February 9, 2011

w w w. UCAE cho .n e t Single Copy Paid For by Student Publication Fee

Volume 105 — Issue 3

February 9, 2011 Wednesday

Opinion:

 TODAY Snow

30/17

T H U R S D AY

34/17

F R I D AY Sunny

44/26

Around Campus: Miss Essence Pageant The 2011 Miss Essence Scholarship Pageant will be 7 p.m. Feb. 17 in Reynolds Performance Hall. Admission is free for UCA students with ID, $3 for UCA faculty and staff and $5 for general admission. Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady wil perform as a special guest.

Alumni Association Scholarship

Basketball: Sugar Bears beat Mavericks 63-37

Guest: Editor Sonny Albarado speaks at SPJ meeting

Voice: Students should take advantage of scholarship opportunities

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 page 3

Partly Cloudy

Sports:

Campus Life:

International students express concerns Town Hall meeting gives chance to discuss travel, scholarships 

by Brad Smith Staff Writer

International students met at the International Student Town Hall meeting to express their concerns about travel and scholarship distribution on Feb. 6.

Students addressed issues informally to create a comfortable atmosphere in the auditorium of the College of Business.

The meeting was lead by Associate Vice President for International Engagement

Alex Chen, who talked to the students about what was affecting their lives.

After a brief breakdown of basic things that Chen said he felt the students should know, such as important dates and how to withdraw from classes, Chen began the question and answer session.

The majority of the questions focused on scholarship issues, including a question on the fairness of scholarship distribution.

Chen said that UCA scholarship coordinators are doing the best they can to distribute the scholarships fairly and said scholarships cap at eight semesters, so some students may get cut off.

One student said he had a problem with UCA charging him a late fee because his government paid his tuition after the

cut-off date for payment.

Director of International Student Services Lisa Shoemake said the fee may have been a mistake, but it also could have been a charge for insurance UCA requires without a waiver from their government.

She said communicating with her office is an important part of avoiding these misunderstandings and promised to get the issue settled quickly.

Insurance coverage for international students was also a concern held by many. Because the insurance UCA has for international students does not cover organized sports-related injuries, students were warned away from playing for any teams at the university unless they had a waiver.

SPIKE SHOT

by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

UCA Foundation scholarship applications are available for 2011-12 for incoming and current UCA students. Brochures can be found at uca.edu/go/ foundationscholarships, the Student Center information desk or Buffalo Alumni Hall. The dealine to turn them in is March 11.

Ian Caple photo

Senior Libin Qin gets ready to shoot Spike Lee’s lecture for News 6 on Monday evening.

Spike Lee spoke at Reynolds as part of UCA’s Distinguished Lecture series.

-COUNSELING -

Plan helps assist in behavioral issues

by Jillian Browder Staff Writer

Imperfectly Remembered A solo show displaying works

by Mark Monroe will explore the paradox that is forgetting. The open reception will be Feb. 17 at 5:30-7 p.m. in the Black Box Gallery in Schichtl Hall and can be viewed from Feb. 17-24.

Jesus Loves You Party The F.O.C.U.S. Campus Ministry is hosting a Jesus Loves You Party at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in Torreyson Library room 202. There will be free food, games, fellowship and more. All are welcome to attend.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 in Reynolds Performance Hall.

Contact the RPH box office for ticket information.

Helping Innocent Vessels (H.I.V) David D. Robertson will speak at 6 p.m. Feb. 15 in the Student Center Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Minority Mentorship Program, SGA and Minority Student Services.

Since the summer of 2009, in accordance with state law, UCA has enacted a Behavioral Intervention Plan.

“Well, we’ve always had this program so to speak, the new act just required that we write it all down,” Ernie Ness, director of the UCA Counseling Center, said.

The Behavioral Intervention Plan states and makes formal what UCA has been doing for years. It is designed to assist UCA faculty and administration in responding to and handling certain disruptive behaviors.

It is composed of a sevenmember intervention team.

Team members include the director of the counseling center, UCA chief of police, the dean of students, general counsel, the director of housing, the assistant vice president for human resources and a representative of the provost’s office, according to the Behavioral Intervention Plan.

The Plan states that the main functions of this team include everything from providing consultation concering students displaying

Index  Opinion  Campus Life  Entertainment  Sports

3 4 7 8

See Concerns - page 2

Professor sees turmoil in Egypt

Foundation Scholarship

Scroll yearbook portraits will be 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 7-8 in Christian Cafeteria and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in Scroll office, Bernard Hall room 008. Students, faculty and staff can take pictures alone or in groups.

Another student said she felt UCA wasn’t doing enough to provide them with work experience and internships, which she said was detrimental to finding a job after college.

Chen said that there had been previous opportunities for students, but communication and lack of contact was the biggest obstacle.

Another concern for some of the students was the lack of a place for them to play soccer. Chen said that he would work with the university to provide a place and get back to them with a solution.

Chen also handed out cards

-TR AVEL -

UCA Alumni Association scholarship applications are available for 2011-12 for incoming and current UCA students. Brochures can be found at uca.edu/go/ alumnischolarships, the Student Center information desk or Buffalo Alumni Hall. The deadline to turn them in is March 11.

Yearbook Photos

8

distressing or disruptive behaviors to gathering information in assessing the situations to recommending and enforcing intervention tactics or disciplinary actions.

The plan is meant to benefit the UCA campus and community as a whole by promoting and establishing a safe environment in which the focus is on learning and student growth, Ness said.

According to the plan, there are many intervention strategies that may be enforced. Students may be referred to the counseling center, required to attend assesment by a mental health professional, or even asked to leave the school.

“This is not a one size fits all kind of program,” Ness said.

The program is meant to be tailored to the situation at hand. Every student and every case is different, therefore the solutions can be altered as well, he said.

Even with the plan in place it is still important to respect the rights of the student, Ness said.

“We wanted a program that would uphold the balance between the rights of the individual student versus

the rights of the campus and the community as a whole,” Gary Roberts, dean of students, said.

As stated in the plan, the program lends itself to the idea that when a student is in distress, knowing they have the support from the team for resolving the issue may serve as the intervention itself and provide an opportuniy for the student which would not have been avaliable if the plan had not been in place.

As stated in UCA’s Behavioral Intervention Plan guidelines, which is free to view on the UCAPD website as well as the Counseling Center’s website and the Dean of Student’s page, there is a multitude of signs or indications that a student is experiencing problems that may be emotional or psychological in nature and may require help.

When confronted with such problems, faculty, staff and even students should make an effort to not ignore the signs. The hope is that these students can obtain the help that they need through participation in the proper community and campus sources, states the Behavioral Intervention Plan guidelines.

Turn on any news station or visit any news website that was updated in the past week, and it’s hard not to notice the conflicts that are going on in Egypt.

It’s one thing to read about or see videos from Egypt, but it’s another thing to experience these frightening events firsthand.

Don Bradley, professor of marketing and executive director of the Small Business Advancement National Center, did experience the breaking out of the chaos in Cairo.

Bradley embarked on his Egyptian journey Jan. 22, unaware that his trip would be cut short by an outbreak of violence.

He was attending and speaking at a seminar at the University of Cairo to promote and set up a small business program with the International Council for Small Business, called the ICSB. Bradley is the president-elect.

“I left Little Rock Jan. 22, but didn’t get to Egypt until the 23rd because I was 24 hours en route to Cairo from Little Rock,” Bradley said.

Bradley got to Cairo on a Sunday.

“Sunday and Monday, we had normal meetings and I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The

first night I was there, I got a really good taste of the Egyptian culture. We took a cruise down the Nile,” Bradley said.

During the first part of Bradley’s trip, he said he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary besides a very high presence of police in the area.

“Tuesday, we went sightseeing around Egypt and we started out in a museum where we saw artifacts like mummies and artwork. Our group got to go to a Christian church where Jesus had been. We got to see the pyramids and the Sphinx, then we returned to the hotel with our tour guide around 5:30 p.m. and there was nowhere to park because of the police. I didn’t think about what was going on,” Bradley said.

Bradley stayed at the InterContinental Hotel in Cairo. When the group finally got back to their hotel, they had no idea what was about to happen.

“The hotel had a suite on the 18th floor that had computers with Internet access and couches and different things for the hotel guests, and a window that overlooked the town, including Tahir Square,” Bradley said.

Bradley and other hotel guests watched the demonstrations take place.

“There were a bunch of people chanting and we saw this all start. The

See Egypt - page 2

-RECOGNITION -

Columbia Scholastic awards Vortex gold medal certificate

by Marisa Hicks Assistant News Editor

The Vortex, UCA’s student-run literary magazine, was recently awarded a gold metal certificate by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the first time the Vortex has won the award.

Each year the Vortex is submitted into a state contest sponsored by the Arkansas College Media Association.

The literary magazine is a fourtime first place winner and has also placed second and third in various categories.

The new instructor of the Vortex, Garry Powell, assistant professor of writing, entered last year’s edition of the Vortex into a contest run by Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the magazine was awarded the gold medal certificate.

“Columbia [University in New York] is the best journalism school in America, if not the world actually,” Powell said.

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The Vortex is a journal of fine arts and literature produced by the writing department.

Senior editor Megan Riley said, to her knowledge, the Vortex has never won an award this significant.

She said the competition was an annual national contest provided by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association through Columbia University and that it is the best award they could receive.

Powell gave credit to the staff who put together the Vortex last year.

“I don’t deserve any credit, I only submitted [the Vortex]. Last year’s editor, John Anderson, and the assistant editors and the staff writers deserve the credit.”

The Vortex is run entirely by students. Students on the editorial staff accept student submissions and piece together what eventually becomes a literary magazine, Powell said.

See Vortex - page 2

Black Legend Baseball player should be remembered during Black History Month

page 3

© 2011 The Echo, Printed at the Log Cabin Democrat, Conway, Ark.

2 / February 9, 2011

NEWS

Police Beat

- GOVERNMENT-

The following reports and arrests are from the UCAPD docket. UCAPD reports any tickets issued as arrests, according to Lt. Rhonda Swindle.

Student found intoxicated, lying in vomit in residence hall

Student found with marijuana after seen shirtless in window

UCAPD received a complaint from a resident of Arkansas Hall on Feb. 6 who told the officers that another student was intoxicated and vomiting.

When officers arrived at Arkansas Hall, they were directed to room 124 where student Steven Clark was found lying in a pool of his own vomit.

Clark was unresponsive to everyone around him and the officers noticed his breathing was slow and his eyes were dilated. He proceeded to vomit several times while the officers were standing there.

The Resident Corrdinator of the building was at the scene and helped to turn over Clark so that he would not choke. The Conway Fire Department and MEMS appeared at the scene and took Clark to Conway Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Tyler Rodgers told officers three different stories while being questioned and was quick to ask why he was the only one receiving an alcohol violation.

Lucas Gartman was the only resident to provide officers with helpful information that led them to a closet full of empty alcohol bottles, however, Gartman would not say how much alcohol Clark had consumed.

UCAPD was not able to get in touch with Clark’s parents, but the hospital was notify them of his condition. The alcohol content on Clarks breath was .341.

A UCAPD officer walked over to Denney Hall after completing an interior walkthrough of Conway Hall around 4:37 a.m. on Feb. 6 when he noticed a student standing in the window with his shirt off. The officer asked the student, Dawson Belcher, what he was doing, but he ducked down and did not return.

After the officer knocked on the door of room 203 several times, Belcher finally opened the door.

The officer could smell marijuana and said Belcher looked suspicious standing in the window.

The officer then asked Beltcher if he could enter the room and when he agreed he asked the dispatcher to send one of the hall’s Residence Assistants up to the room. He asked the boys for student identification.

Belcher said, “Smoking? No sir. No one has been smoking in this room,” when the officer asked if anyone had been smoking and student Zachary Lamere also said no. Both appeared to have bloodshot, watery glassy eyes.

Lamere said he had been asleep but was awakened by Belcher’s regurgitation. The only contraband found was a partially smoked marijuana cigarette in Belcher’s desk.

Belcher was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and his license was seized. Both Belcher and Lamere received Judicial Board notices.

Egypt:

Professor witnesses historic protests, leaves before violence worsens  Continued from

page 1

protesters’ group became bigger and started rushing through the police force,” Bradley said.

The police allowed the protesters to chant until 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

“It really struck me that the police allowed the protest to last until that late. The demonstrators were actually just trying to make their point and using their freedom of speech and assembly rights,” Bradley said.

The riots did begin peacefully, and something Bradley said he thought was interesting was that the Muslim rioters stopped and there was a call to prayer. Bradley said all of the Muslim people knelt towards Mecca and prayed, then resumed rioting when prayer was over.

Bradley said people have

ucaecho.net

asked him why he didn’t take pictures while the riots broke out in Egypt.

“The police were taking people’s cameras when they saw them and smashing them on the ground. Needless to say, I didn’t want to take that risk,” Bradley said.

The ICSB meetings were expected to last throughout the week. On Wednesday, Jan. 26, Bradley and the rest of the ICSB group went to the University of Cairo to finish the meetings.

“We went back to the hotel at lunchtime and there were even more police surrounding the area and all of our events were canceled,” Bradley said.

Not only was Bradley scared, he said, but he also worried he wasn’t going to be able to escape

the animosity.

“I paid a guy $100 to get me out of the hotel and get me to the airport without going through the square Thursday morning,” Bradley said.

Luckily, Bradley got on one of the last flights out of the country.

“The airport security checked the living daylights out of me. My luggage and I got checked at least six times before getting out of the country,” Bradley said.

He boarded the 7:45 a.m.

Delta flight to Paris, then flew to Dallas, then finally got to Little Rock after traveling for another 24 hours.

Although all of this happened to Bradley, he says he would return to Egypt.

“I wouldn’t go back right now, but once everything settles down, I would definitely go back because there is a great need to create more jobs there. There is a lot of recognition for small business and entrepreneurship in Egypt and I think we can help them build onto that program,” Bradley said.

SGA allocates money for transportation

by Marisa Hicks Assistant News Editor

Allocations were funded for international student transportations and to the Bike Share Program at the HPER Center at the Monday meeting.

Against the recent adjustment to the SGA constitution, SGA has agreed to allocate $2,499 toward transportation.

Assistant Dean of Students of International Programs Lisa Shoemake said there are currently 598 international students at UCA from about six countries and the international programs lack funding to transport these students to trips to Little Rock.

In the past, SGA had allocated the funds for the department to get a van; however, a van that sits 35 is hardly sufficient anymore, Shoemake said. She said that in the first 15 minutes after announcing a trip to Little Rock, 78 students signed up and most were turned down because there was not enough room.

Vice President of Finance Kyle Boyd asked how much it would cost.

“It costs about a dollar per mile,” Shoemake said. “It would

take about $200 to $250.”

Boyd proposed that the senate allocate $2,499 to be used toward transportation of international students because it fit under the social and recreational use under the SAFA guidelines.

He said they couldn’t allocate more than $2,500 without having to go through finance and $2,499 would be enough to fund multiple trips.

The allocations passed with a majority roll call vote of 33-0.

Senator Jack Phillips proposed that $2,300 be allocated toward the Bike Share Program at the HPER Center. He said the funding would cover 10 Sun Cruz CB Bikes, Abus Nemero Combo Cables and Planet Bike Spok Combo Lights, including the delivery fees.

Phillips said Erik Leamon, owner of The Ride, agreed to help the Conway Advocates for Bicycling that SGA was endorsing by providing weekly maintenance to the bikes as long as The Ride logo is included on all the bikes and paperwork to use the bikes.

The senate passed the allocation of funding the Bike Share Program of $2,300 with a roll call majority vote of 34-0.

President Meghan Thompson said Rick McCollum has

Concerns:

Chen introduces outreach program during town hall  Continued from

page 1

for students who were uncomfortable speaking in public to write down questions that he would later answer by email.

Chen said he felt that the meeting went well and hopes for more participation in future meetings.

“It was a good start and we talked about many issues,” he said. “Participants showed up and it takes time to nurture. The crowd will build.”

Chen also felt that the issues discussed will help to make international students feel more at home on campus.

“By building trust they will integrate better,” he said. “They will feel more comfortable and help to globalize Arkansas.”

Chen said he also believes that by holding these meetings regularly, it will help to recruit more international students by word-of-mouth and to make the program more sustainable.

Chen has also discussed a community outreach program that will include local churches and citizens showing hospitality.

Also planned is a visit by the FBI to tell students what they should and should not do when traveling internationally.

Vortex:

Vortex staff travels to Washingon, D.C. for writing conference  Continued from

page 1

The Vortex is compiled of all forms of creative writing from poetry to short stories and often includes photography and artwork, Powell said.

This year’s printed edition will be available in April, Riley said.

She said the Vortex is still accepting submissions for the online monthly digital. Students can view the online digital on their website, vortexmagazine. squarespace.com.

Powell said it can be difficult to judge how popular the Vortex is with the students on campus.

“It’s hard to tell just how popular the print magazine is,” he said. “Last year, 5,000 copies were printed, but because they are free, it’s difficult to say if

students are picking them up because they want to read it or just because it’s free.”

The problem with literary magazines, he said, is getting everyone to know about them.

All great writers at UCA should know about the Vortex, Powell said.

He said it was helpful to submit the magazine into the contest even if they hadn’t won such a great award because they received a critique. Top professionals in the industry sent them several pages of notes about the layout and the content of the magazine, he said.

To reach the deadline for the Columbia Press contest, staff members must submit the previous year’s edition. Riley

sent requests from the state for permission to build the amphitheater. Thompson said they are receiving architectural plans for a board of students and faculty to review.

Thompson said the board of trustees meeting will be Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. where the Think BIG! project winners will be announced, as will the increases for room and board.

Executive Vice President Austin Hall said 12 applications were received over the sophomore class vacancy.

Interviews were scheduled to take place during x-period yesterday.

The freshmen class is still working on the sidewalk project and creating a movie channel.

The sophomore class will be meeting with Larry Lawrence from the physical plant to determine the exact dimensions for the mural project.

The senators at large said they are working with UCA Concierge Services to help advertise for Green Day and include CPA at the event.

Hall also said the library committee is meeting Thursday during x-period to push the Torreyson Library to stay open until 2 a.m. during the week and 24 hours during finals week.

His focus was not entirely on international students, though.

He also said the university has plans to give small $600 scholarships to American students who want to study abroad. He said the amount of students who plan to study abroad this summer is over 200, compared to around 120 last summer.

Plans have also been made for an International Education Week. The program is planned for March 7-11, with an international fashion show on March 10. The show will feature international students in their traditional dress.

Chen hopes to hold an International Student Town Hall Meeting every month during school, feeling that they are the best way for students to speak their mind about issues affecting them.

said that if next year’s editor so chooses, he can send in the finished product of what staff members are working on right now.

Last week, about 10 students from the Vortex staff were taken to Washington, D.C. to attend the annual conference for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. They left Feb. 4 and returned Feb. 6.

Anyone who works on something related to publishing written materials can attend the conference, Powell said.

Riley said that the conference is international and the largest annual writers conference.

Writers of all kinds, from undergraduates to professionals, come together for craft and workshop conference. This year’s conference included a book fair in which individuals could sell their printed works, and among these was the Toadsuck Review, the UCA-published literary magazine, formerly The Exquisite Corpse.

Opinion

3

February 9, 2011

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

The Voice

Foundation, departments offer scholarships to students

E

The Echo Staff Writer remembers underrated baseballer w

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Black History Month always reminds his focus should’ve been solely on baseball, me of two of my heroes as an avid baseball things got so bad that he and his family had fan: Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. I’ve to be protected by FBI agents and he couldn’t previously had the opportunity to write about even stay in the same hotel as his teammates Robinson before for The Echo, so I’ll keep while on the road as a safety precaution. my column centered on Aaron, one of the This led to William Leggett writing in greatest, yet most underrated athletes of all Sports Illustrated in 1973: “Is this to be the time. year in which Aaron, at the age of 39, takes a Greatest and underrated are two words moon walk above one of the most hallowed that generally don’t go together in the sports individual records in American sport...? Or lexicon. However, Aaron is exactly that. will it be remembered as the season in which He’s one of the greatest baseball players Aaron, the most dignified of athletes, was and athletes in besieged with hate mail general of all time, and trapped by the simply based on his cobwebs and goblins numbers on the field. that lurk in baseball’s Aaron finished his attic?” illustrious baseball It was a moment

by Julian Spivey career with 755 career that should’ve been Campus Life Editor home runs, a record cheered by everyone until Barry Bonds in the country – both cheated his way past black and white – but, it with steroids a few like so many things that years ago, 2,297 runs came before, it divided batted in (first all time), 3,771 hits (third all the country. time) and 2,174 runs scored (fourth all timeAaron refused to quit and kept on playing. tied with Babe Ruth).

On April 8, 1974, he hit career home run Despite these all time great numbers, number 715 off of Los Angeles Dodgers Aaron is only considered to be the fifth pitcher Al Downing to break Ruth’s home run greatest baseball player ever by The Sporting record. It was a moment that should’ve been News. In my book, that’s the equivalent of nothing but joy, but unfortunately felt more saying Michael Jordan is the fifth greatest like a burden had been lifted off of his chest. basketball player of all time.

Aaron said: “I read the letters because Hank Aaron the great baseball player is they remind me not to be surprised or hurt. only half the story about why he’s one of my They remind me what people are really like” personal heroes. Hank Aaron the man means and “Babe Ruth never had to contend with just as much. anything like that when he was establishing In the early 1970s, when it became his record.” apparent that Aaron had a shot at breaking Aaron was the kind of athlete that the legendary Ruth’s all time home run kids today should aspire to be and more record, he started to receive hate mail and importantly he’s the kind of man they should death threats. Many of these hate mail letters aspire to be. and death threats were published in Aaron’s During Black History Month when autobiography “I Had a Hammer,” and are students learn about great African-American to this day some of the most vile, despicable leaders and heroes like Martin Luther King things I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson and others, I Not only did Aaron receive these threats, hope that Aaron’s legacy is being taught right but so did his family and during a time when alongside them. He’s every bit as important.

Taylor Lowery Editor & Opinion Editor

Preston Tolliver Associate Editor

Mary DeLoney News Editor

Marisa Hicks Assistant News Editor

Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

Ben Keller Sports Editor

Allison Hartman Assistant Sports Editor

Nick Hillemann Photo Editor

Alex Chalupka Web Editor

Heather Chiddix

Poetry slams show community, passion

Lance Coleman

If you’ve ever wanted to understand what monthly at the Arkansas Community Arts community is, go to a poetry slam and hang Cooperative (ACAC), where guest poets from out with people there, especially the poets. around the U.S. perform with local artists.

I’ve only recently begun to attend Every event includes a competition and poetry slams and I’ve never met a more an open mic for poets who aren’t ready to supportive, creative, funny and crazy group compete or just want to try out a new poem. of people. They’re a community that is almost Vortex Literary Magazine hosted a slam immediately accepting and a community full at La Lucha Space this semester where of diversity. I haven’t several Little Rock developed the courage poets showed up to perform any of my to share their work own poetry for my new and support a new, friends, but I still feel (hopefully) developing like I’m one of them. scene in Conway.

They also have a lot Thanks to shows

by Shea Higgerson to say and they’re not such as Brave New Staff Writer afraid to say it.

Voices on HBO, slam These poets are has been able to gain willing to tell anyone more popularity who will listen some of around the nation. It their biggest secrets, is an amazing form their strongest opinions on difficult issues of poetry and one that definitely caters to the and their deepest fears. needs of the younger art community.

Not every poem is serious, though. These It’s the perfect way for the younger poets also have the best senses of humor generation (and maybe some older folks) to when it comes to subjects such as Disney have their voices heard. This is why slam can’t characters and robot love. Robots need love, die—these artists need it. Sometimes it is a too. life-saver.

In slam poetry, anything goes. Well, there Possibly the most amazing thing about are a few rules, but every poet has a unique these poets is that they are willing to give up subject and a unique way to express that everyday comforts and financial security to subject. Slam isn’t just about reading. It’s keep slam alive and have their voices heard. about performance and no two poets perform Going to competitions and traveling the quite the same way. country doesn’t exactly bring in money for Slam is similar to the beginnings of hip performers, but they love spoken word so hop culture. For many, it is a way to stay out much that money doesn’t matter. of trouble or exact a positive influence on the And sometimes, winning the lives of others. It is a way to say what you’re competitions doesn’t matter either. It really is thinking using metaphors rather than one all about the words. If a poet forgets a poem simple word. It is a way to express how you during the performance, the audience snaps feel in words with an intensity you can’t exude their fingers in encouragement. There is never in normal conversation. judgment or embarrassment.

Some people say that slam is dead, or at A lot of these poets perform in a new town least dying. every night never knowing where they’ll sleep, The slam scene in Arkansas and a few but knowing they’ll have a roof over their other southern states isn’t as strong as many heads because of the kindness that exists in of the poets here would like it to be, but it is this group. definitely not dying. If anything, it is growing That’s what makes slam a community and it is fully alive. and not just a form of poetry. You’re always Little Rock has been hosting slams welcome, so come on over.

Editorial Cartoonist

Feature Cartoonist

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very year, the UCA Foundation puts together a concise information packet about scholarships offered through the UCA Foundation and through individual departments. For students at UCA, this packet should be seen as a blessing—in no other place are students going to find so many scholarships available to only UCA students, many of them so specific to be offered to graduates from particular high schools.

This year, the UCA Foundation scholarship packet includes information on over 150 scholarships, many of which only require students to be full-time with a GPA of 2.75 or higher. Other scholarships are focused on specific majors, classifications, departments, hometowns or non-traditional status.

According to the packet, more than $426,000 in privately funded scholarships was awarded to 283 students between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010.

For many of the scholarships, students can fill out one general application and use it to apply for over 30 of the scholarships.

Most of the other applications are available at the UCA Foundation website, uca.edu/foundation/ foundationscholarships.

For every scholarship, the packet provides information on where and how to apply, as well as deadlines for applications, most of which are in March.

The majority of students on campus can probably apply for at least one scholarship through the Foundation, and for many, it probably isn’t happening.

Students should recognize the opportunity so many are missing out on. Scholarships, which are not repaid like loans, are easy to find, simple to apply for, and could make the difference between working to jobs to pay for school or drowning in student loans after graduation.

Too many students, unfortunately, rely on student loans, which are often too easy to get. Instead of taking the easy way out by accepting any loan offered, all students should spend the little amount of time it takes to find scholarships to apply for, and fill out the application. March is still several weeks away, and students have plenty of time to apply for these scholarships offered by the UCA Foundation.

The Foundation is not the only place student can find scholarships, however. Many departments have departmental scholarships that may not be listed in the Foundation packet, and could be found by asking a secretary in the department office. There are also a number of websites, such as fastweb.com, that can find scholarships tailored to a student’s particular qualities, though many of these may be more competitive.

Some high schools also have scholarships that can be extended to alumni, which students could inquire about by calling the school.

What is comes down to is whether students are willing to make the effort to find scholarships and apply for them. Most of the time, a simple application is all that is required. A few require essays, but typically only short ones.

Having a scholarship in college can make all the difference in a student’s experience. It depends on if a student would rather look back on all the time spent working a Walmart, or the classes, friends and experiences that make college important.

Instead of taking the easy way out by accepting any loan offered, all students should spend the little amount of time it takes to find scholarships to apply for, and fill out the application.

Have an opinion?

Everyone does.

Write a letter to the editor at

ucaecholetters@gmail.com Letters to the editor don’t just have to be about Echo content.

If you’ve noticed something on campus that’s positive or negative, we want to hear about it.

(Follow the guidelines in the Got Letters? column to the left.)

The Echo is printed weekly at the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway, Ark. Decisions about content are made by the student editors.

The views published are not necessarily those of the University of Central Arkansas. All material is subject to respective copyrights.

Campus Life

4

February 9, 2011

Democrat-Gazette projects editor speaks to SPJ members

by Brad Smith Staff Writer

The UCA chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists welcomed Sonny Albarado, the projects editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, on Thursday, Feb 3 as the first guest speaker of the spring semester.

Albarado focused mainly on the benefits of joining the Society of Professional Journalists and spoke some about his career.

Albarado said that one of the best benefits of SPJ was the networking. He said that he believes faceto-face contact is still the best kind of networking, despite the newer ways of social networking. He said that by going to SPJ activities, members tend to gain better social contacts by meeting other members in person, which could include a future employer or co-worker.

SPJ also provides legal support to journalists who are having problems with censorship and other journalism-related problems that they might encounter, he said.

Albarado said SPJ focuses on local programs and workshops to be able to make the organization more accessible to people, saying that the local chapters are the backbone of the society.

Also high on Albarado’s list of benefits for SPJ members was the professional training that the website offers. SPJ’s website, spj.org, offers training on various different subjects, including basic video techniques for various different types of cameras

Nick Hillemann photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette projects editor Sonny Albarado spoke to the UCA chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Thursday, Feb. 3. and how to use blogs and social networking sites for journalistic purposes.

Albarado also spoke some on his career with SPJ, talking about his time as an officer of a local Memphis chapter before moving to Little Rock and eventually becoming a board member for region 12

of SPJ, which includes Arkansas.

The regional convention will take place in Nashville and will feature awards for excellence in student journalism as well as a workshop on entrepreneurial journalism and a revision of the SPJ ethics book. The national convention for SPJ will take

- COMEDY-

Little’s Reynolds performance so-so

place in New Orleans, he said.

A concern raised by a member of the UCA chapter of SPJ dealt with SPJ’s ability to help journalists find jobs, especially journalists just out of college. Albarado said that while SPJ does have resources on its website, journalists should also try to find jobs by other means.

Another person at the meeting asked Albarado’s opinion on what journalists should do when the subject of a story threatens or tries to intimidate them.

Albarado’s answer was simple.

“I’d write it,” he said. “In college I got the fraternity people mad at me. I had rocks thrown at me and a police officer threatened me, but I’m still here. Each journalist has to decide on his own whether it’s worth it to write the story.”

Albarado also talked about a new chapter in Qatar. He said that although international chapters have always been allowed, most members of SPJ have been wary of starting them because its rules of journalistic ethics may conflict with other countries.

Vice President of the UCA chapter of SPJ Phil Seaton said Albarado did a good job of informing member of what SPJ has to offer.

“He did a great job of going through the basics,” Seaton said. “He gave ideas for what SPJ is about for those in print, TV and radio.”

The UCA chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists meets monthly and can be found on Facebook under the name SPJ@UCA. The meetings are open to anyone.

SQUIRREL WATCH

by Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

Impressionist Rich Little brought his act to Reynolds Performance Hall on Friday, Feb. 4 in a performance that was well received by the audience, but uneven in general.

Reynolds was only about half full to see Little’s performance due to the wintry weather that struck Conway earlier in the day.

Public Appearances Director Jerry Biebesheimer said that the entire lower half of the auditorium was sold out though.

“All those empty chairs were sold out. We [didn’t cancel] it because they’d never be able to get the thing rescheduled. [Little] came in yesterday [Thursday]. He will not come in on the day of the show because it makes him nervous,” Biebesheimer said.

There were some obvious highs from Little’s sets, but there were also many obvious lows that seemed to outweigh the good parts.

The funniest part of his set was his impression of “60 Minutes” curmudgeon Andy Rooney, whom Little hilariously said has no legs and is half man/half desk. Little ran off a list of possible Rooney-isms in a perfect Rooney voice, among the best were: “Why do they call it an asteroid when it’s outside the Earth’s hemisphere, but a hemorrhoid when it’s in your butt?” and “Why does your nose run and your feet stink?”

Another highlight from Little’s show was his impersonation of former “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson doing the beloved Carson character, Carnac the Magnificent. Carnac was a recurring character where Carson would hold an envelope to his forehead, say an answer, open the envelope and read the question. The funniest bit from Little’s Carnac impression was the answer: “Penis da Lesbian,” to which the question in the envelope was: “What is Dick Van Dyke’s real name before he changed it?”

Little’s Carson impression was definitely a fan favorite.

“I’ve always loved Carson and he does it to a tee,” senior George Riemer said. “I’ve always loved Carnac.”

Other great impressions in Little’s repertoire were Jack Nicholson, James Stewart and Walter Matthau.

The biggest problem with Little’s performance is the fact that it doesn’t appear he’s updated his repertoire since the mid-‘70s. This didn’t seem to bother most of the audience who appeared to be in Little’s age group, but likely left some of the younger people in the audience out of the loop.

Another issue was Little’s predictable punchlines. On more than one occasion I knew the punchline before Little told it, which I imagine is not something a comedian strives for. Two particularly predictable punchlines involved Ronald Reagan wearing brown shorts in battle and George Burns asking Gracie Allen to “wear a fox hat.”

As good as Little is with impressions such as Carson, Rooney,

Junior Jo Beth Sence “The Budweiser commercials with the horse are pretty precious.”

Nick Hillemann photo

One of Rich Little’s best impressions during his show at Reynolds Performance Hall on Feb. 4 was Jack Nicholson, pictured.

Nicholson and Stewart, I thought that there were also some impressions that he did that were particularly poor.

At the end of his show he did a bunch of singing impressions of notable musicians singing some of their songs. The best of these were Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett, however, his impression of Johnny Cash singing “Folsom Prison Blues” was atrocious and didn’t sound too much like the iconic “Man in Black.” Little didn’t even really get the getup for Cash right, as Cash rarely wore a cowboy hat while performing.

Another poor impression by Little is that of former President George W. Bush, which every impressionist seems to do. I’ve heard numerous Bush impressions over the years and Little’s was by far the worst I’ve heard.

Ian Caple photo

Freshmen Casey Singleton and Tyler McAnally watch a squirrel feasting on nuts outside the Student Center on Monday, Feb. 7.

Students Say story and photos by Lukas Deem

Sophomore Keith Pope “I’m sure there were some pretty good Mountain Dew commercials.”

“What is your all-time favorite Super Bowl commercial?”

Sophomore Alex Barnes “Does the Janet Jackson incident count?”

Freshman Sarah Ross “They built a bridge out of beer so they could get to an island and get drunk. I loved it.”

Freshman Rebeca Rockenhaus “The one where two people are playing rock paper scissors. One of them chooses paper and the other rock. One says paper wins, then a boulder comes out of nowhere and crushes him.”

Junior Bianca Byles “The Doritos commercial where the kids mom comes home with her boyfriend and leaves them alone. The boyfriend tries to take one of the kid’s Doritos and he slaps him and says, “Put it back, keep your hands off my momma, keep your hands off my Doritos.”

w w w. UCAE cho .n e t / c ampu s - life

Freshman Bethany Verkamp “I like the Snickers commercial where Betty White plays football with a bunch of guys. After eating a Snickers bar she turns into a man and starts knocking them over.”

Freshman Brianna Hays “Some commercial where two people are arguing about phones, then one throws their phone at the other’s forehead.”

ucaecho.net

CAMPUS LIFE

KODIAK MOMENT

February 9, 2011 / 5

by Lance Coleman

o

-EXERCISE-

-REVIEW-

HPER program tracks student mileage

by Lee Hogan Staff Writer

Lukas Deem photo

The HPER Center has started a new program to challenge students to get fit and healthy this semester.

The new Bear Tracks 250 Mile Club challenges students to accumulate 250 miles by walking, jogging or running during the spring semester.

Sign-up for the club began Jan. 31 and is still available to anyone who wants to participate.

“We’re sitting at 50 people who have signed up right now,” Arian Story, assistant director of HPER, said. “Hopefully we can double that number by the end of the week.”

Story said this is not the first time the HPER has held a program like this at UCA. “A program like this had been done before I got here and we just thought we would try it out again and see how it went over,” she said.

Story said all the mileage completed is selfreported by the students. Bear Track counters will be kept in the HPER’s cardio room for students to use to keep up with their mileage as it is completed. After finishing for the day, Story said students are to enter their mileage on a Bear Track counter card and have a student worker to sign off on the mileage completed.

Students are allowed to complete the mileage in the HPER on the treadmill and the indoor track or outside.

Story said that students are only allowed to accumulate up to five miles a day and 25 miles a week.

Upon completion of the challenge, students

will be given membership to the UCA Bear Tracks 250 Mile Club and a free t-shirt for their accomplishment.

Sophomore Katie Allender, a student-worker at the HPER, said she sees this program as a great way to get into better shape.

“I try to participate in all the events we [the HPER] organize and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get in shape for spring,” Allender said.

Allender said she plans on completing about eight to 10 miles a week on her way to completing 250 miles over the course of the semester.

“I’d love to say that I plan on running the whole thing, but I will definitely be walking along with running to complete it.”

Allender said enjoys running and did so regularly before the program even began.

“I love to run outside during the fall and spring,” Allender said. “It’s harder to run outside now because of the weather, but I still try to run inside the HPER.” Allender said she is still trying to find friends to participate in the program with her, but has been unsuccessful to this point.

“I’m still running alone at the moment, but I’m still recruiting friends,” she said.

Allender has already started on accumulating miles and said she was excited to start.

“I’m not nervous,” Allender said. “I’ve completed three miles this week, and should complete at least five more by the end of the week.”

Students who wish to sign up for the Bear Tracks 250 Mile Club may do so by visiting the HPER Fitness Center and speaking to one of the student workers in the cardio room.

Senior Daniel Smiley, of the band Carver, plays guitar during their concert at Bears Den on Thursday, Feb. 3. Carver consists of Smiley, senior Bryce Vernon, senior Eli Nichols and junior Zack Parham.

Carver thrills Bears Den patrons

by Kristina Klein Staff Writer

Excited chatter could be heard from outside Bears Den Pizza on Thursday, Feb. 3, as UCA students gathered to hear a talented group of musicians who shared their campus.

The band called Carver went on at 9 p.m. and started a party that lasted the entire two hours that they played. Their songs ranged from covers of old favorites, such as Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny” to selfwritten and composed works like “Birthmark.”

Once the band started playing, it became near impossible to view them because of the solid wall of fans that surrounded the stage. Along with the music came dancing and within five minutes of the first chord ringing out, an upbeat dance party had begun in the entire front of the restaurant.

The students and audience members’ reactions were quite positive and energetic.

“They are really original. You can tell they’re just having fun with it,” junior Kelby Jones said.

Another student and friend of

the band, senior Sasha Savenka, shares a more passionate view.

“They do what they love, it’s their passion … it’s exhilarating hearing them because you can feel their emotion and relate to it,” Savenka said.

The band is made up of four musicians: senior drummer Bryce Vernon, senior guitarist Daniel Smiley, junior bass player Zack Parham and senior singersongwriter Eli Nichols.

They also have two members who add to the preparation of these high-energy shows, junior Cody Sanders, their roadie, and senior Gustav Carlson, the graphic artist who creates their advertisements and posters.

The band came together sometime around Nichols’ freshman year when he discovered that not only was his roommate Bryce an “awesome guy,” but also a talented drummer.

They then began collecting the remaining pieces of the group, along with Smiley who was Nichols’ good high school friend.

From a small dorm room on UCA campus came a talented group of musicians who not only seem to blossom at every show, but also appear to have a bright

future in the music business.

Delta Spirit, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones are just some of the bands that provide both lyrical and musical inspiration for the band.

When it comes to the lyrics, Nichols said “a lot of my lyrics are about breaking free.”

While Nichols writes the lyrics, the rest of the group composes the arrangements for each song, therefore he attributes much of his motivation to the efforts of the band in being a driving force behind the lyrics.

“Our songs are very lyrically focused, but I need the instruments that play to let them be heard,” Nicholls said.

Vernon later summed up the purpose of his band quite nicely by saying, “we believe music is a conversation”.

Carver can be found on their Myspace page, as well as their upand-coming website, carverband. com.

From here, the band said they hope to begin playing in venues in Little Rock, such as Sticky Fingers and Juanitas. They are also hoping to release an EP soon that fans can purchase at their future shows, allowing anyone to get a sample of their music.

- E D U C AT I O N -

‘In Nation’ teaches students about Arkansas

by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

Every student at UCA has to take some sort of history class, but not every student has to take an Arkansas history class.

History professor Sondra Gordy said the Arkansas’ Role in the Nation class isn’t like other history classes offered at UCA. “The Arkansas’ Role in the Nation class covers the history of our state from pre-history to almost present day,” Gordy said.

This class takes a deeper look into how citizens of Arkansas have gotten to where they are today, Gordy said.

Gordy teaches three history classes this semester, two of which are the Arkansas’ Role in the Nation class.

“This class has been around for a while. It started out being taught by Lottie Moore, then the class just started getting passed around and I ended up getting it,” Gordy said.

Assistant professor of history Story MatkinRawn has also taught the Arkansas’ Role in the Nation course.

“This class really looks at why we are the way we are. We cover topics such as how religion became such a big part of our culture and why Arkansas was primarily Democrat until about 10 years ago,” Matkin-Rawn said.

Most students that are enrolled in this class are education majors, Gordy said.

“All kindergarten through fourth grade teachers in Arkansas are required to take an Arkansas history course, so our classes are usually full. We stop at 25 undergrads and five grad students per class,” Gordy said.

In this class, taught by Gordy, students are given some of the everyday lectures with PowerPoint, but this is not all this class has to offer. These lectures are supplemented with a collegiate reader. There are reading assignments where students have to write their own questions about the text and answer two questions that other students write about the text on Blackboard.

“These assignments are more about why students think things happened in history,” Gordy said.

Gordy said she gives the students a chance to get up in front of the class and teach their peers.

“I like to give them a chance to teach the class because almost all of them are going to be teachers. I assign them a presentation and the students start giving them in the first three weeks of class. That way it’s not just me up there lecturing,” Gordy said.

These presentations consist of students taking articles from almost an archive of sorts of columns by Tom Dillard that range from ice cream to steamboats in Arkansas. Students choose two of these presentations to write about for their midterm and final grades.

“In this class we also cover a lot of Native American history of Arkansas like the original Arkansan tribes like the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw,” Matkin-Rawn said.

In Matkin-Rawn’s class, students are asked to write their own history, which she called a “primary source document.”

“These documents that the students write will become valuable in the future. I’m planning to give these to the UCA archives so students in the future can use them as references,” Matkin-Rawn said.

6 / February 9, 2011

CAMPUS LIFE

- T H E AT E R -

ucaecho.net

-BL ACK HISTORY-

‘Fort Devens’ opens Thursday at Snow

by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

The UCA theatre department is opening its 2011 season with a bang, literally.

The title of the first play of 2011 is “Court Martial at Fort Devens” by Jeffrey Sweet. This production follows a group of African-American WACS, also knows as the Women’s Army Corps, formed during World War II and the hardships that the group of women goes through to be treated normally.

Kevin Browne, associate professor of theatre, said that this play is based on actual events that happened during World War II. “This play follows this group of AfricanAmerican women who were recruited into the army to train as medical technicians and when they got to the Fort Devens hospital to do their work, the colonel of the army saw that these colored women were helping these white soldiers and didn’t like it,” Browne said.

Browne said that when the colonel fired these women from being medical technicians, he made them clean and do janitorial work instead of doing what they went into the army for — helping the soldiers. The play ends with the group of women facing their consequences of trying to fight the colonel’s orders by being sentenced to a court martial.

Browne said this play would be appropriate and interesting for February because of Black History Month.

Junior Alexandria Smith plays one of the lead roles, Virginia Boyd, in the cast for the Fort Devens

play.

“I would describe my character as very determined. When justice isn’t being served, she wants to make sure that things go right and she is willing to put her life on the line to make this happen,” Smith said.

Although these events happened in the past, both Browne and Smith said it is important to look back on history and see what people have been through in the past to see how far the United States has come, culturally.

“I hope people understand what AfricanAmericans went through to get to where they are today when they see our play,” Smith said.

This play is performed different than the average theater production. The ‘Fort Devens’ play is performed “in the round,” where the audience actually surrounds all four sides of the stage and the cast as they perform. This makes for a “very different and intimate” theater experience, Browne said.

Smith, along with the other members of the cast and production team, said he has been working hard to get this play ready for everyone to see.

“I love the cast. Everyone is so energetic and fun.

I’m really excited about my role, because it tells a story and it gives me a better understanding of my ancestors and what they went through,” Smith said.

“Court Martial at Fort Devens” opens tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and will be continuing performances Feb. 11, 16, 17 and 18 in the Bridges/Larson Theatre in the Snow Fine Arts Center. Tickets are available through UCA Ticket Central in the box office at Reynolds Performance Hall. Tickets are $10.00 for the general public and free for UCA students, faculty and staff with a current UCA ID.

- R E S TAU R A N T-

Dave’s offers excellent burgers, shakes

by Anthony Byrnes Staff Writer

There is nothing better than a good oldfashioned American hamburger, especially if that burger comes from David’s Burgers.

Located close to the Walmart on Harkrider, David’s Burgers is at 1100 Skyline Drive. David’s Burgers looks just like any other ordinary restaurant in Conway, but it’s the food that makes it stand out.

According to the Arkansas Times, David’s Burgers has a direct tie to CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers in Russellville, David’s is owned by Butcher Boy founder David Bubbus, who started CJ’s in Russellville. David Bubbus Jr., founder David Bubbus’ son, is running the Conway branch.

The concept behind David’s Burgers is simple and straightforward. One can probably tell this by their plain white paper menu with just a handful of items. You can get a burger, fries, drink, shake or if you are feeling fancy, cheese fries. The simplicity makes the decision-making process easy. The only decision you have to make is if you want bacon, grilled mushrooms, cheese or grilled onions added to your burger. What David’s focuses on is burgers; they spend extra time making sure their product stands out. The burgers are seasoned to perfection

and their homemade fries are to die for, but to top it all off, their custard shake takes the gold medal.

“I just came in for a shake. The food is good, but I crave these shakes,” former UCA student Jeremy Moeck said.

The best part of David’s is the price. Everything on the menu is under $10, and if you just want a basic burger, it’s under $5.

“I just recently moved to Maumelle, but when I’m back in town I usually make it a point to come here and grab a bite to eat,” said former Conway resident Zach Cahall. “The food is just so good, and I can pay like eight bucks and know I’ll be leaving here stuffed.”

Another key part that makes David’s Burgers a good place to go and eat is the friendly customer service. One can tell the staff takes the extra time to make everyone feel like their business is important.

It’s the simple things like this that draw people to come back and eat at David’s.

“I really can’t complain about anything. The food is great, the people that work here are great ... I did have to wait for a while, but that is probably because they are still new and everybody is coming to check them out,” Conway resident Stephanie Ham said.

“I would recommend this restaurant to anybody looking for a good place to grab a burger. It is by far the best place to get a burger in Conway.”

Anthony Byrnes photo

Sophomore Renee Smith leads a Black History Month seminar for students on shadeism in Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Shadeism is the discrimination between shades of skin color.

Program educates on shadeism

by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

This year, UCA kicked off Black History month with a seminar, “The Color of My Skin,” on Wednesday, Feb. 3 in Student Center room 214 at 7 p.m. There was a turnout, and it was standing room only once the seminar began.

Sophomore and Joint Black History Month committee member Crystal Hampton said: “I always like learning about black history. The rising above aspect is inspiring to study. I respect what the past educators did to help move us forward and not dwell on the past.”

“The Color of My Skin” was a seminar that focused on shadeism. Shadeism is discrimination within the same culture and race due to the different shades of color.

Sophomore Renee Smith, a Joint Black History Month committee member, executed the event.

“It’s an awareness program,” Smith said. “We have to learn from each other.”

Smith said the program focused on how the complexion of someone’s skin affects their life and what society believes is beautiful.

Smith began the seminar with a prayer.

She explained to the audience that this was an interactive event with an open forum.

Smith then had the audience stand and read a page from the children’s book, “I Am Black,” which describes different shades of black skin using food analogies such as licorice and honey.

She said this was an icebreaker to make the audience more comfortable speaking in front of the large crowd.

“All different shades of skin, whether the palest

white or charcoal black, are all good and beautiful,” Smith said.

The audience was shown a short documentary, “Introduction to Shadeism,” which features five young females from Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and Diasporas who cope with shadeism through dialogue and discussion. The main idea of the film was that shadeism starts at home.

“I’m excited to learn more about shadeism,” sophomore Jasmine Rochelle said.

While some of the audience was appalled about a process of bleaching the skin to become lighter, referred to in the film as a “fairness facial,” others thought it was no big deal.

“I don’t see any difference between lightening the skin with bleaching and tanning to get the skin darker,” senior Rachel Whitfield said.

According to a woman in the film, “It not only damages your skin, but it is damaging to your identity.”

Throughout the film, Smith would pause and give audience members an opportunity to comment.

Laisha Harris, junior chapter president of the NAACP, said: “Embrace your beauty and your color.

Just be you.”

“Don’t let somebody else validate you,” Smith said.

Smith closed the seminar with a prayer.

“It was exciting and interesting,” sophomore Jessica Hooks said. “I learned a lot from tonight’s event.”

Sophomore Deirdra Booker said: “I’m glad that [Black History Month] is such a big deal on campus.

It’s refreshing that they are open enough to have events like this and to give the students a picture of all that has gone on in the world.”

Entertainment

7

February 9, 2011

-CD REVIEW-

Tennis’ album bizarre

by Andrew McClain Staff Writer

circlecinema.com

Logue (Geoffrey Rush) guides King George VI (Colin Firth), or Bertie as Logue calls him, in reciting a part of Hamlet to help with the king’s stuttering problem. Both Rush and Firth have Oscar nominations for “The King’s Speech.”

‘King’s Speech’ frontrunner for Best Picture; Firth, Rush, Bonham Carter expected winners

by Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

“The King’s Speech” is being predicted by many as the frontrunner to win Best Picture at the Oscars later this month and rightfully so.

Tom Hooper’s “The King Speech” is in one word: phenomenal. It’s even more phenomenal when you realize that it’s only Hooper’s third feature film.

The film tells the based on a true story of King George VI of Britain, who is known to his family and friends as “Bertie,” and his stuttering problem.

He’s forced to take the throne when his brother, King Edward VIII, abdicates for love. In an attempt to cure his stuttering, Bertie seeks out the services of speech therapist Lionel Logue. This all takes place in a time when the world is about to enter into WWII. Unless you’re an avid history buff, this is a film that could’ve easily been boring. However, it’s not boring in the least bit. Hooper’s filmmaking and stellar acting make this film one of the best I’ve seen in a long time.

Colin Firth portrays Bertie and

Geoffrey Rush portrays Logue and both are expected to have a good shot at winning acting Oscars for their roles.

Firth is the likely leading candidate for Best Actor and Rush is probably a close second to Christian Bale, from “The Fighter,” for Best Supporting Actor. In my opinion, Rush’s performance should be the frontrunner, despite Bale’s wonderful role in “The Fighter.”

Not only are Firth and Rush drawing rave reviews from critics and filmgoers alike, but so is Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Bertie’s wife Queen Elizabeth.

Bonham Carter received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Firth’s performance in “The King’s Speech” is simply one of those performances of a lifetime and showcases that Firth is indeed one of this generation’s finest actors.

The role of Bertie seems like an incredibly hard one to portray with the character stuttering throughout the entire film, but Firth plays it so convincingly that you believe every minute of it.

One of the highlights of “The King’s Speech” is its humor, which wasn’t really

expected going into this dramatic piece.

Much of the humor comes from Rush’s lovable Logue during the speech therapy sessions with Bertie, such as when Logue asks Bertie if he knows any jokes and Firth stammers his way through “timing isn’t my strong suit.”

The friendship that develops between Bertie and Logue is one that will keep viewers smiling throughout the film and makes “The King’s Speech,” believe it or not, one of the great buddy films of all time.

Not only is the acting splendid, but the script from David Seidler and the cinematography by Danny Cohen is Oscar-worthy as well.

“The King’s Speech” is rated R for language and runs for one hour and 58 minutes. The R rating for this film is actually somewhat controversial.

It’s rated R for a bit of strong language used in one of the therapy sessions as a therapy technique. The R rating for this film shows much of the hypocrisy involved in MPAA ratings, otherwise this film would be rated PG. “The King’s Speech” is showing locally at The Rave in Little Rock.

Stranger, perhaps, than the fact that husband-and-wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore named their band simply “Tennis,” is the fact that they don’t seem to be trying very hard. I think they’re just along for the ride.

The Denver couple began recording music for fun, as a type of documentary outlet as they spent eight months together sailing up and down the Eastern Seaboard in a 30-foot sailboat.

When they got back, they shared their rough recordings with friends and after releasing a few of them on seven inch singles and then the blogosphere got a hold of them.

The demo versions of their songs “Marathon” and “South Carolina” hit the music blogs late last summer and soon enough, Oxford, Miss. record label Fat Possum signed Tennis and put out their full-length album, “Cape Dory” on Jan. 18.

The album’s cover is a bizarrelooking 80s throwback, recalling album art from Gloria Estefan or perhaps the “Flashdance” soundtrack, with Moore posing in a dated-looking blue floral leotard, and while the sound on the album doesn’t draw from ‘80s pop at all, it does rely heavily on nostalgia. The band’s sound is rooted mostly in ‘60s Phil Spector girl-pop like The Ronettes and The Crystals with Moore singing her own backup and harmony, recorded with a muted, fuzzy filter that makes her voice sound like a Polaroid photo looks.

The music is simplistic, driven mostly by Riley’s rough, jangly indie rock hollow-body electric guitar, like you might hear from The Walkmen, Vampire Weekend or Abe Vigoda, but subdued by the same rich, muted filter that contains

Moore’s voice. The guitar is backed by a deep organ-synth sound instead of a bass guitar, and a drum kit.

Lyrically, the album’s 10 songs are fairly basic as well, all of them centering around the couple’s experiences on the open sea, drawing a few song titles from their various ports of call: Cape Dory, Bimini Bay, Baltimore and South Carolina. On “South Carolina,” Moore sings “South Carolina, we mix ‘em in / if The South can’t do it, then no one can.”

The album doesn’t have a weak song on it, but it is a little two-dimensional when it comes to the range of emotion or variation in sound or song structure; every last one of them is a sweet, melodic retro-pop song about being in love at sea. There is not a single song about rejection or heartbreak and while it’s great to see an artist make something excellent and genuine without going through any sort of anguish, it shows a lack of range or emotional literacy and it makes me wonder where Tennis could possibly venture for a sophomore album.

I suspect that “Cape Dory” is just another port of call for this venturesome couple. I imagine they’ll leave the weird world of indie rock as easily as they entered it and move on to the next challenge.

-TELEVISION-

-NEW RELEASE-

‘Mission Bell’ gives listeners something different

by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

Amos Lee is once again wowing his listeners with his amazing voice and soothing songs with his fourth studio album, “Mission Bell,” released Jan. 21.

Lee has something to offer for music lovers everywhere. I would almost think it would be safe to say that almost anyone would like “Mission Bell.”

Not only does Lee have an amazing voice, but he can strum his guitar to match his soulful lyrics to make a combination like no other.

As a relatively new listener to Lee’s music, I would have to say “Mission Bell,” compared to his last album, “Last Days at the Lodge,” released in 2008, is just as good or better.

This album has 12 songs that all deserve different recognition. There honestly isn’t a bad song on “Mission Bell.” Although iTunes puts Lee into the alternative rock genre, I would have to disagree. Lee has almost a folk or jazz sounding voice that meshes with almost any melody and beat.

Lee collaborated with a plethora of artists on six of the songs on this album.

Those artists range from James Gadson to Willie Nelson.

If I had to pick a favorite song on the album, it would have to be “Jesus.” Lee collaborated with drummer Gadson for this song.

Not only does this song show off the chops that Lee actually possesses, it shows a heartfelt side to him and how he has reached a point in his life where he needs someone because he feels “so alone.” This song is so amazing, despite the lyrics being so heart-wrenching. It’s

Five Greatest TV Shows That Only Lasted One Season list compiled by Julian Spivey

realclearsports.com

Matt Walton and Matt Oberg play fictional sports announcers in the Comedy Central series, “Onion Sports Dome,” which premiered Jan. 11.

SportsDome new low for Comedy Central

By Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

zeusbox.com

Amos Lee released his fourth studio album, “Mission Bell,” on Jan. 21. The album features music that could fall under many genres in the music scene. set to a jazzy beat and has powerful lyrics that almost make you forget as a listener that the song is actually a cry for help from Lee to Jesus.

Another one of my favorites on “Mission Bell” is “Flower.” It features a simple guitar, piano and drum combination to accompany Lee’s wonderful voice. Male vocals harmonize with Lee during the chorus of this effortless love song. “Flower” is a song that describes Lee’s heart as a “flower that blooms every hour,” according to the lyrics.

Even though that might sound like just another love song, Lee’s unique voice makes it all his own. Lee sings: “I’m going to reach on up over that fear/ I’m never alone won’t you please be near/ I know that darkness before the dawn/ Tomorrow’s coming and yesterday’s gone.”

Another song on this album that I think will get some attention from

1. “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” (NBC) Following his TV classic, “The West Wing,” Aaron Sorkin had an excellent drama about the innerworkings of a late night comedy show, a la “Saturday Night Live” called “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” The show starred Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry and was a spectacular drama with nice political undertones.

It’s Sorkin’s wonderful political undertones that likely killed it off.

listeners both young and old is “El Camino Reprise.” I say this because this song features long time American legend Willie Nelson. I am not the biggest Nelson fan at all, but I know there are many Nelson lovers out there that will love this song. Lee does sing this song alone on the album as well, which I prefer over this reprise, but I do think this is a good collaboration. Lee and Nelson’s voices are so different, but they do fit together to make for a pleasant duet.

This is just a taste of this wonderfully put together album. I could easily listen to “Mission Bell” all day long. Lee’s voice is so gentle and heartfelt, but isn’t so gentle that listeners don’t hear the strength and talent this man has musically. Lee sings well by himself, along with the other six duets he does on this album that are worth listening to. I would suggest “Mission Bell” to anyone who loves just plain good music.

2. “Firefly” (Fox) Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” was a wonderfully inventive combination of Sci-Fi and Western. It was based in the future when the two superpowers of America and China have taken over and life has moved into space. The cast, which included current “Castle” star Nathan Fillion and current “Chuck” star Adam Baldwin, was one of the finest in TV history. The show’s sarcastic humor and non-stop action made this series top notch.

Comedy Central’s new series “Onion SportsDome,” which parodies sports news shows (most notably ESPN’s “SportsCenter”), debuted Jan. 11.

The pilot had a few slightly funny moments, but was mostly annoying and irritatingly stupid, a la other Comedy Central series like “Tosh.0.”

The fake sports show is hosted by fictional characters Alex Reiser and Mark Shepard, played by Matt Walton and Matt Oberg. The two hosts are supposed to parody sports announcers from “SportsCenter,” but are far too annoying.

It took about 10 minutes for them to grate on me.

The few moments that were funny ranged from something that you might actually see on a sports news show to the amazingly absurd.

The one joke that I could actually see certain sports commentators going on and on about is the far too cliché nobodywatches-soccer joke. You know this show is in trouble when they’re going to this old topic this soon.

Another slightly funny moment was the show’s opening bit about the big three stars on the Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, having made their own new rules for playing basketball. This joke went on for a little too long and certain bits were funny and others weren’t.

The funniest of the jokes was also the most absurd. The show was hosting a “Get hunted by [NASCAR driver] Kevin

Harvick Contest.” It’s really just a funny thought when it comes down to it, nothing really past that.

Some of the worst stuff on the episode included a meth addict fighting hallucinated snakes, a segment called “Who would you kill?” and a fighter with metal hands who is banned because of them. The most annoying bit of the night was one of the hosts using the words “deats,” instead of details.

“Onion SportsDome” is honestly the type of stuff that a junior high schooler could come up with. The Onion, which is usually a pretty fun mock news source, should be ashamed to put its name on this show. Parody is at its best when it’s close to the original work and in its own way sort of admires it, a la Mel Brooks films. However, “Onion SportsDome” is far too absurd for its own good and seems to go to outrageous lengths to make fun of sports and sports broadcasting.

I suspect that some people who hate sports might enjoy this show, just simply based on the fact that they hate sports, and it should have a good lead-in in “Tosh.0,” which seems to be popular for God-knows-why. However, I don’t see “Onion SportsDome” hanging around too long, especially with Comedy Central’s bad track record when it comes to new series, like the recent “The Jeff Dunham Show.” The network is no stranger to the one-and-done comedy series.

It’s an interesting idea for a show and it could be funny in another’s hands, but as of now it isn’t worth watching.

3. “The Good Guys” (Fox)

4. “Freaks & Geeks” (NBC)

“The Good Guys,” starring Bradley Whitford and Colin Hanks, premiered during the past summer on Fox and instantly became one of my favorites of the new TV season, but unfortunately due to low viewership it was canceled. The show was a nice spoof on corny ‘70s and ‘80s cop shows and Whitford, after winning an Emmy for drama in ‘West Wing,’ got to show his versatile acting skills with a comedy.

It’s amazing the kind of talent that graduated from NBC’s failed “Freaks & Geeks.” That cast included current Oscar-nominee James Franco, movie star Seth Rogen and star Jason Segel. It revolved around two factions of students: the freaks (hippieish stoners) and the geeks. The show’s lead character, Lindsay Weir, played by Linda Cardellini was the glue that held this show together, along with the stellar young cast.

5. “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” (NBC) “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” would still be going on strong on NBC and likely would have well into the future had it not been for the horrendous failure of Jay Leno in primetime. In the mid-2000s, Leno announced that he would give his ‘Tonight Show’ gig to O’Brien in 2009. When his new show failed, Leno reneged and the ensuing panic led to O’Brien being bought out by NBC.

Sports

8

February 9, 2011

From the Shotgun

By Ben Keller

Super Bowl XLV has decent game; real show botched by halftime entertainment, national anthem This past weekend’s Super Bowl XLV once again set a viewership record for television viewers around the country.

What they got treated to was a fairly exciting game but not entirely what I was expecting.

I figured the game was going to be a defensive battle royale, but the Packers seemed to be the only team that showed up during the first half.

While the Packers and Steelers were the stars of the Super Bowl, it was the stars performing for the game that really made the headlines.

Super Bowl XLV easily had the most troubled and, in my personal opinion, worst halftime show ever. Things got off to a rocky start before the game with the botched singing of the national anthem by Christina Aguilera.

You would think that a recording artist like her would be able to get her country’s national anthem correct. Then, to add insult to injury, she tried to make up for her mistake by editing a line and adding her own twist, but the damage had been done.

Aguilera completely removed the line, “O’er the rampart we watched,” from her rendition. To try and make up for the mistake, Aguilera then sang the line, “What so proudly we watched.”

This is just completely disrespectful to me. I don’t think anyone would have made as big of a deal about it if she had just missed the original line, but to go in, change the national anthem’s lyrics to cover herself and try to pass it off is just downright disgraceful.

She should have accepted her

mistake and just moved on with the anthem. If one good thing did come out of this it was a funny tweet from Deion Sanders: “Y’all leave Christina alone I was just informed that was the remix.

The nfl was running behind so she was sweet enough to help us out.”

Aguilera was just the beginning of the problems for Super Bowl XLV entertainment.

Platinum recording artists the Black Eyed Peas were this year’s halftime show entertainment.

While they are not my favorite, I hoped they could at least put together a good show. How wrong I was.

With a myriad of problems that included several technical difficulties, lighting problems and overall performance quality, I knew it was going to be a rough show from the start. Things got off to a bad start from the get-go with Fergie’s microphone not working and the show proceeded to get worse from there. The sound quality was flip-flopping back and forth the entire show.

Sometimes I could hear the Black Eyed Peas fine and not their background music or vice versa. When Slash showed up you could barely hear him playing while Fergie was belting out “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

I think this just goes to show that sometimes all the modern hype is sometimes not worth it if you want a quality halftime show. Hopefully next year we will get back to some good bands that will deliver. It is the Super Bowl after all, so the halftime entertainment should be just as big and epic as the event they are playing for.

Bears Brief

• The Sugar Bear tennis team lost to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans 5-2 Saturday at Burns Park in North Little Rock. The Sugar Bears dropped to 0-3 with the loss. The Sugar Bears’ pair of junior Allison Hartman and freshman Sasha Ruocco won number one doubles 9-7, but the Sugar Bears couldn’t take the doubles point as the two other teams each lost 8-6.

The Sugar Bears picked up two points during singles with Andersen winning 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 at number four singles and Rios winning 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at number six singles. The Sugar Bears will play their second conference match of the season Sunday in Natchitoches, La. against

Bear Chat with

Donavan Loring

by Simon Gable Staff Writer

Northwestern State University.

• The Bears basketball team lost to the Northwestern State University Demons 85-78 in Natchitoches, La. on Feb. 2. The Bears (5-16, 1-7) trailed 44-35 at halftime and the Demons (13-10, 5-3) began the second half with a fivepoint scoring streak to set the tone for the rest of the game. Senior guard Mike Pouncy and junior guard Dewan Clayborn each put 19 points on the board for the Bears.The win, combined with the Demons’ 80-79 overtime win against the Bears on Jan. 15, gave them the series sweep.

The Men’s Track team has gotten of to good start this indoor season with 10 members already qualifying for the Southland Conference Championships.

One of these qualifiers is stand-out competitor senior Donavan Loring.

Loring has qualified for the 60 meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and triple jump.

He did this by dominating the ASU Kickoff Klassic on Dec. 3 and 4 in Jonesboro, Ark. Loring placed first in the triple jump with a distance of 14.43 meters, first in the 55meter hurdles with a time of 7.86 seconds, first in the high jump with a height of 1.97 meters, and second in the long jump with a distance of 6.72 meters.

Nick Hillemann photo

Sophomore forward Westin Taylor shots over a University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks guard during the game on Saturday, Feb. 5 in the Farris Center. The Sugar Bears beat the Mavericks 63-37.

Sugar Bears mystify Mavericks 63-37

by Zachary O’Neal Staff Writer

The Sugar Bears move up 14-8, and now 6-3 in conference with their 63-37 victory over the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks Sunday in the Farris Center.

The Sugar Bears slowly pulled further and further ahead after their first score from the starting tip off. They managed to hold on to the lead for the whole game, scoring 32 in the first half and 31 in the second half.

The game ended with the lead scorer Megan Herbert scoring a total of 15 points, including 4-8 field goals and 7-8 free throws.

Micah Rice scored 14 points for the Sugar Bears while Britney Gowans and Courtney Duever each put 12 points on the board.

Duever led the Sugar Bears in rebounds in the game with 11.

“It was all energy” Coach Matt Daniel said. “Our defense energy was up and it allowed us to be more focused because everybody is more locked in. Therefore we were more disciplined on the offense and we

got the ball where it needed to go.”

The Sugar Bears bench outscored the Mavericks 24-8. Coach defensive game plan was “It stops.”

“That simple,” he said. Whatever I took, it stops. Within the rules, and keep out of foul trouble. I just wanted them to approach the game the right way, not take this team for granted and they did and we were different ball players.”

“We just had good luck off the bench,” Daniel said. “Britney Gowans, Desiree Rogers and Marci Moffitt went out there and played their tails off today and that was a big, big key.”

By the end of the first half, Herbert was recognized for being a sophomore to reach 1,000 points in her college basketball career.

“It’s a great honor for me,” she said. “But I think the team, us coming together and having a big game like that and winning is more important.”

In comparison to their previous game on Wednesday, the Sugars Bears defense performed a much better job. They finished with 19 steals, six blocks, and 26 defensive

rebounds.

“That’s the team that I want to coach,” Daniel said. “That defense we saw was as good as we’ve seen all year. We were just locked in and that’s part of it. They were all out there having a good time and it’s all in their approach.”

The Sugar Bears forced 27 turnovers and converted 23 points of defense, which led to their victory.

“We had good energy off the bench and we were able to rest some people, got to get everybody in the game,” Daniel said. “It’s just having fun, that’s what it’s all about having a good time.”

Daniel said having a game such as this one was helpful for the players considering that some of them were feeling a bit sick and a little under the weather, thus giving them time to rest and recover.

“Hopefully we should continue to respond and not let up and take things for grant,” Daniel said. “If we do that, we should be in the mix. There’s starting to be some serious separation in the league, and we’re in the top part of that separation.

-PREVIEW-

Bears softball ready to go against Lady Lions

by Lee Hogan Staff Writer

The Bears 2011 softball season will begin tomorrow afternoon at 3 when they take on the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Lions at Farris Field in Conway.

Coach David Kuhn said the team is ready to get the season under way, especially considering when the Bears take the field tomorrow it will have almost been a full month since the team started practicing back on Jan. 17.

“We’re ready to go. We’ve been practicing for a while, so we’re ready for competition and to get going,” he said.

Junior first baseman Kasey Britt shares Coach Kuhn’s anxiousness and says the rest of the team is the same way.

“We’re pretty ready to play,” Britt said.

“Especially because the weather has been pretty rough since we’ve started practicing and we’ve been forced to go inside for practices.”

Britt said being inside for practice just is not the same as being out on the field.

“It’s not as realistic as when you’re out on the field and the dirt practicing trying to get ready, so we’re ready to play,” she said.

Kuhn, entering his third season at UCA, said he has one goal this year and that is

He also took first place in the triple jump with a distance of 14.63 meters at the ASU Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark on Jan. 22.

Loring holds the UCA indoor record for the 1000-meter with a time of 2:58.27. He also holds the record the indoor triple jump with a distance of 15.19 meters, and the outdoor triple jump with a distance of 15.68 meters (51.5 feet).

The men’s track team competed last weekend, Feb. 4 and 5, in the Southern Illinois McDonald’s Invitational and Loring placed first in the triple jump with a mark of 15.13 meters.

How long have you been running track?

winning the Southland Conference. Britt also said the team believes this a reachable goal this year. The Bears were picked to finish 7th in the Southland Conference by the coaches and 8th by the Sports Information Directors, but Britt says the team believes it can do more than what is expected.

“We really believe in ourselves and what we can do this season.” Britt said. “We think we can be and will be a lot better than most people out there give us credit for.”

One of the reasons the Bears have reason to believe they can be better this year is the tremendous talent the team has coming back.

The Bears had four players named to the 2011 Preseason All-Southland Conference softball teams. Senior designated player Shay Ristau, the only senior on this year’s team and sophomore outfielder Candice Gauntt were named to the first team, while Britt and sophomore catcher Melanie Bryant were named to the second team.

“I think it is a big honor.” Britt said.

“Considering there were not that many players before us that received this selection and especially since we have become Division 1, I think it is a big honor.”

Kuhn said he shares the idea that having players named to All-Southland Conference teams is great, but hopes it carries over into a great season.

“Those are great awards, but it’s an award

I started running track when I was in the sixth grade.

What high school did you go to?

I went to Park View High School In Little Rock and graduated in 2006.

What is your best event?

I have always been good at the long jump and the decathlon, but the triple jump is my best event.

What is your best moment as a UCA Bear?

When I took home the gold medal at the 2008 Southland Conference indoor championship.

for a great season last year.” Kuhn said. “It is great as an extra for last year, but we just hope that those performances carry over to this season.”

Kuhn said the team does not have a vocal leader, but he does not see the team suffering because of it.

“We don’t really have that vocal leader on the team.” Kuhn said. “But we have a lot of lead-by-example girls who make up for it.”

One of the improvements Kuhn and Britt said the fans would see in the team this year was their performance at the plate.

“We didn’t have any real big games hitting last year,” Britt said. “We kind of just went up there and either hit or bunted it. This year we’ve gotten better at the plate. We’ve got slappers and we also have more power hitting than we did last season.”

The Bears last played the Lady Lions this past October during UCA’s Fall Tournament at Farris Field. The Bears defeated the Lady Lions 8-0 in six innings.

After facing the Lady Lions tomorrow, the Bears will take to the road this weekend for the Southern Miss Mizuno Classic Tournament in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Kuhn said the Bears will face some tough opposition in their non-conference schedule this season. Most notably are their games against Oklahoma, Baylor, and their homeand-home series against Ole Miss.

Who is your favorite professional athlete?

I don’t really have a favorite athlete, but I do respect talent.

I look at everybody and try to incorporate the good things they do into my routine.

What sport would you be playing if you weren’t running track?

It’s a toss up between swimming and football.

What are some of your hobbies?

I have always been a big fan of racing remote control cars.

When I have free time I go to the Thunder Valley R/C Raceway in Beebe. They have a new off road track that is really fun.

Favorite place to eat?

My favorite place to eat is Wing Stop.

What is your favorite television show?

I enjoy watching Family Guy.

When do you graduate?

I will either be graduating this summer, or after the fall semester. It all depends on when I get to do my internship.

What are your plans when you finish school?

I am a Health Education major, so I would like to teach middle school at some point. However, I do have Olympic aspirations so teaching will have to wait.

ucaecho.net

SPORTS

February 9, 2011 / 9

-NEW BEARS-

- B A S K E T B A L L-

Sugar Bears downed by Demons 76-72

by Ben Keller Sports Editor

The Sugar Bears basketball team lost its game against the North Western State University Lady Demons during overtime 76-72.

The game in the Farris Center on Feb. 2 was a game of missed free throws and turnovers for the Sugar Bears, who were not able to grab the victory in the final seconds of the second period and were forced into overtime. Coach Matt Daniel said his team did not come out to win the game and it led to their downfall during the overtime period.

“I don’t mean any disrespect at all, but we did not come prepared to win the ball game,” he said. “We could tell during warm-ups and we cannot allow that to happen.”

The Sugar Bears got off to an early lead during the overtime period with a made layup from sophomore forward Megan Herbert. Herbert was fouled on the shot and made her free throw putting the Sugar Bears up 65-62. The Sugar Bears lead would not last as back-to-back fouls led to the Lady Demons going up by one.

The Sugar Bears did fight back to tie the score again at 70 after sophomore guard Micah Rice made one of her two free throws with 51 seconds left in the game. The tie would not hold as Lady Demon’s junior guard James Jordan made a layup and then two free throws along with sophomore guard Meredith Graf making two free throws as well.

Herbert said Daniel kept telling the team to keep pushing during the overtime.

“He was telling us to keep going and putting up shots,” she said. “He wanted us to keep attacking and trying to get them to foul because they were in foul trouble.”

The Sugar Bears went 21-30 in free throws during the game while the Lady Demons were able to make 16-20. Daniel said his team has to make sure to hit its free throws when at the foul line.

“We have to try and make those,” he said. “We were not focused at all and it showed in our play.”

The Sugar Bears started the game off fighting to stay with the Lady Demons. For more than 12 minutes during the first period, the Lady Demons led the Sugar Bears and had the largest led of nine at 7:27.

Toward the end of the first period, the Sugar Bears were able to gain control of the game and wrestled the lead away from the Lady Demons. Sophomore forward Westin Taylor hit a threepoint shot to give the Sugar Bears the lead back again with 1:05 left in the half.

Junior guard Marci Moffitt hit a three-point shot as well, but James from the Lady Demons got the final shot in the half with a jump shot buzzer beater making the score 32-30 going into halftime. Daniel said the Lady Demons played even harder than they had earlier in the season when the Sugar Bears played

Anthony Byrnes photo

From left, wide receiver Brett Soft, defensive end Devin Hawkins, offensive lineman Arturo Hernandez and kicker Kevin Buford are announced as new additions to the Bears team on Feb. 2.

Football program signs 23 on National Signing Day

by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

Anthony Byrnes photo

Sophomore forward Megan Herbert dribbles around lady Demons’ sophomore center Jasmine Upchurch during the game on Feb. 2 in the Farris Center. The Sugar Bears lost the game in overtime 76-72. them in Natchitoches, La., where the Sugar Bears won 70-52.

“They were able to come over the top and my hat is off to them,” he said. “They wanted it worse than we did and were able to steal one on the road.”

The Sugar Bears led the game during the majority of the second half, but in the final three minutes, the Lady Demons started fighting back and the Sugar Bears could not get off a final shot to prevent the overtime.

Herbert said the Lady Demons came into Conway that night to play and the Sugar Bears were not expecting what they played against. “[The Lady Demons] came in here to win and we were not expecting it all,” she said. “We just took it for granted.”

The Lady Demons took the lead away with 2:48 left in the half with James sinking two free throws, making the score 59-57.

Herbert answered back with two free throws of her own to tie the score again. Junior guard Nakeia Guiden made one of her two free throws to put the Sugar Bears up by one, but the Lady Demons answered with a jump shot to take back control.

Guiden went back to the foul line again and made both free throws to lead the Lady Demons by one 62-61. The Lady Demons had the chance to seal the game when James went to the foul line

but she was only able to make one of her shots with 1:12 left.

The Sugar Bears tried to throw up some last-second shots but were forced to go into the overtime that led to their loss.

The Sugar Bears shot average was 38.6 percent, compared to the Lady Demons’ who put up an average of 43.1 percent. The Lady Demons had 16 turnovers while the Sugar Bears had 23.

Herbert led the Sugar Bears in scoring with 25 points and was 9-10 from the free throw line. Taylor came in right behind Herbert with 20 points with four three-points baskets.

Herbert said the team has to be playing as one unit and has to work together to win.

“We just were not all together,” she said. “You could obviously tell from that first half that it was horrendous. There is no excuse for 13 turnovers.”

She said during the second half the Sugar Bears pushed to keep fighting back but the team was not clicking like it usually does on the court.

“It was a breakdown of communication between the players,” she said. “The coaching staff kept telling us that [the Lady Demons] are ready and are here to play so do not take them lightly. We did.”

The Sugar Bears’ next game will be tonight at 7 against the Texas State Lady Bobcats in San Marcos, Texas.

-MARTIAL ARTS-

World Jiu-Jitsu champion teaches grappling club students

by Jillian Browder Staff Writer

When it comes to campus martial arts clubs, UCA boasts something that many others do not—a world champion as an instructor.

Though the UCA Grappling Club has been around for almost two years, few know about the opportunity it offers—virtually private lessons with senior Hillary Williams, one of only four Americans to ever be crowned world champ in Brazilian JiuJitsu.

“She gets paid about $500 to do a two-hour seminar and she’s teaching at UCA for free,” junior Dustin Davis said. “There are so many people from around the country within the sport that envy the club because we get to take lessons from her, a world champion, for nothing.”

Technically a grappling club, their focus mainly lies in the Brazilian art, a building block for sports such as MMA and UFC. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has its origins in Judo Williams said.

“It’s essentially the same format,” Williams said. “You start standing, you have to take your opponent down, except instead of trying just to throw them flat on their backs, you actually continue once you hit the ground. And the ultimate goal is forcing your opponent to submit.”

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that utilizes the entire body, Williams said. It makes you aware of muscles you didn’t even know that you had.

“Even though it’s a sport, it originated out of self-defense,” Williams said, “so there are a lot of people that enter the sport without any idea to ever compete.”

It becomes something more than just a title and a trophy, to many it can be a way of life, Williams said.

Despite the fact that the average time to reach a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is between eight to 12 years, Williams has managed to do it in under five as well as land champion titles at varying levels. This summer she plans to defend her more recent titles in the Pan Am

Championships as well as the World Championship Williams said.

One of a handful of American’s to win a world title, she is also one of a few to have the chance to teach the sport in its native country of Brazil.

This is Williams last semester to teach the club here at UCA, but she is leaving it in Davis’ hands.

“It’s not going to be the same without her, but it’s still just going to be a lot of students getting together, learning Jiu-Jitsu and having fun,” said Davis.

The club is open to all students and faculty, and even alumni have been known to show up once or twice. The club meets twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. and is located on the third floor of Meadors Hall, the ROTC building. If interested, anyone can show up for a look at the class and decide if they want to join.

“We’re open to anyone, and we’re not going to discipline you for not showing up twice a week every week,” Davis said. “We’re just here to learn what we can and have a good time.”

Last Wednesday was National Signing Day and UCA took the opportunity to announce the 23 men who have committed to be in the football program.

“It is another banner day, a benchmark day for our football program,” Coach Clint Conque said.

Of the 23 players, four of them were mid-year additions from two-year colleges. All four of these young men attended the 3 p.m. press conference in the Hall of Fame room at Estes Stadium on Wednesday.

Kevin Buford, a kicker/ punter, transferred from Northwest Community College where he had a career long of 50 yards. Conque referred to him as “our long specialist.”

Buford said: “I decided on UCA because I love the atmosphere. It’s close to home, and I love the campus. I have a good chance to make an impact here.”

The other mid-year additions are Devin Hawkins, defensive end; Arturo Hernandez, offensive line, and Brett Soft, wide receiver.

Conque explained the recruiting process, which he refers to as a “recruiting footprint.”

“We start here in Arkansas and expand out,” Conque said.

He explained that NCAA regulations are always figured into the process.

“It starts with spring evaluations in May and the summer camps,” Conque said, “These are crucial elements.”

He said the coaching staff develops a profile of the type of athlete and student they want in the program. After official and unofficial visits to the campus, the prospects spend two nights without the coaches, with just the players and their families. “[The players] represent UCA and our program very well. I am very proud of these young men,” Conque said.

Conque said: “When they come to our campus and our community and see the vision and tradition we have here, that completes the [recruiting] process. We have an amazing tradition of football here that dates back 100 years.”

Other than the four midyear additions, UCA signed 11

offensive players, including quarterback Trey Taylor and eight defensive players.

14 of the signees are from Texas, including Taurean Anderson, defensive back from Cibolo, who Conque said was “the first high school commitment and he held true the whole year.” Only two players are from Arkansas: James “Jimbo” Bodron, offensive line from Heber Springs, and Wesleigh Foster, running back from Clarksville.

Conque said there are more players in a couple of high schools in Texas than there are in all of Arkansas. “ Conque had praise not only for the community and players, but for the coaching staff as well.

Conque said this class addresses some immediate needs and adds depth.

“You’ll see some length, some size, some contact players and young men with a high football IQ,” Conque said.

He said that it’s too early to determine if this year’s class will be an improvement on last year’s class until we have the postseason statistics.

-PREVIEW-

Bears prepare for Texas State tonight in Farris Center

by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

The Bears are up for a challenge when they play the Texas State Bobcats in a conference game tonight at 7 in the Farris Center.

The Bobcats, who currently have a conference record of 4-3 and an overall record of 9-12, beat Southland Conference opponent Stephen F. Austin 66-61 last Wednesday at Texas State.

“We’re just coming off a loss from Northwestern, preparing for UT Arlington and looking forward to Texas State,” Jonathan Jackson, assistant basketball coach, said. “[Texas State is] a pretty good team. We’ve got our hands full. Plus, beating Stephen F. Austin, even at home, is a big win for them.”

Even though the Bears will have the home court advantage in this game, they have played their last two games, which were both conference games, on the road. On the other hand, Texas State has played their previous two games at home before coming to Conway tonight.

After Texas State, UCA will go

on the road again Saturday to play a conference game against McNeese State.

The Bears are struggling this season, with a conference record of 1-7 and an overall record of 5-16. One advantage Texas State will have when they face off is the fact that this is the fifth season at Texas State for Coach Doug Davalos.

Bears’ coach Corliss Williamson has only been here since March 2010, and there is a learning curve, Jackson said.

“We are trying to get the [players] on board with the new coach’s program,” Jackson said.

“It’s a work in progress.”

Another disadvantage the Bears will have to face that Stephen F. Austin did not is senior forward Cameron Johnson.

Jackson said Johnson is Texas State’s “best player.”

Jackson said, “Johnson was suspended for the last two games, but comes back the night we play them unfortunately.”

He pointed out that Johnson’s absence apparently didn’t make much difference versus Stephen F. Austin. He was uncertain of the reason for Johnson’s suspension.

“Right now we are

focusing on fundamentals and techniques,” Jackson said. “All 12 of [the players] are laying it on the line now and that’s a big help.”

Clarence Finley, associate head coach for the Bears, said: “We are playing harder in certain spots, but the problem is we can’t sustain it for 40 minutes.

When we can sustain that and when we start to focus, we will be successful.”

Jackson pointed out some reasons that Texas State will be a tough opponent.

“They have great guard play.

They take care of the ball and don’t have a lot of turnovers. They are patient on offense, looking and waiting for the best shot available,” he said.

Jackson said it is these qualities, along with strong leadership, that made them a formidable opponent.

Finley agrees with Jackson about Texas State’s leadership and feels the need for it at UCA. “Right now we don’t have a dominant, go-to player and we need one,” Finley said. “Right now we have to do it collectively, as a team.”

10 / February 9, 2011

SPORTS

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