Jan. 23, 2012

Hogs Beat Wolverines 66-64 page 7

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Vol. 106, NO. 58 UATRAV.COM

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

UA OCCUPY PRESENCE CONTINUES IN FAYETTEVILLE

Members of the public gather in front of the John Paul Hammerschmidt federal building for Occupy the Courts Friday, Jan. 20

by JACK SUNTRUP Staff Writer

As winter blew into Northwest Arkansas, Fayetteville city officials blew out Occupy Fayetteville’s small encampment in the town square. Although many Occupy camps across the country faced eviction, for the most devout members of the Occupy movement, evictions were only a minor setback.

A strong believer in the Occupy movement, UA student Abel Tomlinson carried the hot-button issue of corporate personhood all the way to the Occupy State Convention in Little Rock. “[Corporate personhood is] an issue on top of the agenda of Occupy Wall Street,” he said. “I personally feel it’s the most important issue.”

The history of the judiciary branch granting

corporations constitutional rights dates back centuries, Tomlinson said. Citizens United, the most recent case of corporate personhood, has been at the forefront of many national debates.

“The courts were the scene of the crime,” he said. “It’s an issue that wasn’t voted on by the people, it wasn’t voted on by Congress, it was done by the Supreme Court, who is appointed.”

Grant Hodges, president of UA College Republicans, agreed with some of the Supreme Court’s rulings giving certain rights to corporations, including the 1886 Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific Railroad case applying the 14th amendment to corporations.

“The precedent for calling corporations people isn’t new, but this campaign finance issue is,” Hodges said.

ous: m a F st Almo

Alumna Returns

by EMILY JONES Staff Writer

A UA opera alumna performed Sunday at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in an event sponsored by the John Harrison Opera Foundation.

It was the first homecoming performance for Sarah Mesko, who received her bachelor’s degree in music from the UA. “We were very excited to have [Mesko],” said Christopher Lacy, president of the board of directors for the John Harrison Opera Foundation. “She is a young singer on the verge of an international career.”

Aurelien Boccard, Mesko’s pianist, has a master’s degree in music from the UA. Boccard has volunteered with the opera foundation for years.

“He is not a background performer — he knows what he’s doing,” Lacy said.

The performance was a fundraiser for the Fayetteville-based opera foundation. The proceeds will go toward scholarships for fouryear opera students as well as funding for future opera performances in Fayetteville, Lacy said.

The recital was minimal compared to large opera performances, which can cost hundreds KRIS JOHNSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER of thousands of dollars, Lacy said.

Shortly before the show, Lacy and other members of the board of directors decided to The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that the govfill the house by offering tickets “at prices that ernment should play no role in restricting a corstudents could afford.” poration’s political speech gave birth to a flood of This was the first time the John Harrison corporate influence in the 2010 mid-term elecOpera Foundation officials used the Stella tions. This influence arrived in the form of “SuBoyle Smith Concert Hall for a live perforper-PACS,” and has already affected the ongoing mance, said Olivia Clawson, board member presidential primaries. for the foundation.

For example, after strong debate performanc“Since this is an alumni concert, we optes in late November, former Speaker of the House ed to do it at Stella Boyle Smith concert hall Newt Gingrich surged to 33 percent in an Iowa so we could include more seating,” Clawson poll, outpacing former Governor Mitt Romney. said. The concert hall, which seats more than After the surge, a pro-Romney Super-PAC un200 people, was nearly half-booked prior to loaded $2.7 million on negative advertising in the the show. state, according to Real Clear Politics.

Lacy said that the UA has offered the conAs the money flooded in, Gingrich’s poll cert hall to the John Harrison Opera Foundation for upcoming performances. see CAMPAIGN on page 2 The next opera recital is planned for April.

Bud Walton Packs a Full House

LOGAN WEBSTER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Bud Walton Arena held a season-high 19,050 students and fans as the hogs beat the Michigan Wolverines maintaining the perfect 14-0 record at home this season.

News

In This Issue:

News

Briefly Speaking A list of the weeks events including a study abroad meeting and designing a business plan.

Page 2

Features

Students Enter NASA Contest

UA Student on Teen Vogue Website

Apparel Studies student UA students entering a Brittany Arroyos is becoming contest that could lead to a popular figure in the world stationing people on the of fashion blogging. moon.

Page 3

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012 VOL. 106, NO. 58 8 PAGES UATRAV.COM

Features

Primaries, Caucuses and Candidates A rundown on the nomination selection this election season.

Page 5

Opinion

Sports

Gym’Backs Celebrate Decade

Interactive Textbook The New Bookstore?

Page 8

Are e-readers and tablets the next big thing for college students? Why e-textbooks a good idea for college students.

Arkansas gymnastics celebrates its 10th anniversary with a record-setting win.

Page 4

Page 5

WEATHER FORECAST

TODAY 56°

TUESDAY 60°

WEDNESDAY 53°

THURSDAY 54°

FRIDAY 56°

SATURDAY 52°

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NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

PAGE 2

BRIEFLY SPEAKING: Jan. 23

UA Community Development in Belize Summer 2012 Information Session

Stop by WCOB 326 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. to learn about the Community Development in Belize summer program. This unique program is an international service learning project for six credit hours in Belize during Summer Session one. Projects are currently being planned for Business, Engineering, Agriculture, Literacy and Health Professions, and all projects will be open to students of all majors. Food will be served.

ABOUT THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER The Arkansas Traveler, the student newspaper of the University of Arkansas, is published every day 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.

Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship Info Meeting

Come find out more about this study abroad scholarship for students and get tips on perfecting an application. This scholarship is open to undergraduates who are United States citizens, receiving a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application or during the term of study abroad, and participating in a study abroad program that is no less than four weeks. Meeting will take place in JB Hunt 207 from 3 to 4 p.m.

Jan. 24

Writing A Business Plan & Designing A Business Model

CONTACT

This in-depth seminar discusses the business planning process in detail. Participants will learn about the importance of planning and the elements that go into a good plan. Registration is required. The seminar will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. in Donald W. Reynolds Center room 202.

119 Kimpel Hall University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701

Jan. 25

Main: 479.575.3406 Fax: 479.575.3306 traveler@uark.edu

2012 Business Forecast Luncheon

The Center for Business and Economic Research is hosting the 18th annual Business Forecast Luncheon at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers. The event will be moderated by Robert Hopkins from the Little Rock branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Luncheon will take place from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Poetry Slam with Bobby LeFebre

Poetry Slam with Bobby LeFebre in RZ’s from 7 to 9 p.m. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by University Programs Coffeehouse Committee.

Jan. 26

UA Health Plan Weight Management Information Fair

Being overweight can not only affect how you look and feel about yourself but can ultimately lead to illness. To help attain or maintain a healthy weight, the University of Arkansas Health Plan is adding nutritional counseling for all members and weight management options for those who qualify. To learn more, an informational fair will take place from 9:30 to noon in the Union Ballroom.

Location Based Services

Location based services are a fast growing form of mobile social media and can be a great tool for marketing businesses with a physical location. This course will cover what LBSs are, how they work, why they are important, the differences between the major LBS tools, and strategies and tactics to use them effectively. Registration is required. The course will take place in the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce from 11 to 1 p.m.

Jan. 27 Microsoft Access 2010 Basics

This instructor-led course covers the basic functions and features of Access 2010. After an introduction to database concepts and the Access environment, students will learn how to design and create databases. Students will then learn to create queries, forms, and reports. Course will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the UA Global Campus in downtown Fayetteville.

Ron Zimmer Lecture on Effect of Closing Schools

Ron Zimmer, associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University, will give a lecture titled “Closing Schools in a Shrinking District: Do Student Outcomes Depend on Which Schools are Closed?” in the UA Graduate Education buidling, room 343 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Holcombe Geography Series Palestine

Holcombe International Living Learning Community Ramz Shalbak, an international student from Palestine, will share her culture and perspective on peace. There will be dancing and food. The program will take place in Holcombe Hall from 5 to 6 p.m.

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STAFF

BEN FLOWERS PHOTO EDITOR

UA Alumna Sarah Mesko performed at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. Story on page 1.

CAMPAIGN from page 1 numbers plummeted and he finished fourth place in the caucuses.

Gingrich regained his footing after a pro-Gingrich Super-PAC spent $1.6 million in South Carolina, according the the Associated Press. Buoyed by a pair of strong debate performances, he won the primary.

“I personally despise SuperPACS,” Hodges said. “I hate how by and large they don’t have to disclose donors. I think most people agree that you should have to disclose the people that are donating money.”

Though most donors go undisclosed until after elections, billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s $5 million donation to a proGingrich Super-PAC was made public.

It’s also important to note that some conservatives feel money should equal free speech, Hodges said.

However, “I’m writing about how terrible it is that one person can single-handedly finance a presidential campaign,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s healthy for democracy when one person has the ability to basically drown out everyone else’s voice in an election.”

Just as both major political parties plan on increasing record amounts of money this year, 80 percent of Republicans, Democrats and

independents opposed unlimited campaign contributions, according to a 2010 ABC News-Washington Post poll.

“Citizens understand how money can corrupt elections,” Tomlinson said. “It’s a really unifying issue that cuts across party lines.”

“This movement is gaining steam and spreading like wildfire,” Tomlinson said.

Attesting to Tomlinson’s statement, dozens of cities, colleges, unions and political organizations have passed Move to Amend’s resolution denouncing corporate personhood, according to the organization’s website.

While Hodges wants restrictions on campaign contributions, he does not support Move to Amend’s resolution.

“I might support limiting [corporation’s] rights from contributing to campaigns, but I wouldn’t support taking away all their rights,” he said.

The resolution states that “privileges” awarded to “artificial entities” by government should not be mixed up with inherent, inalienable rights.

“Once we have multiple cities on board, then we would try to pass a state resolution.

Once we have states and cities that pass it, the ultimate goal is to amend the U.S. constitution,” Tomlinson said.

“We want to amend the constitution to say that natural persons, only living, breathing humans like you and I deserve constitutional rights.”

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EDITORIAL SABA NASEEM

ZACH TURNER

Editor -in-Chief 575-8455 traveler@uark.edu

Asst. Sports Editor

CHAD WOODARD

News Editor 575-3226 travnews@uark.edu

MATTIE QUINN

Managing Editor travmgr@uark.edu

BRITTANY NIMS

LAUREN LEATHERBY

Asst. News Editor

Features Editor 575-7540 travlife@uark.edu

EMILY RHODES

KELSI FORD

BEN FLOWERS

Opinion Editor

Asst. Features Editor

Photo Editor

JIMMY CARTER

SHELBY GILL

Sports Editor 575-7051 travsprt@uark.edu

Special Projects Editor

MEGAN HUCKABY Multimedia Editor

ADVERTISING & DESIGN CANNON MCNAIR

MICY LIU

Advertising Director 575-3839 travad1@uark.edu

Campus Account Executive 575-7594 travad4@uark.edu

JAIME HOLLAND

AARON TAN

Account Executive 575-3899 travad2@uark.edu

Campus Account Executive 575-7594 travad4@uark.edu

ZACHARY FRY

ANDY KOUCKY

Account Executive 575-8714 travad3@uark.edu

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ERIK NORTHFELL

Lead Designer/ Web Developer

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Graphic Designer

News Designer

DYLAN CRAIG

SEAN MORRISON Sports Designer

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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 575.8455 or at traveler@uark.edu.

CAMPUS NUMBERS NEED EMERGENCY HELP? CALL UAPD 575-2222

The women and men of the University of Arkansas Police Department, in partnership with the community, are committed to protecting the future of Arkansas by promoting a safe and secure environment.

HAVE A TICKET? CALL 575-7275 TO RESOLVE IT

The Transit and Parking office handles parking permits and passes and transit for students, including bus routes and GoLoco Ride Sharing. Students with parking violations can contact the office to appeal their citation.

NEED A RIDE AT NIGHT? CALL 575 - 7233

Otherwise known as 575-SAFE, the mission of the Safe Ride program is to provide students with a safe means of transportation from any uncomfortable or inconvenient situation. Safe Ride brings you home safely.

NEED TICKETS? CALL 1-800-982-4647 Members of the public gather in front of the John Paul Hammerschmidt federal building for Occupy the Courts Friday, Jan. 20

KRIS JOHNSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Don’t forget to call early and reserve your student football tickets for the 2010-2011 season. The ticket office is located on Razorback Road next to Baum Stadium.

PAGE 3

NEWS

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

Special Traveler Section

RESEARCH UA Students Design Robot for NASA Contest

by CHVEN MITCHELL Staff Writer

UA students will compete in NASA’s 2012 Lunabotic Mining competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to create a project that could lead to astronauts back to the moon.

The project could “potentially lead to the possibility of stationing people on the moon for extended periods of time or having the moon act as an outpost for missions to further distant planets,” said UA professor Scott Smith.

The idea for the competition is for students to design and construct a Lunabot that can mine and deposit moon soil within 10 minutes, according to NASA’s website.

The Lunabot must also be controlled via remote control and comply with specific size and weight limits.

“A project like this is important to NASA because it will allow them to mine materials, for example oxygen, in ‘moon dirt’ and use it in turn as fuel,” Smith said. “This may allow them to produce breathable air and provide an opportunity to erect a colony on the moon.”

Smith will lead a team of six students: electrical engineering undergraduates John Monkus and Ryan May, undergraduate business majors Eric Boumgardner and Nathan Hill and electrical engineering graduate students Brett Sparkman and Chris Farnell.

“Competing against several universities nationwide and internationally will allow the UA to become more well-known,” Smith said.

Fashioned as an electrical engineering senior design project, Smith and his team of students are using the Lunabot prototype to enter NASA’s design competition.

“This type of assignment is very good for the future careers of the students,” Smith said. “It gives them good group collaboration and provides project experience from the conception phase all the way to building a prototype and the testing phase.”

The Lunabot NASA sends might ultimately be a hybrid of design entries, Smith said.

“The plan that NASA has for the competition is to get a flow of ideas,” Monkus stated. “It’s

about group concepts on figuring what would be some of the best ways to mine regolith on the moon and mine it autonomously.”

The group’s mission is to make the Lunabot as mechanically simple as possible, Smith said.

“We want to design it in such a way that should any problem arise, it could be fixed easily,” he said.

“I’ve always been interested in robots, as a result of science fiction,” Monkus said. “To have a senior design project on robotics is very interesting and a lot of fun.”

These students do find this project to be entertaining, but also educational.

“This project is great because a lot of the skills that we gain from building this robot translate to the civillian sector,” Farnell said.

Graduate student Brett Sparkman particpated in the event last year and will compete again this year.

“I participated last year as well, and for me it was amazing going through the design process and seeing something start as a pile of metal and evolve into a functioning robot doing exactly what it is supposed to do,” Sparkman said. “Seeing it in action is amazing.”

The students also enjoy the technical aspects of the competition.

“What I’m really excited about is building a small part of the Lunabot’s motor control board to make it highly efficient and provide it with many options to allow it to be easily controllable,” Farnell said.

Another student in the group likes that the competition incorporates different fields in engineering.

“One of the reasons I wanted to join this project is that you’re not exclusively using the concepts of electrical engineering. We are also incorporating aspects of mechanical engineering,” May said.

Business majors Boumgardner and Hill will serve as fundraisers and finance coordinators for the project’s engineers.

“I really enjoy and relish the challenge,” Boumgardner said.

An increased amount of funding has sparked one student’s interest.

“I came on board because unlike last year, this year the group did not get any funding,” Hill said. “I wanted to do my part to ensure that these guys get the chance to build something from a pile of rubble that can eventually walk on the moon. That’s what school is suppose to be about,” Hill said. “It’s suppose to provide you with opportunities to do projects like these, and not having the money in my opinion is wrong.”

Excited by the project’s possibilities Hill went on to say, “we’ve gotten community on board and Engineering Department officials are assisting us in obtaining some more funding.”

With the competition dates posted towards the end of May, Professor Smith hopes to have the Lunabot completed and read for testing by March to allow for extensive testing to achieve the best design.

“If we do well, the University of Arkansas will garner positive commendations,” Smith said.

Keep Calm and Carry On

MADDIE LOGAN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

At the University of Arkansas Research Center, Professor Alan Mantooth explains how Smart Grid works.

They are currently working on shock absorbers for the grid that helps energy flow better when certain malfunctions happen.

OPINION THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

PAGE 4

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

Scan here to go to the Opinion section on uatrav.com

EDITOR: SABA NASEEM MANAGING EDITOR: MATTIE QUINN

FROM THE BOARD

Is Campus Construction Driving New Hogs Away?

It’s nothing new that the University has been adding on, ripping down and placing a mountain of construction across campus, but has the line been crossed for having too much production?

With the most recent project taking away a student parking lot on campus, the construction now extends from Old Main to Razorback road, prompting us to ask whether the hundreds of projects are helping or hurting campus?

While most of us have become accustomed to weaving our way through the mess of fences, giant holes in the ground and “do not enter” signs, is the mass of change affecting the number of potential Arkansas students? For high school juniors and seniors trying to decide on where to attend their college years, is the campus construction turning heads? Though we might know what the University of Arkansas looked like in it’s prime, our potentials won’t. While we hope that’s not the case, our campus may be driving away tuition-paying students. If we rely on photo boards and plans to get us through the next few years of constant construction, can we really expect students to take as much interest?

Since the campus construction began, we now have 11 current construction projects on campus, with everything from dorm building restorations to the more obvious science-engineering auditorium and Pi Beta Phi gate projects.

In the grand scheme of things, 11 projects doesn’t sound like too much work, but when it’s squashed into a campus with thousands of students it becomes a much larger problem. Our campus, right now, seems like one large construction site with a few buildings still standing, and while we can look forward to the finished product, most 17-and-18 year olds aren’t too concerned with projected finish dates – they want to go somewhere that looks good and is a great place to be.

Though we have a large freshman class coming in the fall 2012 semester, we as a campus have to consider whether these projects will eventually drive away students looking for a place to call home. Many students are already sick of taking detours to get anywhere on campus, and with more projects going up each week, we may be getting overrun with construction, posing not only aesthetic issues, but also space issues. If you haven’t noticed, classes have become more cramped, and it’s not just because of the influx of students last semester. With less buildings and auditoriums available as we renovate and rebuild, we can’t ignore the fact that our attendance numbers are growing while our space numbers decline.

The solution is simple – take a break from adding more projects until the current ones are completed. We need to show that while we are constantly trying to advance and expand our school, we still care for our current space. You wouldn’t go and buy a brand new car just because you got a raise at your job, we shouldn’t tear everything down on campus just because we can rebuild it.

To make campus a great place to be for both the students who are currently here, and new students considering Arkansas on their application list, maybe we need to finish what we’ve started before adding any more fences.

It’s an easy solution that needs to happen in order to bring more Razorbacks into our University of Arkansas family and make the campus an enjoyable place.

Traveler Quote of the Day

HEBRON CHESTER STAFF CARTOONIST

Interactive Textbook - The New Student Bookstore?

by EMILY RHODES Opinion Editor

Over the weekend, Apple came out with an interactive textbook program for the iPad. As I read the headline in the news, I immediately felt my heart pound – it was one more reason to convince myself to go out and buy one, even though I knew it was definitely not a necessity. Though, if e-textbooks were involved, maybe, just maybe, the $500 price tag would be worth it.

As I kept reading, I was rather unpleasantly surprised.

The e-textbook program was for high school students — because that makes sense.

Wouldn’t making their interactive textbooks available for college students be a much more lucrative market? Sure, high schools are advancing their technology, but I can’t imagine a high school using, and more importantly trusting high school students with,

EDITORIAL EDITOR Saba Naseem MANAGING EDITOR Mattie Quinn OPINION EDITOR Emily Rhodes 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.

of them aren’t in the $10 price range. Nook offers up to 60 percent savings on e-textbooks, and Apple projected that their textbooks would be under $15 each, making the cost nothing to complain about. While the initial cost of the tablet or ereader can empty your wallet, in the long run saving the hundreds of dollars each semester makes it a good student buy.

And while you’re saving the money on your books, why not cut out having to deal with the hassle of the infamous “student book buy-back,” where 50 percent of the cost is guaranteed back but somehow it always ends up being pennies on the dollar.

As e-textbooks have grown in popularity over the past year, users now have the ability to highlight, bookmark and add notes to their textbooks.

Let’s be honest, you really can’t beat that. Buying into the ereader notion would mean no more grimy, used books complete with rips, tears and stains.

No more lugging heavy books to class each day. Just a clean, digital slate to read, edit and study – it’s a student dream come true.

While the Apple technology isn’t there for college text yet, hopefully soon textbooks we can use will be added to their interactive program, giving more incentive for students to shell out the one time cost and save for the rest of their college career. While e-textbooks aren’t where they need to be to completely cater to college student needs right now, over the next couple of months you may start to see more incentives to turn from the bookstore to the e-reader for an easy, cheap and organized way to learn. It’s time to turn to the digital age.

Emily Rhodes is the opinion editor for the Traveler. She is a journalism major.

Her column appears every other Monday.

GOP Primary: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint Rocket Science

“[Corporate personhood is] an issue on top of the agenda of Occupy Wall Street,” he said. “I personally feel it’s the most important issue.”

-UA Student, Abel Tomlinson, “UA Occupy Presence Continues in Fayetteville,” page one

brand new iPads. If they were to open up the market to college students, however, the campus bookstore might have just a little more competition.

This sparked a question in my mind – are e-textbooks really the future, and should we buy into the idea that digital text could be just as useful as physical books? Let’s face it – for the most part we are all technology-hungry people, looking for the next shiny, new item that allows us to compartmentalize and organize our lives into an even smaller, more lightweight space.

Though you might not have given in to buying an ereader yet, simply because you just can’t bring yourself to spend the few hundred dollars when there are perfectly good campus and public libraries in town, now that college textbooks are becoming more available, this could change our outlooks completely. Textbooks can range from $10 to $150, and let’s face it – most

by JOE KIEKLAK

Traveler Columnist

After spending almost every day since last August posting on Facebook, tweeting, and retweeting in support of Jon Huntsman, you can imagine how heartbroken I was last Monday when he suspended his campaign for the 2012 presidency.

Huntsman, former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador, most recently to China under the Obama administration, was the apple of my eye in this long GOP primary race.

Others may have been crushed Thursday, as Rick Perry abandoned his campaign for the White House, and endorsed Newt Gingrich.

If you’re just now getting into the “primary season,” you’ve missed some “astounding” individuals as they’ve withdrawn from the race, such Representative Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) or former Minnesota governor, Tim

Pawlenty.

If you don’t know much about the current race, many are criticizing the long “primary season,” positing that it is creating rifts in the GOP, or displaying Republican weakness as a whole. Also, some vehemently believe that this “primary season” has been a waste, as there are no strong Republican candidates in the limelight.

Yet, one must take a closer look at this primary season.

First, what everyone needs to remember about the race is that “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Yes, this “golden rule” has been empirically proven to yield strong candidates.

After being tried multiple times by members of their party, Republican nominees will have already withstood tough pressure needed to stand a chance against an incumbent in the November general election. Proven already in the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus, negative advertisements can kill a candidate.

After PACs supporting Mitt Romney released millions of dollars in negative television advertising against Newt Gingrich, the former house speaker withered away from a strong showing to fourth place with just 13.3 percent of the vote, just three percent more than Gov. Perry.

Something else has been important about Iowa, too.

There was an abundance of back-and-forth speculation of who had won the race, Rick Santorum, or former Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor had the chance the make history by winning the first three caucus and primary contests, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, but it looks like Romney will have to set his sites on the presidency as GOP officials in Iowa have declared the contest had no winner.

The neck-and-neck results of its contests highlight the importance of a long primary season - Republicans haven’t made a decision.

Moreover, many posit that this signifies the crumbling of the Republican Party. The long-term advantage is that produces the strongest and most-likely candidate to defeat President Barack Obama in November.

Especially since Obama, for the most part, has had to result to vague advertisements, and released some of its first “anti-Romney” ads on Friday.

When asked if ‘dirty laundry’ coming out about current GOP candidates is a dooming curse of the long primary season, Reince Priebus, Republican Party Chairman noted

that it has no effect on the outcome of the race.

“If you look at Lee Atwater and Bob Dole, or Bush 41 and Reagan, Clinton and Obama, it’s very much part of American history,” Priebus said Wednesday. Priebus is overwhelmingly correct.

Specifically looking at the most recent election, Obama had household recognition as a candidate who won in a very long fight for the Democratic nomination. On the other hand, John McCain swiftly won in the Republican primary season.

Three years of abysmal job creation and poor macroeconomic management later (looking at you, Keystone), we know who won that general election.

Instead of dreading the lack of a definite candidate, Republicans should be thankful that this process has removed the skeletons from the candidates’ closets. Moreover, it’s clear that this process will not only provide a qualified candidate to man the White House, but one who is electable.

This process could quite clearly make this election season—the year of the elephant.

Joe Kieklak is a freshman majoring in philosophy and journalism. His column appears weekly, every Monday.

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THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

FEATURES PAGE 5

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

by CAITLYN SWAIN Staff Writer

Becoming an esteemed fashion blogger and vintage clothing guru before your 21st birthday may seem impossible. That is, unless you are Brittany Arroyos.

For nearly a year, Arroyos’ highly acclaimed blog Itty Bitty Bomb has held the number 26 spot on Teen Vogue’s Fashion Click list of Top 100 blogs. Arroyos works at Fayetteville’s Grey Dog vintage boutique and has even represented the UA as a fashion guru at collegefashionista.com. So where did this style whiz begin on the road to a highly impressive resume?

Like many of us, Arroyos dove into the college experience unsure of her major.

“I started out like every freshman. I was a biology major and then pre-med,” Arroyos said. “I just wasn’t happy, though.”

It wasn’t until Arroyos took a shot at apparel studies that she finally found her niche.

With her impending graduation in 2012, Brittany has come a long way since the uncertain days of freshman year. Her blog is a favorite among fashion enthusiasts and Teen Vogue.

“I was kind of nervous at first,” said Arroyos of her Internet fame. “A lot of the other featured bloggers used more expensive clothing in their posts.”

A self-proclaimed “creature of comfort,” Arroyos prefers the elegant charm of affordable pieces available to fashionistas of every budget.

In fact, Arroyos currently works at Grey Dog, a comely vintage boutique on College Avenue. At Grey Dog, Arroyos sells stunning antiquarian garments of many sizes, colors, styles and decades. Her favorite part of the job, however, is working for such an

by EDDIE GREGG Staff Writer

It's 2012, and that means contenders for the presidency are fighting through the early stages of the nominating process—the primaries and caucuses.

In November, one of the four current Republican candidates— Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Ron Paul—will face off against incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the general election.

Primaries and caucuses, which always coincide with a slew of debates and massive campaigning by the candidates, are two processes used in the United States to determine who will get to compete in the presidential election as the official candidate for the Democratic and Republican parties.

“This really determines what are the two choices you get to pick from [in the general election],” said Andrew Dowdle, a UA political science professor and editor of the American Review of Politics.

The process is also important because it gives voters time to get to know and compare the candidates, explained Dowdle, who specializes in the study of the presidential nomination process.

The process began with the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3 and ends with the Utah primaries on June 26.

Even though primaries and caucuses serve the same purpose— determining presidential candidates—how they reach that end is significantly different.

Whether a state uses a primary or caucus and when the events are held is determined by lawmakers and the political parties at the national level, Dowdle said.

FEATURES EDITOR: LAUREN LEATHERBY ASST. FEATURES EDITOR: KELSI FORD

outstanding boss.

“Molly [Clark, owner of Grey Dog] is so great at what she does,” Arroyos said. “She has worked under Marc Jacobs and truly has an amazing eye for fashion.”

Another perk of the vintage market is the availability and affordability of modern high fashion.

“Many of the runway trends of 2012 are inspired by the ‘20s and ‘70s, for instance,” Arroyos said. “At Grey Dog, you can find these looks without having to leave Fayetteville.”

Brittany derives inspiration from “a little bit of everything.” Though a huge fan of TV personality and upcoming designer Alexa Chung, Arroyos also appreciates the simplicity of menswear.

“I really love Bob Dylan’s style,” she said.

“What other man could pull off polka dots?”

And with the times, the styles—they are achangin.’ Arroyos describes her personal look as ever-transformative.

“My style is always evolving,” Arroyos said. “My look will be pseudo-tomboyish one day, and very feminine the next.”

So what is next for this already established fashion guru? Arroyos hopes to work in the trend forecasting field.

“I’d really like to work as a brand developer,” she said.

To all the bloggers and UA fashion gurus, Arroyos offers words of hopeful enthusiasm.

“In the beginning, I was excited to have five followers, and now I have more than four hundred,” Arroyos said. “The key is to always be comfortable with your own style.”

To learn more about Brittany and her blog, visit Ittybittybomb.com to see some of her favorite outfits, along with DIY fashion ideas and some pretty adorable photos of her cat Zeus in a fetching scarf.

ballot in some cases.

But different states have adopted different forms of primaries.

Some states—New York, for example—have closed primaries in which voters can only vote for members of the party with whom they are registered, he said.

Other states, including Arkansas, have open primaries: in an open primary, any registered voter can vote for any candidate from any party on the ballot, Dowdle said.

Most states—37 of them this election year—use primaries as their nominating process for the Presidential elections because they are less expensive and more streamlined than caucuses, according to Dowdle.

Caucuses

How caucuses work varies from state to state and party to party. Essentially, though, they are deliberative bodies in which party members go through multiples stages of debating about and voting for delegates and candidates.

“The idea is there's supposed some sort of discussion or debate,” Dowdle said.

He used the Iowa Democratic Caucus to illustrate how “convoluted” caucuses can be.

In Iowa the process begins at the precinct level—and Iowa has nearly 1,800 precincts.

In each of the precincts, caucus-goers typically meet in college dorm basements, schools, firehouses, or even private homes, he said.

There,

Brittany Arroyos, author of ittybittybomb.com, shows off an original outfit on her blog.

they go through two rounds of deliberations in which they determine which candidates to support and select delegates to participate in each of the state's 99 county conventions.

From there the process moves to the district level and the state level, where each time the number of delegates is cut down until eventually 56 delegates are chosen to participate in the Democratic National Convention, at which the party's official candidate is unveiled, he explained.

However, because Obama, the Democratic incumbent, is running for re-election, the Iowa Democratic Caucus was streamlined this year, according to the Des Moines Register.

For a more detailed and illustrated explanation of how the Iowa Caucuses work, visit the Des Moines Register's website: http:// caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/ how-to-caucus.

The First Three: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Since the general election isn't until November, some may be wondering why—or if—these first primaries and caucuses are important, especially considering the fact that the Iowa Caucuses only determine one or two percent of the delegates at either party's national

convention.

Dowdle's explanation: the first few primaries and caucuses send out signals to voters, campaign contributers, the media and political elites about which candidates are viable and which are not.

“If you do well in these first couple of contests,” he said, “You're likely to end up getting the nomination.”

Another question some people raise is this: Why do Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina go first in the process?

“They're first because is in the past they've gone first,” Dowdle said. “It's just kind of a legacy thing.”

The reasoning is also that these states are relatively small and easy to campaign in, he explained, which gives candidates with less money a better chance to compete in the nomination process.

Iowa has a population of only 3 million. California, on the other hand, is three times the size of Iowa geographically and has a population of 37 million; it would be a much more difficult place for a candidate with a smaller budget to begin campaigning, Dowdle explained.

Registering to Vote According to the county clerk's office, these are the requirements for registering to vote in Washington County: 1. Be a U.S. Citizen.

2. Have resided in Arkansas at least 31 days.

3. Be age 18 or turn 18 on or before the next election.

4. Not be a convicted felon whose sentence has not been discharged or pardoned.

5. Not be presently deemed mentally incompetent as to your ability to vote.

6. Not claim the right to vote in another county in Arkansas or another state.

Washington County voter registration forms can be downloaded at: http://www. co.washington.ar.us/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=586.

Forms may also be picked up at the county clerk's office in the county courthouse located at 280 N. College, Suite 300 Fayetteville, AR 72701.

To be able to vote in a primary or election, you must have registered at least 30 days in advance, according to the county clerk's office.

Primaries

Primaries play out very similarly to general elections, Dowdle said.

In each state voters have a designated day to stop by a polling station and cast their support for a given candidate or delegate, he said, and they may also be able to vote early or submit an absentee

COURTESY PHOTO

KRIS JOHNSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

DOWNTIME Comics, Games, & Much Much More!

PAGE 6 MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

LAUGH IT UP

SUDOKU

Q: What did one angel say to the other?

A: “Halo.”

Q: Why did the cat join the Red Cross?

A: So it could become a first-aid kit.

One grape lived for lying around in the sun. It was his “raisin d’etre.”

Difficulty:

Q: Did you ever hear about the rope joke?

A: Skip it.

Q: How can you get out of a locked room

TODAY’S SOLUTION

with a piano in it?

A: Play the piano until you find the right key.

WELCOME TO FALLING ROCK

Josh Shalek

THAT MONKEY TUNE

Michael A. Kandalaft

BREWSTER ROCKIT

Tim Rickard

BLISS

Harry Bliss

CALAMITIES OF NATURE

CROSSWORD ACROSS

DOWN

1 Thumbs-way-up reviews 6 Knocks with one’s knuckles 10 Not feral 14 Low-budget, in company names 15 Happily __ after 16 October birthstone 17 Hexes 20 Dined 21 Twosome 22 Heart chambers 23 Positive thinker’s assertion 25 Cleopatra’s river 27 Surprised party, metaphorically 32 Beelzebub 35 Oboe or bassoon 36 Baled grass 37 “Jurassic Park” terror, for short 38 Meanspiritedness 40 Home plate, e.g.

41 Above, in verse 42 Apple computer 43 Showed on television 44 Destination not yet determined 48 Detest 49 Oscar-winning film about Mozart 53 End of __ 56 Yard sale warning 57 British mil. award 58 Beatles song, and a hint to the hidden word in 17-, 27- and 44-Across 62 Opera solo 63 Like a steak with a red center 64 “That is to say ...”

65 Double O Seven 66 “P.U.!” inducer 67 Willy-__: sloppily

1 Satisfy, as a loan 2 Like most triangle angles 3 Chooses at the polls 4 USNA grad 5 Slight trace 6 Symbol of financial losses 7 State firmly 8 For each 9 Málaga Mrs. 10 Best-seller list 11 Mimic 12 West African country 13 Jazzy Fitzgerald 18 Indian bread 19 “To your health,” to José 24 Big-screen format 25 Russian rejection 26 “That’s clear now” 28 Angels shortstop Aybar 29 Sear 30 Operate with a beam 31 Kept in view 32 Halt 33 Zone 34 Alaska, once: Abbr.

38 Obscene material 39 Glazier’s fitting 40 Tough spot 42 Newton or Stern 43 Inundated with 45 Needle’s partner 46 Sadat’s predecessor 47 Leave out 50 ‘50s Ford flop 51 Typical 52 Hot-headed Corleone brother in “The Godfather” 53 Moby Dick chaser 54 Fiddling emperor 55 “__ Brockovich” 56 Flying prefix 59 Gold, in Granada 60 Insane 61 Record label initials across the pond

Crossword provided by MCT Campus

SOLUTION

Tony Piro

SPORTS THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER

PAGE 7

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

Scan here to go to the Sports section on uatrav.com:

SPORTS EDITOR: JIMMY CARTER ASST. SPORTS EDITOR: ZACH TURNER BASKETBALL

GYMNASTICS

Gym’Backs Celebrate Decade

LOGAN WEBSTER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Arkansas co-coach Rene Cook and the Razorbacks Gymnastics team celebrated their 10-year anniversary with a school-record victory against No. 25 LSU.

by HARRISON STANFIL Staff Writer

RYAN MILLER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Arkansas freshman forward Hunter Mickelson scored two of his 11 points, including the eventual game winner, to go along with four rebounds against No. 19 Michigan and the Hogs 66-64 win over the Wolverines. Mickelson also extended his streak to 19 games in which he has blocked at least one shot.

Hogs Hold On Against Wolverines The crowd on hand Saturday afternoon witnessed the first home game against Arkansas rebounded a Big Ten opponent since from its worst loss of the 1982 and was supportive of season Tuesday against Ken- the football program who tucky in a big way Saturday, was awarded the Cotton upsetting No. 19 Michigan Bowl trophy at halftime as 66-64 in front of a season- part of one of the biggest rehigh 19,050 fans in Bud cruiting weekends in school Walton Arena. history.

Michigan freshman point “I think the nation got guard Trey Burke missed a chance to see, Razorback a clean 3-point shot at the fans got a chance to see, buzzer that would have giv- our students are back in full en the Wolverines the victo- force,” Arkansas coach Mike ry, allowing the Razorbacks Anderson said. “I feel peoto hang on for the win. ple are excited about this The Razorbacks (14- team. They play a relentless 5) were propelled by a hot style. It’s not pretty all the start, connecting on their time, but the kids play their first 11 shots, four of which hearts out, and I think rawere 3-point baskets. Fresh- zorback fans appreciate that. man guard BJ Young once For two hours it’s entertainagain led the Razorbacks in ment. scoring, finishing with 15 “Whether you’re for the points to go along with four Razorbacks or Michigan, it rebounds and three assists. was entertainment today.”

“It was a great atmoArkansas led by 34-14 sphere, great fan support,” with less than seven minutes Young said. “Great team ef- left in the first half. Michifort and we got a good win. gan was able to cut the defiIt was a great atmosphere, cit to 46-33 by halftime. really packed and I think we “We couldn’t come out really fed off the crowd.” with a better start than what Arkansas played in front took place, making our first of its largest crowd since 11 shots, but you’re not goMarch 1, 2009, when 19,724 ing to shoot the ball like that fans attended its 89-67 win all night long,” Anderson against Georgia. said. “You hope to, and true

by ZACH TURNER

Asst. Sports Editor

enough in the second half we had some opportunities.”

Michigan (15-5) jumped out on the Razorbacks to start the second half, constructing a 10-0 run, sparked by three consecutive baskets by sophomore forward Jordan Morgan.

Morgan finished the game with 16 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes.

A scary moment occurred for the Razorbacks at the 13:40 mark when Young stole the ball from a Wolverine player and went up for a dunk attempt. Young was slow to get up after being fouled by Michigan’s Zack Novak.

“I was going up to dunk and he knocked me out of the air,” Young said. “It was a good, hard foul, but I hit the ground coming down. When I did it was pretty hard hit but it’s OK. I know fouls like that happened all the time.”

Novak was eventually charged with a flagrant-1 foul. Young would return to the game during a dead ball seven seconds later.

Arkansas turned the momentum, building its lead back up to as much as 13 points with 6:50 remaining in the game.

Michigan went on a 12-4 run to close the gap to two, but Razorbacks freshman Hunter Mickelson scored the final two baskets for the Hogs, including the eventual game-winner with 36.7 seconds left.

“It was a great play,” Mickelson said of the gamewinning basket. “BJ had great sight hitting on that pick and roll. He handled it well and we ended up getting the bucket and that kind of - I don’t know if that pushed us over - but it gave us a lot of confidence going into the last stretch.”

Mickelson finished the game with 11 points to go along with four rebounds and two blocks. The forward from Jonesboro, Ark., now has a block in each of his 19 collegiate games and played a big role in the Hogs’ second win against a ranked team.

“I think a lot of things came together,” Anderson said. “To me it was fitting, maybe not how it ended, but it was fitting that we win. It went down to the last second. We were very fortunate, but for me it’s great to see that. It’s great to see people talking about Razorback basketball.”

A school-­record crowd of 5,537 fans, including vis-­ iting football recruits, foot-­ ball and basketball players, celebrated the 10th anni-­ versary of Arkansas’ gym-­ nastics program Friday in Barnhill Arena.

Co-­coaches Mark and Rene Cook have built a pro-­ gram that has produced 28 All-­Americans, seven con-­ secutive top-­15 finishes, three top-­10 finishes and two NCAA regional wins.

This season, the cur-­ rent team has achieved a program-­best No. 3 rank-­ ing. The Razorbacks post-­ ed a school-­record score in dispatching No. 25 LSU 197.225-­196.325 on Friday.

“They respect what the girls h ave d one b efore t hem, they have a lot of pride in the program and I think they just wanted show off we’re proud too and here’s what we’re doing now and just do a good job for the alumni,” Rene Cook said.

The current team got the opportunity to show off

for alumni in front of eight members from the original 2003 team and 13 other Ar-­ kansas gymnastics alumni.

The anniversary allowed the Cookes to catch up with the former athletes they coached.

“We went through all the classes and said a lit-­ tle thing about each person on Facebook,” Rene Cook said. “One of the girls was like ‘Wow you remember every single person.’ Well, yeah. You know we recruit-­ ed them all.”

Getting to celebrate the past and present in front of a record crowd just sweet-­ ened the night.

“Having all the fans their and breaking a record with attendance helped a lot,” sophomore Katherine Grable said. “It was just so amazing I couldn’t ask for more. The crowd was there cheering with us. It was a great feeling having their support.”

Grable and her team-­ mates are off to a 5-­0 start this season and all five wins have come against ranked opponents.

LOGAN WEBSTER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Arkansas co-coach Mark Cook has helped build a program that has finished in the top 15 seven consecutive seasons and won two NCAA regionals with his wife Irene.

It’s Official:The Bud Is Back and Live Going for it on 4th

HARRISON STANFILL hstanfill@uark.edu The most important member of the Arkansas Razorback basketball team finally showed up to play

Saturday afternoon --the fans.

The Palace of Mid-America was absolutely rocking. It was like the old days again.

The crowd was in on every possession. They made a villain out of Zack Novak, booing him every time he touched the ball and even a genuine roar whenever he put up an airball.

They made a hero out of BJ Young by taking up for him after the hard foul from the aforementioned Novak. It has been a long time since I have seen a basketball game like the one Saturday.

Going into my senior year at this fine university I have sat through some, how should I put this, terrible basketball games.

I have seen Bud Walton Are-

na, the Palace of Mid-America, turned into a ghost town. There was a product on the court that the fans did not believe in.

Now all of this is starting to change, the crowds are getting bigger, the players are more exciting, the style of game is what the fans were longing for and the faces on the bench (and behind it) look familiar.

It smells like the 90’s again in Bud Walton Arena and the fans are starting to notice.

There is a new energy around this basketball program.

I believe it all started with the Connecticut game. The young Razorbacks went on the road to UConn to take on the defending national champions and they gave

them a run for their money.

Even though Arkansas would ultimately end up losing the game by 13, in the fan’s eyes it was a lot closer. A feisty Arkansas team gave UConn their best shot.

UConn could never get rid of the Hogs and the fans watching appreciated the effort. Arkansas kept coming at them and kept putting the pressure back on the Huskies to make shots and try to seal the deal.

You can’t fool the fans, especially in basketball. What the fans saw in Arkansas that night was a young team, without their best player and leader, never give up on the game they were playing.

They saw a team that wasn’t

happy with just competing and a coach who was not going to accept a moral victory. The fans completely respected them.

The team has a different swagger about them this year and you can see it on the court.

Marvell Waithe is playing like he has been on this team since he was a freshman.

BJ Young thinks he can score every time he touches the ball (not since Joe Johnson has Arkansas had a freshman this ready to ball).

Mardracus Wade has stepped into the position of 3-point specialist.

Devonta Abron has not backed down one time this year to anybody.

Rickey Scott can get to

COMMENTARY

the hole whenever he wants.

Michael Sanchez has crazy hair.

This is not the same team that was on the court a year ago. While most of the players are the same, the difference in philosophy has transformed this team into what the fans have been longing for years -- an actual team that loves to play basketball.

With the fans back in the Bud this team will continue gain steam. It can be like the old days again, when Arkansas was one of the most feared places to play in college basketball.

Harrison Stanfill is a guest columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.

SPORTS

MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012

PAGE 8