people join,” Ramoly said.

What’s stopping you from trying something fresh that challenges the mind and body? Ballroom dancing has all the answers you need.

FOOTBALL

Statue to Honor Former Coach to Be Dedicated Prior to LSU Game

Staff Report

A statue honoring Frank Broyles, former UA head football coach and athletic director, will be dedicated Friday, Nov. 23, at 10 a.m. before kickoff of the football game against LSU. Broyles worked at the UA as football coach or athletic director for 50 years. Since stepping down from his position on Dec. 31, 2007, Broyles has worked with the Razorback Foundation as Athletic Director Emeritus.

“For more than 50 years, Coach Broyles made numerous significant contributions as a coach and as an athletic administrator,” said Jeff Long, vice chancellor and director of athletics.

“It is fitting that soon a statue in front of the Broyles Athletic Center will further serve as a permanent tribute to the

immeasurable impact Coach Broyles has had on the Razorback program, our university, our state and the world of intercollegiate athletics,” Long added.

As the head coach at Arkansas, Broyles had a record of 144-58-5 in 19 seasons and was named the Southwest Conference coach of the year six times.

Under Broyles, the Razorbacks won seven SWC titles.

His teams earned 10 bowl bids and won the school’s only national championship in 1964.

While Broyles was the men’s athletic director, the program won 43 national titles, 57 SWC championships, 48 Southeastern Conference championships and earned 22 football bowl bids.

Broyles was a member of the inaugural class of the UA Sports Hall of Honor and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Photo Courtesy of Athletic Media Relations

COMMENTARY

Razorback Nation Has Plenty to be Thankful For

Tamzen Tumlison Staff Writer As the semester winds down and Thanksgiving waits just around the corner, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of what we are, and should be, thankful for in this year of Razorback sports.

Most fans probably think that surely there isn’t much to be thankful for, given a fairly lousy football season. But they should start looking at the bigger picture of Razorback Nation.

First, I am thankful for the wins we have had in our football season this year. We knew that a poor season would likely follow the firing of Petrino, whether we wanted to admit it or not.

But the wins have reminded us that, hey, at least we aren’t Auburn, the team that went from National Championship to utter catastrophe upon the departure of Cam Newton and later Gus Malzahn. The Razorbacks have

pulled out a few Southeastern Conference wins, even if they were against Auburn and Kentucky.

Our team, while not as good as it once was, is in a state of limbo -- they aren’t to the rebuilding phase until the Hogs find a new head coach -- and we have to be thankful that they didn’t just give up on the season altogether.

I am also thankful for both cross country teams. Arkansas has consistently brought in and produced quality runners, and that shows in the SEC title clinched by the men’s team, and the women’s win at the NCAA regional meet.

Not only that, but both teams will be representing Ar-

kansas in the NCAA national meet. There is a chance that the Razorbacks could do very well in the meet Saturday.

Another thing I am thankful for is the start of new sports seasons. Basketball is off to a good start, and both teams will set off to invitationals within the month.

Not to mention, track and field and gymnastics will be starting promptly upon everyone’s return to campus in January.

Then, of course, there is the swimming and diving team, who compete this week in an invitational in Houston.

Although the swimmers and divers have been competing for a month now, their season

won’t really pick up until the spring semester.

Finally, I’m thankful for our plethora of club and intramural sports. It doesn’t matter if you like to watch sports, play sports, participate in obscure events or just read about what the UA has to offer, everyone has an opportunity to be included.

I have spent many consecutive nights consumed with sports -- playing intramural volleyball, cheering for our soccer team, reading about all the scores from a Saturday’s worth of football and the list goes on.

Why should I not be thankful for that? Yes, I am thankful also for the educa-

tion I am receiving, the food I get to eat, the car I drive, the clothes I wear and everything that is already on our minds at this time every year.

But, and this may seem frivolous, it is important to be thankful for the little things too, even something as little as your sports teams doing well or having the opportunity to go to all the Hog games throughout the year for $85.

We’ve got it good, Hogs.

We’ve got it good.

Liz Beadle is a staff writer for The Arkansas Traveler.

Her column appears every other Wednesday. Follow the sports section on Twitter @ UATravSports.

Page 8

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 The Arkansas Traveler Newspaper

Young Named to Preseason Academic List

COMMENTARY

The Twists and Turns of SEC Football in 2012

Haley Markle Asst. Sports Editor

Logan Webster Staff Photographer Sophomore guard BJ Young has been named to the John R. Wooden Award preseason top 50 list by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, which is presented to the nation’s best player who also strives to make progress earning their degree. Young was previously named a first-team All-SEC, the No. 1 player in the SEC by Sports Illustrated and the No. 28 player in college basketball by CBS.

Aside from the Razorbacks’ bad season, Southeastern Conference football has been really fun this season. And, of course, by fun, I mean mind-blowing and frustrating.

Before the season started, most fans thought Alabama and LSU would be fighting for the right to represent the SEC in the National Championship game and everyone else would be fighting for third.

In the first week, three SEC teams lost. Two of the losses were not a surprise.

Sorry Vanderbilt and Kentucky, but most college football fans are pretty accustomed to you losing. But by most accounts, at least at the time, Auburn should have beaten Clemson.

Nobody expected Auburn to be a world beater this season, but they should have been able to beat those ACC Tigers.

Of course, all Razorback fans are well aware what happened in the second week, but for the rest of the conference, it was really business as usual, as was the third week..

By the fourth week of the season, most fans were pretty

sure both Arkansas and Auburn were awful. Then LSU barely beat Auburn, 12-10.

Was LSU overrated or was Auburn back on track?

In week six, Arkansas beat Auburn 24-7, Florida beat LSU 14-6 and South Carolina beat Georgia 35-7. So Auburn was the worst team in the league, Florida was back, LSU really was overrated and South Carolina was really good.

At least that’s what everyone thought until the next weekend. That’s when LSU beat South Carolina 23-21.

So LSU just had a couple of bad weeks, right? Or South Carolina was just really overrated? That means Georgia must have been overrated too.

This reasoning made even more sense after week eight when Florida defeated South Carolina 44-11 and LSU defeated Texas A&M, who had somewhat quietly become one of the better teams in the conference.

Going into week nine, the only two undefeated teams were Alabama and Mississippi State (really, it was Mississippi State). Then the Tide defeated the Bulldogs 38-7.

So Alabama had to be awesome to beat another undefeated team that badly.

The same week Georgia made the SEC East even more confusing by beating Florida 17-9. Maybe Florida wasn’t really back. Or maybe Georgia just played a couple of bad games earlier in the season.

In week 10, Alabama needed a late-game comeback to defeat LSU 21-17.

Also, remember Texas A&M? Well, they beat that previously undefeated Mississippi State team 38-13.

This weekend, the Aggies did something even more impressive. Texas A&M beat No. 1 Alabama 29-24. Despite the loss, all Alabama has to do to make it to the SEC championship game is beat Auburn.

Georgia defeated Auburn 38-0 to earn the right to represent the east in the SEC championship game.

After Alabama’s loss to A&M, it looks like the SEC will not have an opportunity to play for a seventh-consecutive national title.

Coaches and players are always saying that every week in the SEC is a battle.

This has never been more true than it has this season.

The SEC has essentially beaten itself this season.

Now, the real question is: Is the SEC as a whole overrated?

Are the teams in the conference able to beat up on each other because they are all bad and inconsistent? Or is it because they are all just that good?

I like to think it is the latter. I guess we will find out in the final weeks of the season when teams like Florida and South Carolina play their instate rivals Florida State and Clemson, and when bowl season rolls around.

Haley Markle is the assistant sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears weekly. Follow the sports section on Twitter @UATravSports.

SWIMMING

Razorbacks Headed to Houston Eric Harris Staff Writer

The Arkansas swimming and diving team is heading into their second road test as they travel to Houston for the Phil Hansel Invitational.

Last month, Arkansas followed up a loss to Georgia with a dominant performance in their meet against Missouri, Kentucky and Southern Illinois and beat each team by scores of 197-103, 212-88 and 244-56, respectively.

The Razorbacks racked up 10 wins and were led by Nina Drolc, who played a part in two winning relay teams, the 400-yard freestyle and was the anchor leg for the 200-yard IM. Drolc, the freshman from Velenje, Slovenia, also won

the 100 yard freestyle for the Razorbacks.

The Razorbacks will look to build on that performance this week.

They will face 14 other schools from the Atlantic Sun Conference and multiple teams from the Mountain West Conference, Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA. All of the teams the Razorbacks will be facing have picked up a win this season.

Clemson, however is coming off a loss to South Carolina and Florida last weekend.

Wyoming brings a 2-0 record into the event and are one of only two undefeated teams.

They are led by junior Morgan Hartigan, who is a talented all-around swimmer, but mostly swims either free-

style or butterfly.

The Hogs will face the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University for the second time this season. Both teams competed in the Razorback Relays at the beginning of the season.

The Razorbacks dominated that meet, finishing with 526 points while SMU finished with just 300.

Arkansas will also face two Southeastern Conference foes, No. 17 LSU and No. 4 Texas A&M. LSU is 4-1 on the season with wins over Alabama, Tulane, NC State and Vanderbilt.

They are led by junior Torrey Bussey, who swims breaststroke and individual medley, and sophomore Amber Carter.

Bussey has two team-bests in the 100- and 200-yard

breaststroke, while Carter has the team-bests in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.

Texas A&M comes into the meet with the strongest team and are ranked fourth in the nation.

The Texas A&M Aggies also topped SMU this season with a score of 153-103 and beat the North Carolina Tar Heels and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Other top teams in the relays are New Mexico, New Mexico State, Tulane, Idaho and Florida Gulf Coast.

All of the previously mentioned teams have won at least two matches on the season.

Other teams in the meet that have struggled this season include Rice, Air Force and Houston.

These teams, along with Clemson, are all .500 or below.

Kris Johnson Staff Photographer The Razorbacks lost to Georgia earlier this season, but look to continue recent success when they cmpete in the Phil Hansel Invitational later this week.

@UATravSports