April 27, 2011 by The Echo

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

Volume 105 — Issue 13

April 27, 2011 Wednesday

Opinion:

4 TODAY

Thunderstorms

66/46

4T H U R S D AY Sunny

76/50

4F R I D AY Sunny

81/62

Blood Drive The American Red Cross will have a blood drive on campus today and tomorrow from 10:30 a.m.4:30 p.m. in the Student Center Courtyard. T-shirts, drinks and snacks will be given to everyone who donates and everyone who donated blood last time will be eligible to donate again.

Baseball: Bears split doubleheader with Mavericks 18-14, 9-1

Reynolds: “Legally Blonde: The Musical” amazes sold-out crowd

Voice: Proposed tuition, fee changes fair to students

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4 page 6

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Students place third at Microsoft Imagine Cup for developing phone application for skin cancer by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

National competitions aren’t easy to compete in, let alone, place in. Two UCA

students did both of those things. Sophomore Brendan Lee and graduate student Muhydennin Ercan won third place as team UCA Ursus in the nation in the 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup from April 8 to 12 in Seattle and Redmond, Wash. 74,000 students from 400 different schools participated in the competition. The two placed in the competition for their work on an application that monitors skin cancer. According to the Microsoft Imagine Cup website, imaginecup.com, this is a

diagnostic application that allows people to self-monitor a diagnosed skin lesion using their cell phones. This will add new images to a database of previous images and compare the new images to the previous ones. The app can detect a change in the region, and, if necessary, send a warning message and a summary report to a physician. “It was my project first,” assistant professor of computer science,Sinan Kockara said. Kockara then collaborated with the two students and developed a dataset for

CAMPUS CLEANUP

By Lee Hogan Staff Writer

“Guitar Hero” Tournament Students can sign up to participate in the “Guitar Hero” Tournament sponsored by Conway Corporation at Toad Suck Daze Friday to Sunday. To register, students can go online to conwaycorp.com/ support/tournament.aspx.

Senior Brick Seniors graduating in May can become a part of the UCA Senior Legacy Walk by ordering a senior brick. Brochures are available at Buffalo Alumni Hall or online at uca.edu/alumni.

Photo by Rose Cowling

Seniors Xavier Lay and Issac Morales help clean the campus April 21 as an effort of the Interfraternity Council. This is the second time IFC has worked together.

250 Mile Club The Bear Tracks 250 Mile Club is accepting members. Students are able to accumulate up to five miles a day and mileage is self-reported. Mileage can be done by walking, jogging or running on a treadmill or on the indoor or outdoor track.

Senior Lindsey Siefferman recently won a prestigious national Student Nurses’ Association award at an awards banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Isabel Hampton Robb Leadership Award is an annual award given out to the current or immediate past student nurse’s association state president whose leadership most resembles Isabel Hampton Robb, who was known for pioneering nursing organizations including the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing and the International Council of Nursing. Nominees must be approved by their individual state board of directors and must also have letters of recommendation. These letters must come from the dean of the nursing program at the school, an instructor and a fellow SNA member. The nominees must also write an essay describing their accomplishments or professional goals. Siefferman, who is the current president of the Arkansas chapter of SNA, said she applied for the award not expecting to win and her initial reaction was surprise.

“Honestly, I was shocked,” Siefferman said. “The group of students eligible for this award are astounding. Nursing leaders from around the country who have served in so many roles. Each of them is amazing. The students nominated have done so much, and to think that I was the winner in this group was unbelievable.” Siefferman said she did not realize at first that she had won and became disappointed. “When they present the award, they read from the nomination letters before announcing the winner,” Siefferman said. “I was nervous with anticipation, but when the woman started reading I felt a tinge of disappointment because I didn’t recognize the words. About halfway through the letter, though, I recognized a line and realized it was mine. I looked at my friend Scott, he gave me a hug and I started crying as they finished reading. I don’t even remember walking on stage.” Siefferman’s friend Scott Byrd is Director for the Arkansas SNA and said Siefferman’s feat was no small one. “It’s a pretty big deal,” Byrd said. “I think it’s the best student award. To be nominated you have to be a state president and taking initiative and recognizing the importance professional organizations

See Award - page 3

-PROGRAM-

Students form Cub Connect, paid to recruit future Bears by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

Cub Connect is a new organization on campus in which current students are paid to recruit future Bears. The paid program is being offered by the office of Admissions, which came up with the idea. Assistant directors of the office of admissions Jennifer Modrack and Jenny Kyle will co-direct the new Cub Connect program.

Auditions for Children’s Musical The Arkansas Shakespeare Theater will be holding auditions May 14 for children ages 8-16 to take part in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Two audition sessions will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Bridges-Larson Theater in Snow Fine Arts.

See App - page 3

Student wins national nursing award

As part of the “Night-Out-Series,” the Russian National Ballet will perform “Cinderella” at the Reynolds Performance Hall tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. Elena Radchenko founded the group in the 1980’s in Moscow and 50 dancers will perform the story of “Cinderella” on stage. Tickets are available for $30-$40 for adults, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $25-$35 for alumni, $28-$33 for faculty and staff and $10 for students. For ticket information, call the RPH box office or go online to uca.edu/tickets.

Upward Bound is seeking tutors for the 2011-12 academic year. Applicants need to be upperclassmen and have reliable transportation. Applicants also need to be qualified to tutor high school students. Upward Bound is highly interested in math and science tutors.

the experiment. Kockara said the app can help physicians along with with the patients, in diagnosing the cancer early. “After we test the application, this can raise the awareness and survival rate of skin cancer,” Lee said. Kockara said he talked with Lee in his Computer Science II class and talked about the Microsoft Imagine Cup and decided to shoot for it.

- A C H I E V E M E N T-

“Cinderella” Ballet

Upward Bound Job Opportunity

Cell phone app raises cancer awareness g

Around Campus:

Sports:

Campus Life:

“It’s really about building relationships between current students and prospective students,” Kyle said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for current students to earn money while they help prospective students.” Cub Connect staff members are expected to participate in Bear Facts Days as well as fulfill six hours per month of telecounselling service. Kyle said the telecounseling service is an outreach program in which current students will call prospective students, including those who have toured the cam-

pus, to see if the prospective students have any questions or concerns. “Basically, they are making follow-up calls,” Kyle said. She said the main difference between the Cub Connect program and the Ambassador program, other than the pay, is the telecounseling service that Cub Connect members will participate in. Kyle said she was pleased with the interest UCA students have shown in the program so far, especially with it being so new.

While she did not have an exact number of people who applied, Kyle said it was quite a few. “We sent out a campus wide email through cub mail as well as put an ad in The Echo to inform as many students as possible about the new opportunity,” she said. “We are hoping for a staff of 25 to 30 people.” She said the position is for a full aca-

See Connect - page 3

-AC TION-

- I M P R O V E M E N T-

Students require remediation in Strategic plan set in place first year of higher education by Brad Smith Staff Writer

by Britney Toombs Staff Writer

For many incoming freshman, making a schedule starts with general education classes or perhaps one or two major classes. For others, however, it does not. According to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, the fall 2009 semester listed 506, or 29 percent, of all 1,777 incoming freshman at UCA as conditional students, meaning they needed at least one

Index

4 Opinion 4 Campus Life 4 Entertainment 4 Sports

6 9

remediation class —due to either scoring below a 19 on their ACT or not taking the ACT at all—before they could be admitted to an associate or baccalaureate degree program. This number, however, seems to be average. “It’s consistent,” said Dr. Julia Winden Fey, director of the University College. “As more students come to college, there are more remedial students, but it’s usually the

See Education - page 2

The UCA Board of Trustees has approved a new strategic plan to guide the university for the next three to five years. President Meadors created the Strategic Planning and Resources Council in Spring 2009 after an accreditation visit from the Arkansas Higher Learning Commission. They told Meadors that while UCA was doing a lot of things right, the creation of a strategic plan was necessary to

Next Issue:

The Echo will return in the fall. Have a safe summer!

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give UCA a unified plan for the future. Michael Schaefer, an English professor at UCA and the chair of SPARC, said that UCA will not be making any major changes in doctrine or in the way it operates. He said that notable changes will be in the assessments of departments’í educational effectiveness. Schaefer said UCA was doing most things correctly, but that the Arkansas Higher Learning Commission said a strategic plan was necessary to keep UCA on track.

See Plan - page 3

Editor sees changes Whilwind time in life means new experiences, look back at past

page 4

2 / April 27, 2011

NEWS

Education:

Police Beat The following reports and arrests are from the UCAPD docket. UCAPD reports any tickets issued as arrests, according to ucapd.com.

Police find 44 bags of marijuana in students car Student Joe Diggs, 19, was arrested April 12 at 1 p.m. for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and distribution. UCAPD found a large amount of contraband in Diggs’s possession. The police confiscated two multicolored glass pipes, a brown pipe, a black Phantom BB gun, a black Marksman BB pistol, rolling papers, sandwich bags, Glad Press’n Seal bags, a sentry safe, a clear glass bong, five Adderall pills and 44 bags of marijuana. Diggs also had $4,015 in cash on him.

Student’s phone stolen in business building Student Rick Nwozuzu, 25, reported April 15 at 12:50 p.m. that his phone, a black HTC ARIA A6366, had been stolen from the College of Business lobby. He said he was sitting on a couch in the lobby before class and left at 10:45 a.m. 15 minutes later he noticed his phone was missing

and left class to look for his phone.

Nonstudent charged with drunken driving On April 9 at midnight UCAPD noticed a red Jeep traveling north on Farris Road crossing over the centerline of traffic, causing vehicles to swerve into the shoulder. The officer pulled over nonstudent Ethan King, 18. The officer smelled alcohol as he approached the car. The officer saw three 12-ounce Coors Light bottles and two 8-ounce Bud Light cans in the passenger side floorboard. Half a bottle of Malibu coconut rum was found sticking out of King’s backpack as well as five more bottles of 12-ounce Coors Light. All of the alcohol was poured out. King was unable to provide proof of insurance and said he was following the vehicle in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot but he said he hadn’t been drinking. King said his mother could pick up his car so it wouldn’t be towed. King was charged with driving while intoxicated, careless driving, and underage possession of alcohol.

- G O V E R N M E N T-

SGA votes to allocate funds for IDEAL by Marisa Hicks Assistant News Editor

The Student Government Association voted to appoint new advisors for IDEAL and to fund IDEAL for next semester. The senate also voted to keep Vice President of Finance Kyle Boyd under his position during the summer. IDEAL, as mandated by the SGA constitution, needs $5,171.04 to run each year for 32 members. IDEAL director Becca Moye requested SGA fund IDEAL an extra $6,638.58 for the 2012 fiscal year. Moye said the extra funding would cover one time moving expenses because IDEAL is branching off from the SGA office and constitution and is moving into the Health Center. The money would go toward purchasing leadership materials, a printer, a phone, furniture, a computer and the maintenance fees to install all of these items. Boyd said the IDEAL budget needs to be funded in order to get IDEAL on its own feet and get it an office of its own with professional help. Moye said IDEAL has rotation groups so the students have

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a chance to spend time with each other outside of the program. The senate took a majority roll call vote that passed 35-1, and, by majority, voted to approve the new IDEAL appointments and advisors. The senate voted Boyd in as the vice president of finance over the summer term. President Meghan Thompson said MESA architects were chosen to design the amphitheater last Tuesday. Executive Vice President Austin Hall said there were 45 applicants for the office worker position. He said the executive board asked assistant vice president Kevin Braswell to be an adviser next semester. Hall said Braswell’s experience on the executive board in college for four years more than qualifies Braswell for the position and the senate is waiting for Braswell to accept the offer. The freshman class said it spoke with John Gale from Housing and Channel 6 and confirmed the costs for setting up cable in Bear Village. They have decided to carry out creating a movie channel into

their goals for next year. Sophomore President Michael Murphy said the paint for the mural project will cost $110 a gallon and 13 gallons of paint will be needed. Senator at Large Ty Bittle proposed an amendment to the constitution regarding SAFA be changed that did not pass. Over the past year, applications for Spring 2011 SAFA funding doubled and the senate allocated $132,469. In the fall, the senate allocated $141,000. During the 2011 fiscal year, the senate allocated changes to the by law regarding travel and accomodation funding and covering registration fees over $1,000. The senate partnered with UCAPD throughout the term to fund Operation Safe Walk, Brake for Bears, Gotcha and Safe Spring Break lectures. Also, the senate allocated fee proposals for the Writing and Academic Success Centers, Student Center fees and HPER Center fees for remodeling. The senate also funded three Thing BIG! projects to benefit the students this year.

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LIVING YOUR DREAM THROUGH EDUCATION! With funding made possible by the

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If you received the Academic Challenge Scholarship this year, review your eligibility requirements at www.adhe.edu. There’s still time to make up hours and grades during the summer term. If you did not receive the Academic Challenge Scholarship, reapply no later than June 1 at www.adhe.edu or download the free YOUniversal financial aid application for your smart phone.

Bills purposing remedial law came through Arkansas legislature 4 Continued

from page 1

same percentage [of remedial students] each year.” If this holds true for other schools, this might not be a good thing, Fey said. According to ADHE rates, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff had more than 90 percent of its incoming students needing at least one remediation course in fall 2009, a severe number compared with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, which had only 11.5 percent. UCA is the only other school with fewer than 40 percent of its students needing remediation. The average for all four-year Arkansas universities is 40.4 percent and it increases to 75.8 percent for two-year colleges. Colleges and universities may need to blame school districts in specific counties from which their students come, Fey said. Information provided by UCA’s University College found that 23 counties in fall 2007 had more than 50 percent of their first-time entering students seeking an associate or baccalaureate degree needing a remedial class in math. Only Randolph and Boone counties had fewer than 25 percent of their students needing the remedial classes. The counties fare better in reading and English with only St. Francis, Lee, Phillips, Monroe and Chicot counties needing 50 percent of their students remediated. Almost half of the 75 counties in Arkansas have 12 to 25 percent of their students needing a remediation course in the subjects, showing just how far behind the math programs are compared with the English and reading programs. K-12 programs always will be blamed for their students’ faults, but colleges and universities offer assistance. While many high schools have implemented weekend and summer classes to help students on the ACT, sometimes it is not enough. Colleges and universities also work with the high school students needing remediation. UCA does so by telling students when they come to freshman orientation and schedule their classes whether they’ll need remediation. UCA mails a letter explaining the options.

UCA also contacts high school counselors and explains the options to them. This way a student can ask the counselor what options would be best for him or her. Options include taking the Compass test to test out of the classes, taking the remedial courses at another school or taking them during the summer at UCA. Students also can come in the fall or spring to UCA and sign up for remedial classes along with other general education classes, as they must complete 12 hours of general education credit before entering a degree program.

“The biggest change [in students] over the years has been with reading...which is scary.” -Julia Winden Fey, director of the University College The Compass test is similar to the ACT in that it analyzes students’ skills in reading, writing, essay writing, math and English as a Second Language. If students pass this test, they do not take remedial classes. Those students who do not pass are placed in the appropriate remedial classes based on their test results. Several bills were proposed during the Arkansas legislative session to amend current remedial law, including one representatives Johnnie Roebuck (D-Arkadelphia) and Donna Hutchinson (R-Bella Vista) proposed. The bill would have required all students in need of remediation to take the Compass test before entering collegiate remedial programs. Jeff Pitchford, UCA vice president of university and government relations, said none of the bills passed committee, but they are expected to reappear in the coming years. The teaching of remedial students at UCA falls on the University College. Because 50 percent of conditional students need math, the University College offers two

classes: beginning algebra and intermediate algebra. Other courses include general education classes, university studies (a class that all conditional students must take once a week to learn the ropes of college), transitional writing and transitional reading, which has had an increase in students. Winden Fey said, “The biggest change [in students] over the years has been with reading. More students need reading, which is scary. Reading is in everything – science, English, communications. It’s not that they can’t read; they’re just not understanding. They need better comprehension.” Little data exist on whether remedial students go on to graduate from UCA. “The fall-to-fall retention rate for entering, full-time [University College] students (2008 to 2009) was 56.8 percent as compared to 71 percent for the entire university,” according to the division of undergraduate studies 20092010 annual report. Whether the 56.8 percent are likely to continue to graduation is unknown. The data involved with this were lost when UCA’s computer information system was changed to Banner in 2007 and more time is needed to collect fresh data. Winden Fey, though, remains optimistic. “Most get up to speed and move on, especially the nontraditional students,” she said. Traditional students make up about 80 percent of UCA’s remedial students. The rest are nontraditional students who need the refresher courses before taking regular classes or who have never taken an ACT. Over half of the remedial students are minorities, with Caucasians making up 37.66 percent. University College faculty teach up to five classes a week, two-thirds of them in remediation and the rest in general education. Despite all it does, the University College has a small budget compared with other departments, such as the business administration department, which had almost a $1.7 million budget in 2009-2010. A majority of the University College’s budget goes to faculty salaries and benefits, which comes to $558,000, excluding summer salaries. Instructional and assessment costs make up the rest, coming to about $12,000. Overall, its spending amounts to about $570,000. It makes up for these costs through student tuition. For fall 2009 it brought in roughly $1.7 million.

ucaecho.net

NEWS

April 27, 2011 / 3

- M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N -

New editors for student publications will start positions in fall by Brad Smith Staff Writer

New editors for the The Echo, The Scroll and The Vortex have been appointed. All of the appointed editors will take begin their positions next semester. The UCA Publication Board appointed senior Preston Tolliver as The Echo’s editor and senior Julian Spivey as The Echo’s associate editor. Sophomore Callie France was appointed as The Scroll’s editor. Junior McKenzie Hobbs was appointed as The Vortex’s editor

with junior Sarah Wilson as assistant editor. Tolliver and Spivey were the only applicants for The Echo editorial positions. France was the only applicant for the Scroll’s editorial position. The Vortex had 17 applicants, but only three were accepted for interviews. Tolliver has worked for The Echo for five semesters and said he would like to see improvements in The Echo’s website. He said he hopes the website can be used to update the campus with important announcements and

campus emergencies. “I would like to be able to upload the more important stories to the website as they happen instead of having to wait a week to publish something and inform students of what’s going on around campus,” Tolliver said. “For example, Lu Hardin pleaded guilty on a Monday and we couldn’t publish anything until Wednesday. Something like that should be published right away.” Spivey said he also hopes The Echo’s website can be used for important news updates. Spivey

Common-sense strategy includes diversity, integrity to benefit students 4 Continued from page 1

Students recieve school credit for cancer awareness project, competition 4 Continued from page 1 satisfied with their success. “Third place is awesome,” Lee Brendan Lee Muhydennin Ercan said, “We were one of the smallsaid. est teams and the winners had a UCA’s team competed against lot of experience. There were a lot Harvard, Arizona State University, of smart people there. All of the California State University and 10 teams competing were really the University of Houston, to strong.” name a few. Kockara said that out of all of “We beat my dissertation core the competitors in their category, adviser for my Ph.D, so that was software design, Lee was the good,” Kockara said. youngest competitor. The UCA team is planning on Kockara is very proud of the competing in the international team he has gotten to mentor. level in New York City represent“Now they believe in ing the United States in July. themselves, their mindset has Lee said he wants to make changed,” Kockara said. sure that people know that the Placing in this competition competitions aren’t limited to just has helped get UCA’s name out in computer science students. the world. “There is pretty much a place “Nobody used to know about for anyone who wants to do it,” UCA, but now they do,” Kockara Lee said.

Nursing:

Student wins national ANA award, receives cash prize, book 4 Continued from page 1 state level and one step further to the national level.” Siefferman said after she hugged all her friends in attendance, she wasted little time spreading the word back home. “I sent my mom a text that said ‘I won!’” Siefferman said. The award comes with $1,000 and a commemorative edition of

the 1893 Hampton Book. One of Isabel Hampton Robb’s most notable contributions was developing a grading policy for nursing students. Robb served as head of the John Hopkins School of Nursing and also served as president of what is now known as National League for Nursing and also American Nurses Association. The award is sponsored by Elsevier, who is a publisher of Mosby and Saunders nursing titles. Robb was Saunders’ first nursing author.

Schaefer said Meadors had experience with making a strategic plan at the last university he worked. SPARC consisted of faculty, staff and administration from all over UCA. Schaefer said UCAPD, SGA and many other groups were represented. The earlier drafts of the plan were made public so the UCA community could comment and submit ideas for the plan. Each group in the committee also drew up their own ideas for the committee and SPARC consolidated all of the plans into one unified plan. “It was surprising how much

overlap there was in the plans,” Schaefer said. The plan focuses on the future of the university in broad ways. Diversity is a key issue for the plan, which UCA plans to promote. Much of the plan involves ideas for continuing to improve the educational atmosphere of UCA. This includes relationships on and off campus, such as other universities and legislative bodies. A large part of the plan also deals with UCA’s ability to adapt to a budget that may not increase in the near future. This includes

Connect:

Program encourages members to be intimately involved on campus 4 Continued from page 1 demic year. “This year we interviewed everyone who applied,” Kyle said. “Since it is a new program, we wanted to make sure everyone who applied understood the program.” She said that as more students become aware of the program, the interest will increase. “Hopefully the Cub Connect program will continue to grow,” she said. Kyle said it was important to choose the candidates carefully

because the students chosen will be one of the first contacts prospective students have. She said they will serve as the front-line force and be considered important members of the admissions team. She said any student with at least a 2.5 GPA who has been enrolled as a full-time UCA student for two semesters was eligible to apply. She said ambassador experience was helpful, but not necessary.

of groups more involved, such as athletics, the Greek organizations and various RSOs.” Faculty members of the publication board were David Keith, adviser for The Echo, Polly Walter, faculty adviser for The Scroll, and Garry Craig Powell, adviser for The Vortex. Students on the publication board were Taylor Lowery, editor of The Echo, Davion Dotson, editor of The Scroll, Callie France, associate editor of The Scroll, Megan Riley, editor for The Vortex, and Alyx VanNess, associate editor of The Vortex.

maintenance. The plan also deals with integrity for the entire UCA community by laying out ways for UCA to be more connected to the community. The plan works as an official common sense strategy for UCA to follow for the next three to five years. There will be yearly reviews of its effectiveness with a comprehensive review at the end of the term. According to the plan, it is not a firm plan with room for improvement. The plan says UCA should make sure that the current SPARC efforts are perused, accessed, re-evaluated, and part of ongoing dialogue. This means that the UCA community will be able to critique and improve the plan by continuing to give SPARC ideas. Kyle said the ideal candidates would be responsible, friendly and show a willingness to volunteer their time. Aside from the telecounseling and Bear Facts Day interaction, Cub Connect employees are expected to be intimately involved with all on-campus events as well as volunteer efforts in the community. Sophomore Darlecia Williams is one of the new hires for the Cub Connect program. “I am so excited about it,” Williams said. “I was an ambassador this year so I am happy to continue to help. I love talking to prospective students and making them feel more comfortable around campus. The Cub Connect program was truly a great opportunity for me.”

University of Central Arkansas

Spring Term 2011

and taking a step beyond just a local chapter.” Byrd said Siefferman has worked hard for this accomplishment and deserves it. “Its a big honor to have a UCA student win a national award,” Byrd said. “She has been a great leader locally and at the

“We’re both a little nervous never having worked on the magazine before,” Hobbs said. “But I know there will be some veterans still around for the first semester, so things should run pretty smoothly. We’re aspiring to do great things with next year’s publication.” France has worked for The Scroll for three years. She said her main plan for The Scroll is to raise awareness of the book. “I really want the book to be more well-known on campus,” France said. “I plan to get all sorts

Plan:

App:

This project caused Sinan, Ercan and Lee to work together for a while. “We talked a lot through phone calls and e-mail,” Lee said. Ercan is not a stranger to competition. He won first place in an informatics competition in his home country of Turkey. After talking to the computer science department chair and working hard, Ercan and Lee will both receive school credit for their work on this project. “This counted as a class for us. We get three credit hours,” Ercan said. Kockara said the students will have to write a paper about the experience they had at the competition. The two students are very

has worked for the Echo for 10 semesters and helped create The Echo’s entertainment section. Next year will be Hobbs’ and Wilson’s first time working as Vortex editors. None of the current staff of The Vortex applied for editorial positions. Both of the appointed editors said they thought a current staff member would be applying, so both applied for assistant editor. Hobbs said she will rely on the current section editors for The Vortex to help her the first semester.

IMPORTANT NOTICE Final examinations for ALL College Algebra (MATH 1390) day sections will be held 2:00-4:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 3rd. A day section is one that begins BEFORE 4:30 p.m. Final examinations for ALL College Algebra (MATH 1390) night sections will be held at the regularly scheduled class period during the week of May 2 - 6. A night section is one that begins at 4:30 p.m. or after.

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Opinion

ucaechoeditor@gmail.com

The Voice

April 27, 2011

Tuition, fee increases almost fair to students

The Echo Staff Editor leaves The Echo, faces life changes w

Taylor Lowery Editor & Opinion Editor

Preston Tolliver Associate Editor

Mary DeLoney News Editor

Marisa Hicks Assistant News Editor

Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

Shea Higgerson Assistant Campus Life Editor

Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

Ben Keller Sports Editor

Allison Hartman Assistant Sports Editor

Nick Hillemann

See

Photo Editor

Web Editor

Heather Chiddix Editorial Cartoonist

Lance Coleman Feature Cartoonist

page 5

Students lack desire, dedication to achieve dreams

Alex Chalupka

In the next few months, my life is going to change a better co-worker. I am proud that I have found a dramatically. lesson in every negative experience I have had with This final issue of The Echo will be my final issue The Echo, and I will always look back on it as the as a member of the staff; in a little over three weeks, thing that truly made my college experience. I will be getting married; I will work an internship I have made more friends because of The Echo this summer; in August, I will begin my last semester than by anything else in college. before graduating. I’ve gained more experience toward my future To say I’m nervous is an understatement. career than many people will gain in their first few I have spent the past two years—the majority of years out of college. I’ve written award-winning my time in college—working for The Echo. I began as stories and designed award-winning layouts, and I a nervous staff writer, but quickly became assistant will truly miss being on the staff. campus life editor. I won’t have much time to Since my first semester, I dwell on it though, because have worked as campus life after finals, I will have two editor, entertainment editor, short weeks before my opinion editor, associate editor, by Taylor Lowery wedding. and now my term as editor has It’s been an interesting Editor & Opinion Editor ended. experience being 20 (until very To be honest, it’s recently) and being engaged. bittersweet to be saying So many people are against goodbye to The Echo. I would getting married this young, but be lying if I didn’t say it hasn’t been an often stressful I’ve found that no one has a concrete reason why. experience. Reasons have never affected my decision to get I’ve dealt with rude students in interviews, married though. I am in love, and my fiance and I are unfriendly people at events, angry letters in response ready to take this step. to stories and editorials I’ve written, and once a I’ve learned to always keep in mind that it is our professor who offered bonus points to his students decision and only our decision, and no one can say if they wrote angry letters to the editor regarding anything to make me feel differently. an event I reviewed—reviewed being the important We’re blessed to have amazing families who have word here. completely supported our decision and helped us in I have spent every Monday night that school has every way possible—even sending us to Cancun for been in session for the past four semesters sitting in our honeymoon, which was a complete surprise to a cold, musty office in the basement of Bernard—not us. the nicest of locations. Looking back at the three years I’ve been in A few times I worked 12 straight hours in The college, it’s hard to believe how much in my life has Echo office before going home and spending hours changed. In my freshman year, I grew away from more on homework. people I thought I would know forever. My conclusion, though, is that it has all been Even though some of my high school friends completely worth it. My experiences have made me a better interviewer, a better writer, a better editor and Editor-

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Today there are fewer people who are driven by to go through school to become a doctor, but at least their dreams to become achievers. Almost everyone she can face the facts, unlike many others. I know expects Mom or Dad to give them what they I hope someday she can muster the courage to want without the thought of working for themselves follow after her dreams, however, that is not to say ever crossing their mind. that there was never a chance to begin with. It sickens me when I see kids in high school with We went to a small school in Quitman, just brand new cars walking around pregnant because 45 minutes from UCA. It wasn’t a very promising they know Mommy is going to take care of their kid atmosphere, however, I have made the most from it for them so they will never and still go back from time have to worry about a thing or to time. make an effort in life. I have always wanted to I think people need to take be a writer. I used to pass the more responsibility for their time in class writing short actions and hold themselves stories and poetry—a few of by Marisa Hicks accountable to make ends which were published. One Assistant News Editor meet and follow their dreams day I picked up a camera and to become whatever they began taking pictures, which want. is when I decided I wanted to The problem is everyone be a photojournalist. expects someone else to tell Over time, these thoughts them what they want or they don’t have the patience have come to form what has become the destination to go through school. path for a print journalism major. I work seven My old roommate didn’t have a job or a driver’s days a week and take 17 hours of classes. I have a license and yet she still failed all of her classes here boyfriend, and I most certainly have a life. Also, may at UCA last semester. I went to high school with her I say, I am passing all of my classes. and I know she always wanted to be a doctor. The I have worked for everything I have. Mom and problem with this goal she had in mind is that she Dad didn’t pay for my car, I bought it myself. I once had to work for it, and no one seems to want to work got into some trouble, but Mom didn’t bail me out— for anything anymore. at least not for good. I paid my mom back every This past semester she dropped out just before penny in court costs. spring break. Now she has student loans to pay off I take responsibility for my actions and work and has wasted two semesters of school. I don’t think toward my goals. I just hope one day people will she’ll ever be a doctor and neither does she. She wake up and realize the world does not revolve changed her major twice during her last semester around them and they will have to become working here because she knew she doesn’t have what it takes class citizens themselves.

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On May 6, the UCA Board of Trustees will meet to decide proposed tuition and fee increases for the 2011-2012 academic year. Before the board has a chance to debate on increases, though, increases were debated on and approved by the Student Government Association. The board will hear SGA’s recommendations before deciding. For the first time any many years, board members will not be discussing an increase to the athletic fee. This should come as a huge sigh of relief to students, especially after the huge increase in the athletic fee last year when it increased from $14 to $17 per credit hour. The UCA Athletic Department is already so heavily supported by student fees, it is a relief to see that a proposal wasn’t made to squeeze a little more out of students. The fees that are proposed to increase are the Academic Success/Writing Center fee, the HPER Center fee and the Student Center fee. Beginning with tuition, the proposed increase is 2.89 percent, or $5.05 per credit hour. SGA and Vice President of Finance Diane Newton said this is highly comparable to other universities in the state, and there’s really no way around raising tuition. The proposed Student Center fee, a $1 increase per credit hour for this year, there’s no denying that it is necessary. Newton said the Student Center hasn’t seen a fee increase since the ‘90s, and with as many events and activities that happen in the Student Center, it’s surprising a higher increase wasn’t proposed. The HPER fee is proposed to increase by $5.12 per credit hour, Kyle Boyd, vice president of finance for SGA, said. Newton said the proposal is for a $3.50-increase per credit hour. In the SGA resolution adopting the recommendation, it states that SGA recommends the money earned from the fee increase go toward an expansion plan that includes a 25-foot pool, but Newton said the approximately $900,000 —which is based on a conservative prediction of enrollment—would go toward “debt services as well as additional costs for the HPER.” The Writing Center and Academic Success Center fee is only proposed to increase by $0.35 per credit hour, and Boyd said the fee increase was needed, based on presentations and reports from the Writing Center. He said the Writing Center has had to turn students away because there were too few workers. We hope this money will indeed go toward the Writing Center to solve their problem of too few workers. All of these fee increases are necessary. The HPER fee increase, if approved at $5.12 per credit hour, will certainly hit students hard when it comes time to pay for classes, but fortunately there won’t be an athletic fee to pay this year. Students pay one fee, though, that has been misleading for years. Every semester, including summer terms, students pay a flat $5 Testing Services Fee. The fee was put into place years ago when the state mandated a junior achievement test, as Boyd called it. Years ago, though, the test was thrown out, but the fee has remained. Boyd said SGA has expressed their frustration to the administration over the continued existence of the fee. He said it needs to be removed, renamed for the purpose it’s currently serving or the money generated needs to be used toward something else. He said SGA would like to use the fee as an assessment fee to determine how successful general education classes are in education students, for example. Newton said, though, nothing can be done about the Testing Services Fee because it is already built into the budget, supporting the testing office. SGA needs to keep up their discussions because it’s unfair to ask students to pay a fee that began for something that no longer exists.

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.

SGA needs to keep up their discussions because it’s unfair to ask students to pay a fee that began for something that no longer exists.

ucaecho.net

OPINION

Insurance companies use sneaky ways, unfair incentives to force people into mail-order only prescriptions plans The other day I went to my local pharmacy to get a prescription filled. While I was there, I thought I may as well get my husband’s medicines refilled since he was almost out. To my surprise, the pharmacist said I could not get my husband’s medicines refilled, as my insurance company had decided to put us on a mail order plan. I had received no notification of this, so I thought there must be some mistake. The pharmacist said this has happened to a lot of people lately, and printed off a sheet explaining the change in plan that included a phone number. After thanking the pharmacist, I walked out to my car and immediately dialed the number before even leaving the parking lot. I still believed this was a mistake that needed to be cleared up. Unfortunately, it was no mistake. My insurance company had indeed set me up on a mail order only basis for what they referred to as “maintenance medications” without me having a say or getting notification. When I explained that my husband would run out his medicine before I could get the program set up and have it mailed to him, I was told that they could do a one time override and allow me to get his medicines refilled, but from then on I would have to remember to send the prescription in plenty of time for it to be mailed. I was livid. I really like my local pharmacy and I don’t really like being told that I can no longer get my “maintenance medications”

there. The lady on the other end of the phone politely pointed out that if my husband or I were sick and got a prescription from the doctor, we could get that prescription at the pharmacy. Any medications that we take on a regular basis would now have to come to us via the postal service.

by Jeanette

Anderton Staff Writer

When I asked if this new mail order plan was optional, she assured me that it was. She said, however, that our insurance company strongly recommended the mail order, and would provide incentive for us to comply. To me, incentive sounds like a positive thing, often in the form of money. Indeed, the insurance company’s incentive to use the mail order was the fact that it would save us a lot of money. She said that a 30-day prescription that I could get at the pharmacy before our plan changed would have cost us $10. Now, we can get a 90-day prescription through mail order for $20. However, if we opt to continue to get “maintenance medications” from our

local pharmacy, we will now only get a 20-day supply for $10. That sounded less like incentive and more like bullying. And, as the pharmacist said, I am not alone. Many insurance companies are going to mail order plans in order to save money. My insurance company later explained to me that the mail order company that they strongly recommend we use, Express Scripts, is able to purchase medications in large quantities. Therefore, they are able to have significantly lower prices than the local pharmacies. As more and more companies basically force their employees to get their “maintenance medications” through mail order, it is likely that we will see some local pharmacies close. I find that unfortunate. While Express Scripts may be able to offer medications at a lower rate, I doubt they are able to offer even passable personal service. One time my husband had to see a different doctor for an injury because his primary physician was out of town. The substitute doctor prescribed an antiinflammatory that my husband can’t take with his other medicines. It was my pharmacist who caught the mistake and called the doctor for approval on a replacement medication. I wonder how Express Scripts would handle that situation. Perhaps they would enclose a friendly letter with the medicine instructing my husband not to take it. Naturally, I have opted for the mail order plan, but I am certainly not happy about it.

Internet dating doesn’t allow people to meet, has risks All my life I have never understood why people would make such a big deal about looking for a date over the Internet. I also do not understand what is so important about trying to find a mate so quickly. I feel as a college student in my early 20s, I have plenty of time to find a mate if I decide I would like to have one. Looking for a date in person is a much better idea than trying to find one over the Internet. There are so many flaws in Internet dating. One of the biggest problems is trusting what appears to be one’s identity. Sure, a person may have a real picture posted on their page and you might say, “Oh, this person looks nice,” or “Umm … this person is not so attractive looking.” Have you ever taken the time out to stop and think, “Is this really who this man or woman says he or she is or is this man or woman really a hidden gender?” There are more factors that should be considered before even thinking about looking to online dating. Any information given on a person can easily be false. Unless you

know someone personally, how do you know anything about them? Anyone can post an age, a hometown, a current town and educational information. The only thing the viewer can do is look and assume and hope that the person posting the information is being truthful.

by Zachary

O’Neal

Staff Writer

Facebook and Myspace are two popular social networking websites. There are false profiles on these sites without a doubt. The reasons for them may vary. Some can be like role playing as a favorite video game or cartoon character, fan pages or use known people’s faces to get revenge on them for

something. No matter what the reason is, they exist. Even though they really should not, people use Facebook and Myspace now to hook up and date. This gets pretty annoying, simply because of the fact you may be talking to anyone on the other end on the profile. You may be talking to a male controlling a female profile or a female controlling a male profile. I am unsure about why someone would want to do such a thing, but it happens. I have no room to judge. I have been thinking for a while now that maybe people use dating sites to hook up because of their fear of talking face-to-face with the people they are really attracted to. Using the Internet to hook up with a mate is not all that bad I suppose. There are some benefits to it. Well, so people say. I do not see any benefits to it. And another thing, location can be a big deal when it comes to meeting people. Some potential mates may only be found out of the living area. I’m no fan of long-distance relationships. Many things can take place. I guess people just have that high quality faith in others.

April 27, 2011 / 5

Editor:

College experience includes losing friends, living alone 4 Continued from

page 4

were only a few minutes away at Hendrix, I learned with whom I was meant to stay friends. It was a difficult reality to face, because I was one of the few in my group of friends who went to a school where I knew basically no one. My roommate was the only person I knew, and she and I weren’t much more than acquaintances when we made the decision to room together. Thankfully we became close friends and remain close friends. Of course we had our fair share of roommate issues, but we also had a lot of fun. We helped each other through some difficult times, and it is partly thanks to her that I met my fiance. My sophomore year offered another new experience. I had always planned to live alone at some point in my life, and this was the year (or rather, 10-month period) when I did it. I can now say, after having no one to wake me up when my alarm went off and only myself to cook for some nights, that I never want to do it again. Living alone certainly had some upsides; if I left my apartment in a complete mess one morning, with my cereal bowl on the coffee table and an empty milk carton on the counter, I didn’t have to feel guilty about anyone coming home to find my mess. I could watch whatever I wanted, listen to my music as loud as I liked—without disturbing my neighbors, of course—and decorate however I wanted. It was a liberating experience, but it was also a difficult one. Cooking for one is a challenge, unless the only things you like to eat are pizza rolls and fast food. Even cooking a small amount of food always led to something going to waste, and I was always so worried of my groceries going bad that I ended up going to the store at least twice a week. I also spent most of my nights a bit on the edgy side. I didn’t live in the best apartment complex and I was prone to shoving a chair under the doorknob before I went to bed, and checking that my baseball bat—an unwelcome gift from my mom that I quickly grew to appreciate—was within reach, just under the edge of my bed. I learned a lot about myself that year, like the fact that I’d much rather cook for many than ever eat alone, but my biggest lesson was that I would avoid living alone at all costs. This past year also has been full of events. In May, I spent three weeks apart from my fiance while he studied abroad in New Zealand. I was desperately lonely without him, and it only confirmed that I never want to be apart from him. During those three weeks though, something else happened. For the first time in my life, I met my father. Disregarding the backstory, it was something I’ve been eager to do for a long time, and I am immensely glad it happened. I have since began to know an entire side of my family I never knew. My dad and I have a relationship that continues to grow, and I have a younger brother who has been very accepting of his new sister. There are grandparents, step siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins I never knew, and it’s been an amazing journey to meet everyone. I know it will take a while to make up for lost time, but I also know that it will happen. And now, I am almost done with college. I have one semester, but the classes are mostly for my minor, and I know it won’t feel the same as my past six semesters. The end of this semester and this summer mark an important time in my life, because I know everything is about to change. I’ve never really been afraid of change, though. I’ve always known that change is supposed to happen, and with some faith and bravery, I know change will be a good thing.

Campus Life

April 27, 2011

‘Legally Blonde’ musical receives standing ovation by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

“Legally Blonde: The Musical” concluded UCA’s Broadway series Thursday night with a smashing performance. “It’s pretty cool that UCA can bring a Broadway musical here,” freshman Brandon Hardy said. “It’s also really cool that students get to see a show of this caliber for free. Tonight’s show was as good as a Broadway musical that I saw in New York.” The show opened with a crowd favorite, “Omigod You Guys,” which features vocals by leading lady Elle Woods, played by Nikki Bohne, and her Delta Nu sorority sisters. Woods and her sorority sisters believe that her boyfriend Warner Huntington III, played by Matthew Ragas, is going to propose. Huntington instead breaks up with Woods because he wants someone more “serious,” which is the title of the duet performed by Bohne and Ragas. The chemistry between Bohne and Ragas was good and their vocals were excellent. Woods decides to impress Huntington by getting accepted into Harvard Law, which is where he will be attending school. Woods finds out that fitting in at Harvard may be even more difficult than getting in was. While the Harvard admissions board was

Lukas Deem photo

‘Legally Blonde’s’ Elle Woods, played by Nikki Bohne, puts on a parade to persuade the members of the Harvard admissions department that she is qualified enough for law school. less than impressed with her degree in fashion merchandising from UCLA, they were won over when Woods and her Delta Nu sisters showed up at their office to perform a parade. There are many scenes in the play in which the audience must push their common sense aside in

order to believe in the plot, and this was definitely one of those times. However, while the play may lack believability, it makes up for it with its humor. “The play is even funnier than the movie,” UCA alum Brandy Hartman said, after the show. “The

entire cast was awesome. They nailed it.” Upon arriving at Harvard, Woods continued to wear her bright pink outfits and carry her best friend Bruiser the dog around, which makes her stand out, and not in a good way. As they perform “The Harvard Variations,” her classmates make it clear that they don’t think Woods deserves to be there. Adding to her devastation and dwindling selfesteem, Woods discovers that Huntington already has a new girlfriend, Vivienne Kensington, played by Hannah Rose DeFlumeri. Kensington is an East Coast blue blood with her sights set like lasers upon Professor Callahan’s internship. In other words, Kensington is the complete opposite of Woods. Stricken with the news, Woods goes to the hairdresser to become a brunette in a desperate attempt to win back her man. Thankfully, Paulette, played by Jillian Wallach, refuses to make Woods a brunette and instead becomes her friend. Before Woods meets Emmett Forrest, played by Nic Rouleau, Paulette and Bruiser are her only friends in her new town. “Bruiser totally stole the show,” Hartman said. “That is one well trained dog.” As with the movie, Woods finally finds her way into the courtroom, defending a famous workout instructor accused of murdering her husband.

-CLASSES-

ARTSY AWARDS Sondheim course introduces students to musical genius by Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

Stephen Sondheim’s work as a composer and lyricist for the stage and film has earned him Tony Awards, Grammy Awards and an Oscar throughout his 50-plus year career for musicals such as “Sweeney Todd,” “Company” and “Into the Woods.” Sondheim’s work has been the focus of writing professor Bob May’s class Stephen Sondheim: The Man and His Music. May’s course is for honors students and he said that he has taught this class six of the eight years that he’s taught at UCA. “[The honors college] came to me my first year here and said ‘What would you like to do a class on?’ I said Stephen Sondheim. I read where other universities had done classes on Sondheim,” May said. “He’s such a genius, everybody in musical theater loves what he does. It just so happens that [associate dean] Donna Bowman was a Sondheim lover. I’ve taught other [honors courses] since I’ve been here, but mostly Sondheim.” May said that he chose to do a course on Sondheim because the composer and lyricist was such a big name for his generation. “I can remember when I was first introduced to Sondheim. A friend of mine in Minnesota played the record of ‘Company.’ I ended up directing it a couple of years later. Sondheim was the big hit of my era,” he said. May said that “Company” is his favorite Sondheim piece, but that every Sondheim musical is different and interesting. “Probably ‘Company’ [is my favorite], but they’re all unique in their own way. I like ‘Company’ because of the music, but then ‘Sweeney Todd’ is pretty darn good,” May said. “That’s the unique thing about Sondheim, all of his shows are different. ‘Company’ was the first of the concept musicals. All have the unique quality to them.” “Company” was one of the first musicals to deal with adult issues through its music, according to the 2004 PBS documentary series “Broadway: The American Musical.” The musical won six Tony Awards in its original run, including Best Musical and Original Score and Lyrics for Sondheim. May said that he expects that “Into the Woods” would be the play that his students liked the most in the class, but that “Sweeney Todd” was probably the most recognizable. “’Into the Woods’ [is likely the students’ favorite], because it’s a fairytale and a comedy. His other stuff is just not commercial. He’s got some fantastic writing, but it’s just not as commercial as Andrew Lloyd Webber,” May said. “Because of the film [I’d say Sweeney Todd is his most recognized piece]. I do think ‘Sweeney Todd’ is his masterpiece.” “Into the Woods” intertwines several familiar fairytales like

Freshman Lindsey McIntosh “The beginning, because you get to meet new people, new classes, new teachers and new experiences since I’m a freshman.”

Junior Manuel Carbajal “Spring Fling, because of the show (Matt and Kim). It was kind of different, so I enjoyed getting the different experience.”

Freshman Leshea Roach “Spring break, because I went home to my mom’s house and wasn’t here. We live out in the country, so we could just do whatever and not have to worry about anything.”

photo courtesy of musiclinernotes.wordpress.com

UCA Honors students are given the opportunity to take a course on Stephen Sondheim, a composer and lyricist. “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Rapunzel” into a new story. The musical won three Tony Awards in 1988. “Sweeney Todd” is the story of a murderous barber who vows revenge for the death of his wife. The musical was made into a film by Tim Burton in 2007 that starred Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. “Sweeney Todd” won eight Tony Awards in 1979. Sophomore Emily Trower said that her favorite part of the Sondheim class was reading “Company.” Reading the character’s lines made the musical come to life, because I can empathize with the characters,” Trower said. “Reading the play gave us the unique opportunity to leave reality for a class period.” May said because of budget cuts within the honors program he doesn’t believe that he’ll have the chance to teach this class again after this semester. “With the budget cuts and stuff in the honors program I don’t think they’re going to use outside faculty from their usual staff. It’s kind of sad, because what I appreciated about [the class] is when I went into it nobody would know Sondheim, but when I came out about 90 percent were in love with his work, which is just so gratifying,” May said.

Students Say story by Shea Higgerson photos by Nick Hilleman

Rose Cowling photo

Jeff Young, art department chair, gives an award at College of Fine Arts and Communication’s Spring Celebration, April 21 in the Student Center.

Freshman Drew Gillespie “Football games. It’s fun to get to hang out with my friends.”

What was your favorite part of this semester? Junior Meagan Davis “I would have to say spring break just to go travel to different parts of the country.”

Freshman Tyler Scott “Meeting all my friends and the Matt and Kim thing. I love Matt and Kim’s music and that carnival was just something different.”

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

Freshman Dalena Le “The carnival, because Matt & Kim were there.”

Freshman Joe Vanhuloe “Soccer season. Just got to hang out with the team. It was fun.”

ucaecho.net

CAMPUS LIFE

April 27, 2011 / 7

-MUSIC-

-CLASSES-

Illustrated narrative course gives Professor releases second album students new outlook on writing by Shea Higgerson

Assistant Campus Life Editor

by Simon Gable Staff Writer

UCA’s Illustrated Narrative course offers students a view into a world seldom seen by those interested in creative writing. Writing professor Terry Wright developed the Illustrated Narrative course, which is part of the only BA in creative writing offered in the state of Arkansas. “We developed the Illustrated Narrative course to teach students about the concepts in creative writing that usually fall through the cracks,” Wright said. Illustrated Narrative is a twopart course that offers both a forms and workshop section. “The forms course is the prerequisite for the workshop course,” Wright said. “Students explore and create all the forms of illustrated narrative in the forms class,” he said. “The workshop class allows students to work primarily on original projects,” he said. The course was designed with the influence of modern media in mind. “The modern arts are bleeding together, and the students that I teach have grown up in the world of mixed media,” Wright said. “This course is designed to inform the students about all the forms of creative writing and media they are exposed to,” he said. The rises of new forms of mixed media allow the Illustrated

Narrative class to explore a wide variety of topics. “We teach a wide range of topics because students are increasingly expected to know more and more things,” Wright said. In this course, students are introduced to up and coming types of writing that involve illustration. “For instance, the graphic novel has become increasingly popular over time but is still rarely studied; that’s why we started the course,” he said. Another topic detailed in the course that has not gotten much recognition as a form of creative writing is text art. “There has been a movement in modern art to use graphic text as visual imagery,” Wright said. “We can see this in the use of sign art and even graffiti,” he said. Comics, one of the oldest identifiable forms of illustrated narrative, are highly detailed in the course. Senior chemistry major and student in the forms of Illustrated Narrative course Kelly Hale said: “I have always wanted to draw comics professionally and this class allows me to work and learn about my craft in a safe environment.” Wright said he prides himself on providing a safe and relaxed working environment for his students. “Many of the students that I teach are not well versed in the

forms of illustrated narrative that we study, but this class allows them to expand their horizons,” Wright said. Peer review is another concept that is introduced in illustrated narrative. “The class allows students to interact with their peers and get safe feedback on what they can do to improve,” he said. Student feedback is a big part of the class for those enrolled and for Wright himself. “The students that I teach are constantly giving me ideas for what I can do to improve the class,” he said. Students help Wright stay in the know about the world around him. “They are engrained into the mediated world that I am teaching about, and often times they are more informed about topics than me.” he said. Although the course was designed for creative writing Majors, any student with a creative side is encouraged to join the class. Senior creative writing major, Megan Riley said: “This class is great because it’s a mix of majors and non majors. Terry is so laid back and makes everyone in the class feel comfortable. Any student with a creative side would love this class.” Both versions of the course are offered in the fall.

- M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N -

Student films featured at Festival by Shea Higgerson

Assistant Campus Life Editor UCA will host its seventh annual Film Festival, featuring student-made films, Friday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m. in Reynolds Performance Hall. Junior Virginia Buff, a member of the UCA Film Club, said the club wanted to submit a film for the festival and had the video shot, but ran out of time to edit it properly. She said she enjoys going to the festival to meet up with professors and other film students. “What I look forward to most is watching movies that I helped make or watching movies that my friends made,” she said. The Film Festival will feature 15 short films under the categories Music Video, Documentary and Narrative and 90-second shorts between each film. It is expected to last about two and a half hours. Third-year graduate student Lesley Allen said the festival is an opportunity to showcase some of the best work that comes out of UCA. She said all UCA students are welcome to submit films, but, typically only digital filmmaking majors submit and a majority

of those films are made as class assignments. She said Digital Filmmaking 4 students are expected to submit their undergraduate thesis projects. She said multiple students submit multiple films hoping one of them will get chosen, because only the best of what is submitted will screen at the festival. She said she hopes the festival will “ignite that fire within them to put their film into other festivals.” She said it’s a camaraderie builder for the film department and helps bring the community together, so they try to make it better every year. After the screening, there will be an awards ceremony for students and faculty at the Conway Country Club. The awards include the following: Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary, Best Music Video, Best Direction, Best Sound Design, Best Producing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. There will also be an award given for the best 90second short voted on by the audience. The three judges that have been confirmed for the event are Director of Photography

at Dempsey Film Group Guy Galloway, Festival Coordinator and Director for Ozark Foothills Film Festival Bob Pest and Bob Shaw, who is on the Board of Directors for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. “We do try to pick judges who can give industry and festival input,” Allen said. She said they try to get at least one representative from the major festivals in the state, because it helps open doors for the students to advance in their careers. The films that will be screened are: “Disillusioned,” directed by senior Kim Risi; “Sacred Ground,” directed by senior Ben Aaron; “Perfect Heist,” directed by junior Mary Mulford; “Hitchhiker,” directed by sophomore Allie Hogue; “Danger Jones,” directed by senior Kyla McFalls; “The Last Vampire,” directed by senior Danny Bradfield; “Summer That We Knew,” directed by senior Brandon Bogard; and “Implant,” directed by junior Sanders Lewis, “Cotton County Boys,” directed by adjunct professor of film Collin Buchanan, which was screened at the Graduate Thesis Film Screening, will also be shown along with a 3D film that will not be part of the competition. The fesival is free to the public.

UCA music professor and clarinet player Kelly Johnson released her second CD in January titled “Child’s Play,” which features music inspired by her son and was recorded in Phoenix, Ariz. She got the idea to record the CD after performing the single “Grooves” by Phillip Parker in Japan. She said anyone who teaches at the university level always has that next big project. “I think always in the back of your mind, you’re thinking of projects you want to do and that are fun and rewarding to do,” Johnson said. The project took four years and involved working with several other people, some of whom performed on it with her and others who helped in editing, mastering and artwork so it could be submitted to a label. She worked with a pianist, a violinist, a percussionist, a pianist, a violinist and a narrator, Allison Stanford, who had to take on the roles of different characters. Violinist Drew Irvin, who attended Arizona State University with Johnson and performs with her in the Arkansas symphony, performed “Merry Music” and “Distrocto” with her on the CD. “I was very flattered and honored to get to work with Kelly, because she’s amazing,” he said. Irvin said the process was fun on a personal level, but it’s pretty intense in the studio because there’s so much pressure and everyone is trying to do their very best and tend to look at each small detail. Johnson said she wanted the CD to have something to do with song, story and dance, but it also has some classical music. At the time she began the project, her son was a toddler and she was interested in having the CD based on children. “I’m happy with the music that’s on the CD,” she said. “Child’s Play” includes a movement about trains and playing tag, which are references to her son and what he was doing during that point in his life, she said. She considers the CD a classical music CD that is approachable but simple music that is light and

photo courtesy of thecabin.net

Music professor Kelly Johnson has released her second CD, titled “Child’s Play.” fun. “I think it’s a CD that anybody could enjoy,” she said. She said she had fun laying it out in the studio and seeing the finished product was rewarding. “I think the most fun part was actually getting the recording done,” she said. Johnson also got to record “Dance Duo” by Rodney Rogers with him there, which was interesting, she said, because he would point out what he liked and didn’t like and would make changes to help her record the best version of the song that she could. On Johnson’s first CD, “Clarinet Unlimited,” she only recorded with percussion and piano, so the new CD is the first time she worked with a violinist. She said the artwork is much better on the new one and features a real clarinet with what looks like “finger painting gone wild.”

8 / April 27, 2011

CAMPUS LIFE

ucaecho.net

-REVIEW-

-FINE ARTS-

Classy, trashy ‘Vortex’ recognizes South by Shea Higgerson

Overall – Magazine General Excellence; First Place in Website and Spread designs; First Place Poetry – Katherine Bullington; First Place Typography – Samantha White; First Place Fiction Writing – Students and faculty filled the seats of the Bernard Reed; First Place Photography – Kristin Baum Gallery last Thursday to celebrate the release Spickard; First Place Art Work – Grace Waldner; of Vortex edition 37. Second Place in Contents Page Design; and Third It was also announced that junior McKenzie Place Poetry – Elizabeth Arnold. Hobbs was chosen as the new editor and junior The 37th print edition was dedicated to writing Sarah Wilson was chosen as the new associate professor Terry Wright, whom Riley said inspired editor. Hobbs said she was excited about her new her to pursue poetry instead of nonfiction. Wright position. read some of his own poetry, which was based off There was free food catered by Aramark and of the Star Wars saga. free copies of the Vortex were available as were Vortex magazine’s website, at vortexmagazine. Vortex T-shirts, featuring squarespace.com, allowed either a trailer or a man with UCA students to submit their a mullet, were availabe for work year-round to an online $10. A few students who literary magazine that is open had their work published in to many different types of art this year’s print edition read and writing. their work to the audience, The online edition also including senior editor accepts written music and Megan Riley. MP3s of recorded music. “It was a good venue, “We wanted to be able to because there was the B.A./ feature more students and B.F.A. art student exhibit and the online edition made that some of those students were possible,” senior layout editor featured in the magazine,” Emily Powell said. Riley said. The website was designed All of the artwork was by Powell and the cover displayed on a projection for the print edition was -Alyx VanNess, screen, including work that designed by senior Elizabeth didn’t make it into the print Senior Associate Editor Arnold. edition, but was in the online Powell chose a “Southern edition. belle” theme for the online The theme of this year’s website and edition, which went along with the handwrittenprint edition was Southern classy/trashy, but like font in the print edition. submissions did not have to be related to this She said she used photographs and colors from theme. Senior associate editor Alyx VanNess said the print cover design so that the two would go Vortex aimed to show what makes Southern culture together well. Riley and VanNess chose submissions from all of special in the U.S. the work that was accepted to the online edition for “A lot of times Southern culture is over-looked the print edition. and underappreciated,” VanNess said. “We want Judges, as well as editors for each section to give it limelight and show people a lot of great (poetry, nonfiction, fiction and art), voted on which writing comes out of the South.” pieces would go into the online edition. Writing professor Garry Craig Powell also spoke Work that was submitted online after the print on his first-year experiences as adviser to the Vortex deadline will be considered for next year’s print staff and congratulated the staff for their success edition. and hard work. Copies of Vortex 37 may be picked up at Riley announced awards won by Vortex Thompson Hall, Harrin Hall, Stanley Russ Hall, contributors at the Arkansas College Media the Student Center and some dorms. The staff will Association awards ceremony held last week. also be handing out copies Wednesday outside of Awards include the following: First Place Starbucks.

Assistant Campus Life Editor

“A lot of times, Southern culture is overlooked and underappreciated. We want to give it a limelight and show people a lot of great writing comes out of the South.”

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Sophomore Albert Hoover performs a show at The Greenhouse, on April 19. Hoover is a folk guitarist who played both original and cover songs during his show.

Acoustic show finishes Greenhouse’s year by Andrew McClain Staff Writer

The Greenhouse finished a full year of house shows on April 19 with sophomore Albert Hoover and Canopy Climbers playing sets in the living room of the off-campus house. The Greenhouse is inhabited and run by UCA students as a ministry auxiliary of the Summit Church in North Little Rock. The house has grown in reputation since fall 2010, serving coffee and booking small weeknight concerts in the living room, which houses a small PA system and concert lighting. What looks like converted kitchen space or possibly an old wet bar serves as a coffee shop for evening visitors. Last Tuesday night, Hoover played his first solo show in several years, after playing in central Arkansas bands like Zuckerman’s Famous Pig and a duo known as The Bible Salesmen. Hoover settled into the living room around 8:15 and began his 30-minute set. Hoover, a skilled folk guitarist, played a steady mix of original songs and cover songs. Hoover’s voice has a distinctly rough, braying, soulful quality comparable, if necessary, to someone like Caleb Followill or Kristian Matsson (Kings of Leon and Tallest Man on Earth, respectively). Hoover’s songwriting follows in a grand tradition of folk ballads, but is informed equally by classic soul tunes. Hoover closed his original composition, “Xanadu,” with a melancholy chorus of Marvin Gaye’s “Don’t You Do It.” Hoover played a lighthearted rendition of “Tops” by The Rolling Stones, which went directly into a slowed-down version of “Blitzkrieg Bop” by The Ramones, which actually makes it difficult

to recognize. Hoover also played his composition “Muscadine Wine,” which playfully romanticizes farm life, celebrates wine and mourns loss. Hoover closed with his own “Iced Tea With Lime,” a neurotic, conversational song which examines torch-carrying and serves as an ode to Hoover’s own favorite summertime beverage. Hoover said: “I’m really happy to be playing shows again after taking a long break.” The second band, Canopy Climbers, took the floor after Hoover. The duo, former UCA students Cory Nelson and Alan Thomas, bill their recorded work as “altronica,” which is one of many terms coined to describe the gentle electronic vocal pop originated by The Postal Service. Instead of hooking up an iPod with the electronic backing track to the PA and singing along, Canopy Climbers brought guitars and played acoustic renditions of their songs. The two have excellent voices and sing together very well, which isn’t always the case with artists whose recorded material is as highly produced as Canopy Climbers. The tendency to rely on heavy production is prevalent among “altronic” artists. Canopy Climbers, however, played an excellent set. Thomas introduced the last song as “the first song we ever wrote together.” When the second verse came around, Thomas stopped singing. “I forgot the lyrics,” he said, laughing. “That is what is happening right now.” There was no admission charged at the door. The Greenhouse often charges as much as $2 at the door, but throughout its time serving as a venue, it has attracted a number of excellent acts. Hopefully, next semester will see more of the same.

-PERFORMANCE-

Theater students write, direct, act, produce by Andrew McClain Staff Writer

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Alpha Psi Omega will be putting on their third annual One-Act festival this week. The shows began yesterday and end today. The shows, which are written, directed, produced and performed by students exclusively, will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Bridges Larson Theater in the Snow Fine Arts Center. There will be no admission charged, but donations will be taken for Save Japan. “We have a strong personal tie with Japan in the theater department, with a large percentage of Japanese students active and influential in the department and in Alpha Psi,” senior and presidentelect of Alpha Psi Bradley Mancil said. The five plays are submitted by students and chosen by a panel of directors. The writers are not required to be in the theater department and any student may submit a script. Directors may not direct their own scripts. “Scary Title,” written by junior Haley Tynes and junior Hunter Thompson, and directed by senior Kirsten Seidel, is a comedy about a couple living in a haunted home who invite a psychic and a ghost

investigator to sort out their haunting. “Smokin” was written by senior Jeremiah Smith and directed by senior Alison Benton and is described as “a snappy repartee between four friends outside of a party.” “Champs Capote, Private Eye: Hello, My Lovely” is written by junior Matt Duncan and directed by senior Jackie Rivera. It is a comedic film-noir style show about Champs Capote, a private eye, and his sidekick, Dickie, who solve a murder. “Tell Me You Love Me: The Reformation of an Attempted Rapist” is written by junior Jake Whisenant and directed by senior Brady Ness, in which an attempted rape goes horribly awry when the victim claims to have fallen in love with her assailant. Sophomore Geneva Galloway, who plays the victim, said: “When my dad asked me if he could come see the show, I told him I’d give him a pass on this one.” “A Small Sacrifice” is written by senior Kyle Smiley and directed by junior Stefani Johnson. It is an absurdist drama centered around a patient in a mental institution who seems to think that he is in a play.

Entertainment

April 27, 2011

- CONCERT-

Eli Young Band keeps crowd rowdy all night by Lee Hogan Staff Writer

photo courtesy of waterforelephantsfilm.com

Reese Witherspoon, center, and Robert Pattinson give fine acting performances in Francis Lawrence’s new film “Water for Elephants.” Pattinson’s performance as Jacob is the young actor’s best to date.

‘Elephants’ showcases fine performances by Taylor Lowery Editor & Opinion Editor

Life in the 1930s was no circus, unless of course you happened to jump aboard the train belonging to the Benzini Bros. circus. So begins “Water for Elephants,” the newest release from director Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”), starring Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”) and Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”), which released to theaters Friday. Pattinson stars as Jacob, the only son to Polish immigrants. As the movie begins, we see Jacob leaving home to attend Cornell University’s veterinary school, following in his father’s footsteps. A few years pass and Jacob is sitting down to take his final exam to become a veterinarian, and his test is interrupted by news of a tragedy at home. Shaken, Jacob feels that there is nowhere to turn, so he plans to follow the train track until he finds something. While walking, a train comes upon him at night and he jumps aboard. The train belongs to Benzini Bros., a traveling circus. Jacob is given work shoveling animal waste and whacking peepers of the burlesque shows. His talents with animals attract the attention of the circus’s owner, August (played by Christoph Waltz, “Inglorious Basterds”), who hires Jacob as a veterinarian. It isn’t long before Jacob’s attention is drawn to the circus’ leading lady, Marlena (played by Witherspoon), who initially

performs with four beautiful horses. “Water for Elephants” is a stunning movie, visually and in the performances. Pattinson plays his best role yet, moving away from the predictable, cheesy lines in “Twilight” and the brooding young man he played well in “Remember Me.” In his role as Jacob, Pattinson is charming and determined, but also broken and struggling. It is his most honest performance yet. Witherspoon, who has been an impressive leading actress since her role in “Walk the Line” in 2005, is also remarkable in “Water for Elephants.” She’s a stunning big tent star and a loving wife, but we also feel her struggle over her husband’s frightening mood swings and her passion for the animals in her show. We also see the guilt she portrays in potentially betraying August. Waltz, though, is perhaps the most impressive actor in his role of August. Never has a circus ring leader been such a frightening man. August can move from devastatingly charming to murderous in seconds, and as a viewer its difficult to know whether a smile means he’s happy or he’s planning to have someone thrown of the train under cover of darkness. Framing the beginning and end of “Water for Elephants” is a wonderful performance by Hal Holbrook (“All the President’s Men”) who tells the story to a young circus worker. His role is touching, and it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t somehow be in the film more. The magic of the circus is so tangible in “Water for Elephants,” you can

almost feel the breeze under the big top and smell the straw in the lion’s cage. Beautifully filmed and accurately placed in the early Depression, the Benzini Bros. circus is the epitome of what a circus should be. Lions and hyenas sit in large red cages, the 800-pound woman draws a crowd of onlookers and acrobats fly from one end of the big top to the other. What really makes Benzini Bros. magical though, is August’s purchase of a beautiful bull elephant named Rosie. She’s small for an elephant, and though August is initially thrilled to acquire her, she seems to be impossible to train. After Rosie storms out of a tent and nearly injures Marlena to get away from August and his terrible bull hook, August beats the gentle Rosie in what is the saddest scene of the film. While tending her wounds, Jacob issues a command in Polish and, much to his surprise, Rosie responds. This discovery makes August happier than anything else, because Rosie is actually very well trained, but was owned by a Polish circus. Happiness is brief though, between the raid of a speakeasy during prohibition and August’s inability to get out of debt, and the increasing forbidden romance between Jacob and Marlena. From the beginning, it’s certain the film will end in tragedy, though it’s an ending that will surprise many. “Water for Elephants” is rated PG-13 for violence and some sexual content. It runs 122 minutes and is showing at the Conway Cinemark Towne Centre.

The Eli Young Band performed to a sold-out crowd at the Rev Room in the Little Rock River Market Friday night. The band opened with hit-song “When It Rains,” from their last album “Jet Black and Jealous.” The Eli Young Band kept the crowd entertained and rowdy all night long performing songs from all of their albums. One of the favorites of the night was “So Close Now,” from the album “Level.” Lead singer Mike Eli said the song was written about the band’s hometown of Denton, Texas. The song is about wanting to leave town, which is something that has become predictable and old. The favorite two songs of the night were the band’s current single “Crazy Girl,” and probably the most popular song from the “Jet Black and Jealous” album titled “Guinevere.” Eli told the crowd before performing “Crazy Girl,” for all the audience to call the radio shows to request the song. “I don’t care if you just heard the song or you haven’t heard it in awhile,” Eli said. “You call up the radio and tell them you wanna hear that song about a crazy girl.” Eli said “Guinevere” was his favorite song off the “Jet Black and Jealous” album and one of his favorites the band has ever recorded. “You guys liked this one so much we made it a single and did a music video for it,” Eli said. The song that got the rowdiest

reaction from the crowd was defenitely the band’s rendition of a classic from the 70’s Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Eli said the group was approached to record a song for a tribute CD to Lynyrd Skynyrd. “We were happy to come in and cut a record for Skynyrd,” Eli said. “This is our tribute to them.” The band performed one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most popular and recognizeable songs, “Gimme Three Steps,” which had the entire audience singing along. Eli announced to the crowd the band had a new EP release due out on iTunes on May 3, which would include the band’s current single, “Crazy Girl.” A local Arkansas band, the Trey Hawkins Band, opened the concert, but should have stayed at home. Most of the songs were terrible and there was no way the band should have been given an hour onstage, but nevertheless, it was. It seemed as though they were never going to stop. Every time I thought they were done, they played another song. One that was even worse than the one before, which was also terrible. I found myself counting down the endless seconds before they would be off stage and I could finally see Eli Young Band. If you got there after 10 p.m., you had a great night, because you missed Trey Hawkins Band and just saw Eli Young Band. If you ever get a chance to see Eli Young Band, go, but make sure Trey Hawkins Band isn’t opening for them. Or just get there an hour late to miss them.

-TELEVISION-

-ALBUM REVIEWS-

Latest releases from ‘Glee,’ TV on Radio rock by Lisa Burnett and Andrew McClain

Entertainment Editor & Staff Writer “Glee: The Music Presents: The Warblers” “Glee” is once again keeping fans like me hooked on its music with its newest album from the show, “Glee: The Music Presents: The Warblers,” released April 19. The Dalton Academy Warblers are the show’s newest superstar glee club from an all-boys school that Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer, has transferred to. The frontman of The Warblers is crooner Blaine Anderson, played by Darren Criss. If his looks can’t keep you hanging on his every word, his voice will. Criss has a voice that is completely different from his rival glee club, New Directions from McKinley High. His voice is extremely smooth and will make any girl swoon. There are 13 tracks on this album. They are all cover songs, but The Warblers make these songs sound completely different from the originals, which is what makes them so good. My favorite on the album is “Bills, Bills, Bills,” which was originally a song by Destiny’s Child released in 1999. The song sounds like it is completely a capella, which is why I like it so much. It’s also different to hear a group of men sing a song primarily sung by a group of women. I can’t choose which one I like better because they are both so different. Another favorite from the album is “When I Get You Alone.” Robin Thicke originally sang this song. The episode where the song was performed was my first time to hear the song. Now

comparing the original by Thicke to the “Glee” version, I would pick the “Glee” version as the better one for sure. The song sounds better with more voices singing to back the others up versus just a single person singing the song. “Animal” is another song to listen for on the album. Colfer’s true talent shines through in this song. Colfer has an extremely high range for a male voice, but it’s so intriguing, you can’t help but listen to it. The song is basically Criss and Colfer switching off solos, and then singing the chorus with the rest of The Warblers. As a fan of the original, by Neon Trees, I would say that this song is just as good as the original. My least favorite on the album is “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” I don’t really care for the original by Rod Stewart, but The Warblers just couldn’t convince me to like this song. It is a little easier to listen to Criss sing this song rather than hear Stewart’s raspy voice struggle to voice these lyrics, although that is what made him famous. Aside from “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” the album is good. If you like boys who can sing, this is the album for you. There aren’t really any strong instrumental solos, so I wouldn’t recommend it to listeners looking for some guitar shredding. Among the songs mentioned earlier, The Warblers cover “Blackbird” by The Beatles, “Hey, Soul Sister,” by Train and “Raise Your Glass” by P!NK among a few others. “Nine Types of Light” by TV on the Radio Imagine an old television set. The kind with the VHF and UHF dials. On the screen is just grainy static. Suddenly, a few streaks of radiant Technicolor 1. “NCIS”

Five Most Anticipated Season Finales List compiled by Julian Spivey

“NCIS” might be the best TV series I’ve ever seen when it comes to season finales. Every season, this series leaves your jaw dropped from the final seconds of the finale all the way to the premiere of the next season and because they’ve shown the propensity to kill off cast members. TVline.com has confirmed that two characters will die in this season’s finale, which airs Tuesday, May 17 on CBS.

cut through the static, blossoming and shifting until the whole screen is overwhelmed with a full spectrum of high-definition color, leaving only a few humming bars of static. This is what Brooklyn art rock band TV on the Radio sounds like. This is their aesthetic. Their fifth studio album, “Nine Types of Light,” was released on April 11, and like previous TVOTR releases, it exhibits a joyful fondness for the tight bass grooves and anxious electric guitar playing of Talking Heads and Television, as well as the funky falsetto pop of Prince. At its core, “Nine Types of Light” is a rock album, but it is propelled by an energy that is provided by guttural bass and bass synths, acoustic drums and drum machines, and both skillful guitar playing and whistling high-end synths. The guitar line on “You” is elastic, stretching and snapping back into place, hooking the listener on its way back. The tweaky “Caffeinated Consciousness” is both aggressive and joyful, a punk-rock stomper with a beat that hiccups, struggling to bring itself into syncopation with a sampled beat, signifying that the use of digital samples shouldn’t be equated with perfection. “No Future Shock” and “New Cannonball Blues” are both upbeat, danceable tracks with heavy bass, horn sections and Kyp Malone’s goofy falsetto. The entire album struts, swings and smolders in tasteful alternation. “Nine Types Of Light” may well be TV on the Radio’s last album, after returning from a yearlong hiatus only to lose Gerard Smith as a touring bassist and then as a recording bassist. If this is the case, I think that TV on the Radio can retire peacefully, knowing that they’ve completed a body of work from start to finish.

2. “Chuck” “Chuck” is one of the most underrated shows on TV and is always left in limbo on whether or not it will be picked up for another season. For this reason, this season’s finale could also be its series finale. This season has been mostly about Chuck and Sarah’s impending marriage, which will take place in the finale on Monday, May 16 and hopefully will end on a good note, just in case the series is canceled.

photo courtesy of nbc.com

NBC’s “Parenthood” has proven that its one of the best dramas on television as it ends its second season. The series stars Lauren Graham and Peter Krause.

‘Parenthood’ ends superb season by Julian Spivey Campus Life Editor

NBC’s family drama “Parenthood” ended its superb second season on April 19 with “Hard Times Come Again No More.” The previous episode ended with teenager Amber Braverman (Mae Whitman) involved in a horrific car accident and her mother Sarah (Lauren Graham) begins the season finale with a phone call telling of the accident. The best scene of the finale is the opening scene where the highly close-knit Bravermans all gather at the hospital in hopes that they’ll receive good news involving Amber’s accident. This scene involves one of the finest bits of acting from the series all season long by Craig T. Nelson as Zeek, the Braverman family patriarch. Max (Max Burkholder), the young song of Adam (Peter Krause), who has Asperger’s is unable to comprehend the seriousness of the situation and wants the pancakes that his father had promised him. If you watch closely enough, you can see the irritation building up on Zeek’s face and you just know that he’ll eventually lose it and he does. It’s truly a great bit of understated acting by Nelson. The episode quickly reveals that Amber only received minor injuries in the accident, as they didn’t want to spend too much time on this with so many storylines to wrap up in the finale. Once Amber returns home, Sarah

3. “Friday Night Lights” Technically, the season and series finale of “Friday Night Lights” has already taken place, but unless you’re lucky enough to have DirecTV (or have already bought the DVD) you wouldn’t have seen it already. The final season is now being shown on NBC every Friday night and it’ll be interesting to see how the series says goodbye to the beloved Taylor family and the religious-like experience of high school football in Dillon, Texas.

has a conversation with her about the seriousness of the accident and the events leading up to it. Amber had run away from home with an older man who had been drinking at the time of the crash. Sarah, however, is upset that Amber doesn’t seem to get the severity of her behavior. This leads to yet another fine acting performance by Nelson in a scene where Zeek pounds the severity of what happened into his granddaughter’s (Amber’s) head. The main plotline of the finale is about Sarah’s play, which is being produced by guest star Richard Dreyfuss. It’ll be interesting to see if Sarah has a budding career as a playwright going into the third season, if there is indeed a third season (NBC has yet to pick the series up). In another ongoing plotline, it appears that Jasmine (Joy Bryant) is finally willing to give her cheating fiancé Crosby (Dax Shepard) another shot after many episodes of refusing to even talk to him. Crosby sold his boat and motorcycle to afford enough money to buy Jasmine and his son, Jabbar, a house. The biggest surprise of the season finale comes, of course, at the very end when the recently fired Adam finds a positive pregnancy test in the trash while searching for Max’s lost retainer. “Parenthood” might have been, in my opinion, the best drama of this television season, which means that NBC had better get its act together and pick the series up for a third season.

4. “Community” The season one “Community” episode “Modern Warfare” was one of the funniest TV episodes I’ve seen in a long time. Other fans of the show, as well as the show itself, must have felt the same way, because the season two finale is bringing back all of the paintball madness from that episode times two in a special two-part finale airing Thursday, May 12, epically titled “A Fistful of Paintballs” and “For a Few Paintballs More.”

5. “Glee” The second season of “Glee” has been disappointing. Some of the show’s humor has been replaced by sappy story lines and the show has gotten too repetitive. If this show is going to keep me hanging on it’s going to have to finish strong with its season two finale on Tuesday, May 24. TVline.com has reported that one of the show’s characters will be killed by season’s end, and that definitely peaks my interest, as well.

Sports

April 27, 2011

From the Shotgun By Ben Keller

Spring 2011 proves interesting for UCA sports; staff changes, field renovations, basketball tournament highlight semester It’s the end of another semester at UCA and so ends another semester of UCA sports. So far this semester we have seen some interesting things, so I am going to use my final column for the semester to recap some of the events that occurred. To me, this semester’s biggest news was former volleyball coach Steven McRoberts leaving the Sugar Bears to coach the Tulsa Hurricanes. While it was disappointing to see him go, I wasn’t surprised. McRoberts’ stint at UCA was phenomenal and he completely turned around the volleyball program. I was surprised UCA was able to keep him for as long as it did, and after the past two successful seasons, there was no doubt in my mind he was heading for bigger places. Fortunately, the athletic department found someone close to the program who knew all the girls and knew how to make the team successful. Coach David McFatrich has stepped up from his assistant position to run the program. It’s going to be an exciting season for the Sugar Bears in the fall with a new coach and the loss of arguably the best volleyball player to ever grace UCA, Chloe Smith. Next was what some could argue was the biggest news of the semester, and it’s

understandable. I mean, UCA garnered national attention for it. How often does that happen? UCA finally made the switch from grass to turf, making us the last university in the Southland Conference to go to turf. The design for the field is interesting to say the least. I am glad that the higher-ups made the decision to do an alternating color instead of the annoying one-color field like Boise State’s. I know the university is going to save money on the switch, but there is something special and natural about watching or playing a sport on a grass field. Call me a traditionalist. Finally, UCA had its first Division I tournament appearance when the Sugar Bears basketball team went to the Women’s Basketball Invitational. Even though the University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers downed the Sugar Bears in the first round, it was a momentous occasion for the women’s basketball program and for UCA. The first year we are eligible to appear in a Division I NCAA tournament and we do it. Not many schools can say they have done something like that. It shows just how hard the team has worked over the past few seasons and it will be exciting to see how far they can go next year.

Bears Brief • The women’s golf team finished sixth place in the Southland Conference Women’s Championship on April 20 in Corpus Christi, Texas. UCA finished with a threeround total of 954, putting them behind champions University of Texas at San Antonio with 900, Lamar University with 904, Texas State University with 925, Texas A&M at Corpus Christi with 930, and Sam Houston State with 941. Sophomore Julia Roth, who was named to the All-Southland Conference team, recorded the best finish for UCA, finishing in 13th place with a threeround total of 231. Senior C.J. Bobbitt finished 25th after finishing with 240, freshman Carly Dear finished in 26th after finishing with 241, junior Sara Hillman finished with 245, leaving her tied for 30th, and junior Gemma Hardie finished in 34th with a 249. • The UCA track and field team traveled to Oxford, Miss. this weekend to compete in the Mississippi Open where two school records were broken and UCA qualified six more athletes for the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships in May, bringing their total number of qualifiers to 46 with one meet left. The women’s 4X100 relay team of sophomore Megan Snow, sophomore Jasmine Ellis, freshman Tanesha Maxwell, and freshman Jasmine Johnson set a new school record of 46.58. Sophomore Tasha Bryles had a shot put throw of 12.67 feet, setting a new school record. Junior Heather Estetter and sophomore Courtney Efurd qualified in the 800 meters and freshman Erika Setzler qualified for the 3,000 meter steeplechase. For the men’s track team,

juniors Isaiah Mason and Jeremy Stuckey qualified in the for the long jump. Mason recorded a jump of 6.87, putting him in sixth place, and Stuckey recorded a jump of 6.77, putting him in eighth place. Senior Phillip Boles qualified in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.82. The Outdoor Championships are May 13-15 in Natchitoches, La. • The baseball Bears lost to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans 6-5 on April 19 in a game that was shortened due to rain. The Bears (19-21, 9-12 Southland) tied the game 6-6 in the top of the eighth inning, but the score reverted back to the last completed inning when the game had to be called due to inclement weather, giving the Trojans (16-20) the 6-5 lead and the victory. The Bears struck first, getting a 1-0 lead in the first inning when freshman centerfielder Jonathan Davis hit his fourth home run of the season. The Trojans put two runs of their own on the board in the bottom of the first but the Bears scored two runs in the top of the second inning to put them ahead 3-2. Freshman right fielder Logan Moon hit an RBI triple in the top of the fourth inning to put the Bears ahead 4-2. The Bears acquired a 5-3 lead but the Trojans went ahead 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning after scoring the three runs and completing the inning that eventually gave them the victory. Moon went two for four at the plate with two RBI. Junior left fielder Jordan Getchell went a perfect three for three at the plate and Davis, senior shortstop Kyle Prevett and senior second baseman Zack Dickson each recorded an RBI.

Anthony Brynes photo

Junior third baseman Bryan Willson squares up for a bunt during the Bears first game of the doubleheader against the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks. The Bears lost the first game 18-14 and won the second 9-1.

Bears split Friday doubleheader 18-14, 9-1 by Jeanette Anderton Staff Writer

The Bears broke even Friday in a doubleheader against the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks, losing the first game 18-14, and winning the second game 9-1. “We felt like we should have won the first game,” senior first baseman Jonathan Houston said. “We carried that attitude over into the second game and got it done.” In game one of the series the Bears took an early lead of 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Ethan Harris started the inning with a double to right-center. Freshman center fielder Jonathan Davis singled to right-center sending Harris in for the run. Davis stole second and Houston was walked to first. Junior third baseman Bryan Willson laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Houston to second and Davis to third. Davis scored when junior outfielder sent a sacrifice fly to left. After no runs in the second inning, the Mavericks took the lead in the top of third, scoring seven runs. In the fifth inning, the Mavericks scored five runs, giving them a 12-2 lead. The Bears had no runs in the bottom of the fifth, and allowed the Mavericks no runs in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears scored seven runs, bringing the score to 12-9. Junior outfielder Jake Fuller doubled to right field, sending Willson, who had walked, to third. Junior left fielder Greg Noble doubled right, sending both Willson and Fuller home. Noble advanced to third, when senior outfielder Michael Pair doubled to right field. Senior left fielder Zack Dickson walked. Senior shortstop Kyle Prevett walked, advancing Dickson to second, Pair to third and Noble in for the score. Harris hit a home run down the right field line, sending Prevett, Dickson and Pair in as well. There was no score in the seventh inning or the top of the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bears scored five runs, taking the lead for the first time since the second inning, 14-12. Freshman pinch hitter Logan Moon singled to first. Davis singled right and Moon advanced to third. Davis advanced to second and Moon scored on a failed pickoff attempt by the pitcher. Willson singled to pitcher, advancing Davis to third. Junior pinch hitter Jordan Getchell singled right, advancing Willson to third and sending Davis in for the score. Pair doubled down the left field line, sending both Willson and Getchell home. Dickson singled to center field, sending Pair in for the run. In the top of the ninth, the Mavericks scored six runs, making it 18-14. The Bears didn’t score in the ninth. In game one of the series, the Mavericks had 19 hits with eight left on base and the Bears had 17 hits with six left on base. Both teams had two errors. The Bears led the Mavericks in strikeouts in the first game, 10-4. Junior Ryan Angus, who is the current leader in strikeouts for the Bears with 50, had four strikeouts and three walks in four innings. Sophomore Ethan McKinzie had four strikeouts and no walks in two innings. Junior Andy Steinmetz had two strikeouts and no walks in two innings. Senior Evan Cox, who pitched a third of an inning, had no strikeouts and three walks. Freshman Jackson Lowery had one strikeout and one walk in the remaining two thirds of the inning. In game two of the series, the Bears took an early lead in the bottom of the first, scoring four runs after the Mavericks had no runs in the top of the first. Moon opened the inning with a triple to left-center. Davis singled through the left side, sending Moon in for the run. Davis stole second and advanced to third when Houston grounded out to second. Willson singled to second, sending Davis in for the run and then Getchell hit a bunt

single to third base, advancing Willson to second. Junior left fielder Blake Roberts got hit by a pitch, advancing Getchell to second and Willson to third. Sophomore catcher Travis Snider singled up the middle, sending Getchell and Willson home and advancing Roberts to second. The Mavericks scored a run in the top of the second, making it 4-1. There was no score in the bottom of the second or the top of third but in the bottom of the third, the Bears scored three runs, increasing their lead 7-1. Willson singled through the left side, and then advanced to second when Roberts singled up the middle. Snider hit a home run to left field, also sending in Willson and Roberts. “I don’t hit a whole lot of home runs,” Snder said. “I was glad I could put the barrel on that one.” Snider said he knew when he connected with the ball, that it would be a home run. The Bears held the Mavericks to no score in the top of the fourth and in the bottom of the fourth, Davis hit a home run to leftcenter, bringing the score to 8-1. There was no score until the bottom of the eighth when the Bears scored again, making it 9-1. Noble walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Davis was hit by a pitch. He then advanced to third when Houston flied out to center field, and scored on a throwing error by Mavericks senior catcher Chad Comer. In the second game of the series, the Bears had 12 hits with seven left on base. The Mavericks had six hits with nine left on base. Junior Dustin Ward pitched eight innings, with two strikeouts and five walks. Junior Blake Payne pitched one inning with one strikeout and one walk. The Mavericks had four strikeouts in game two. “Coming back after that loss and doing what we did shows they have a lot of heart,” head coach Allen Gum said, after the second game. “It has been a long day, but they stuck with it and I am proud of them for that.”

- B A S E B A L L-

Bears fall short 8-4 in series finale with Mavericks by Lee Hogan Staff Writer

Stranding runners and not hitting in key situations was the story in the UCA Bears 8-4 loss in their rubbermatch against the Texas-Arlington Mavericks Saturday at Bear Stadium. The Bears left the bases loaded in two different innings and left 14 runners on base throughout the entire game. A five-run second inning by the Mavericks, combined with the Bears struggles to get runs across home plate, put the game away early. Coach Allen Gum said the stuggles at the plate in “crunch time” were the biggest problems he saw. “It is really tough to pull through when you can’t come through in those moments,” Gum said. After the Mavericks five-run inning in the top of the second, the Bears had a chance to answer in the bottom half of the same inning, but were unable. The Bears were only able to score one run, but left the bases loaded. Junior third baseman Blake Roberts led off the bottom of the second with a double to left field. Roberts finished the game 3-5 with two runs scored, but no RBI. Sophomore Travis Snider followed with a strikeout and then senior second baseman Zack Dickson reached base after being hit by a pitch. Senior shortstop Kyle Prevett followed

with a single, loading the bases. A foul out by sophomore left fielder Ethan Harris to give the Bears two outs was followed by a walk by freshman center fielder Jonathan Davis, which scored Snider. A fly-out by senior first baseman Jonathan Houston ended the Bears second inning. Assistant coach Wes Johnson said the Bears’ inability to get runs scored when it mattered “haunted” them. The Bears also left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Three walks to Prevett, Harris and Houston loaded the bases for the Bears with two outs, but an out at second base on a fielder’s choice by senior pinch hitter Michael Pair ended the inning for the Bears. “We just couldn’t produce when we needed to,” Pair said. “We definitely had our chances in more than one inning, but we just could not get the runs across the plate like we should have.” The Bears also left two runners on base in the fifth and eighth innings. The Bears finished the game with nine hits. Davis, Houston, Dickson and junior right fielder Greg Noble all drove in one run a piece for the Bears. Junior pitcher Bryan Wilson took the loss for the Bears in two innings on the mound. Wilson gave up five runs on seven hits to thirteen batters. Sophomore pitcher Clint Green relieved Wilson, but lasted only one-third of an inning. Green allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and was relieved by junior pitcher Andy Steinmetz.

Steinmetz was one of only two UCA pitchers who did not allow a run. Steinmetz threw four scoreless innings for the Bears striking out two hitters and allowing only two hits. Junior pitcher Blake Payne followed Steinmetz on the mound and went one and two-thirds innings allowing one run on two hits. Freshman pitcher Jackson Lowery finished the day for the Bears throwing one scoreless inning, retiring all three batters he faced. The loss dropped the Bears to 19-21 on the year and 9-12 in Southland Conference play. The Bears return to action this Friday in Corpus Christi, Texas in game one of a threegame set against conference foe Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The Bears are currently in a four-way tie for seventh place in the Southland Conference. The top eight teams in the conference advance to the conference tournament. This weekend’s series against Corpus Christi, who is one game behind the Bears at 8-13 in Southland Conference play, will go a long way in determining whether or not the Bears play this postseason. Pair said the team knows how important these last few conference series are, starting with Corpus Christi. “We really have no room left for error,” Pair said. “We have to play our best everyday. We are right on the edge of the tournament and we have to make sure we are giving it our all.”

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April 27, 2011 / 11

-SEVENTH INNING STRETCH-

- S O F T B A L L-

Bears take game one in doubleheader 3-2

by Zach O’Neal Staff Writer

The Bears softball team split a doubleheader with the Northwestern State Lady Demons 3-2 in both games Friday as the Bears’ defense struggled. The Bears played in orange shirts in honor of Trey Hickey, a Conway resident who is battling Leukemia, to raise Leukemia awareness. The Lady Demons got to a quick start in the first game with freshman second baseman Cali Burke’s single after freshman shortstop Tara McKenney struck out. With the two runners on base, junior left fielder Samantha Roberts hit a line drive to left field to advance Burkey and put up an RBI. Senior catcher Kayla Cole knocked in the second run as she

got thrown out at first. The first hit for the Bears in the first inning came after two back-to-back outs. Junior left fielder Kasey Britt hit a home run. Following Britt, sophomore catcher Melanie Bryant hit a grounder past third, but failed to get past first. The first inning ended with the Demons leading 2-1. The next run did not come until the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth, the Lady Demons’ first batter, freshman first baseman Brianna Rodriguez, hit a line drive to left field. The Bears attempted a double play, throwing out Rodriguez at second and sophomore center fielder Ashlee England got a double off of her bunt because of a Bears’ overthrow at first. The Lady Demons could not progress. At the Bears bat, Melanie

Bear Chat with

Jasmine Coleman

by Lee Hogan Staff Writer

Senior sprinter Jasmine Coleman has made her senior year a success. In the outdoor season, Coleman placed first in the 400 meter at the Hendrix Invitational in Conway. Coleman has placed in the top 10 of the 400 meters on one other occasion in the outdoor season at the UCA Invitational. Coleman is also a part of the UCA 4x400 meter relay team. The team that Coleman was a part of finished second earlier in the indoor season at the Missouri Challenge. Coleman’s hometown is Pine Bluff and she is the daughter of former UCA footbal player Monte Coleman, who went on to play for the Washington Redskins in the NFL and is currently the football coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

When did you start running track?

I started running when I was around age 8 but I got serious about it in seventh grade and I have run every year since.

What is your favorite event?

I would have to say the 400-meter dash simply because it is short. I also really like my event from high school, which was the two-mile run.

What is your last thought before the start of an event?

My last thought before competing in an event and right before he fires the gun is, “Help me Lord.”

What brought you to UCA?

I came to UCA because I wanted to be near home and my dad is a distinguished alumnus here, so UCA was very welcoming.

What is your favorite moment as a UCA Bear?

My favorite moments as a Bear are simply being apart of the team. I love how we all get along and throughout the season we form a family and friendship that will last a lifetime.

What is your major?

My major is mass communication-broadcast journalism and my minor is business management.

What are your plans after graduation? I plan to attend grad school.

What is your most embarrasing moment? I really don’t have a most embarrasing moment.

What is on your iPod right before a meet?

On my iPod before a track meet is usually one of my christian rap albums. It kinda varies from week to week, this week’s album was “Fingerprints” by Rhema Soul.

Do you have any superstitions? No superstitions.

What do you think your emotions will be at your last track meet as a Bear? I think my emotions at my last track meet will be bittersweet. I love running and I know I am going to miss track and being on the team, but at the same time I am looking forward to the end and looking forward to the next chapter in my life.

What is your favorite meal?

With track it would have to be grilled chicken and hash brown casserole from Cracker Barrel. We eat there all the time.

What is your best memory from your time on the UCA track team?

My best memory with the team is my freshman year. At the end of our outdoor season we usually have to stay in Conway a week after school lets out and that week back in 2008, me and my fellow freshmen had games and water balloon fights in our dorm. We were the only ones there and we just went crazy and had the time of our lives. It was great.

Final Week Find us in downtown Conway!

Bryant managed to hit a home run on the second pitch and first up to bat for the Bears. The Bears and the Lady Demons held each other to what turned out to be a nineinning game. The Bears had opportunities to cut the game in the eighth inning after the Lady Demons received a three-upthree-down. “We had bases loaded, no outs and we had three chances and couldn’t score a run,” coach Brandi Vondenstein said. “They fought back and found a way to get it done in the ninth inning.” Sophomore center fielder Candice Gauntt started off the inning making a single with a line drive to right field. Following Gauntt, sophomore shortstop Melissa Bryant hit a line drive to left field. With two runners on base, Britt was walked, loading the bases with no outs. With the crowd’s high hopes for Melanie Bryant to hit a grand slam, she struck out. After the strikeout, sophomore Lindsey Barsoum was up for a pinch hit. Barsoum hit to second only for Gauntt to be forced out at home. With the bases still loaded, senior first baseman Shay Ristau struck out for the last out, ending the inning still tied at 2. “That put a lot of pressure on us because we needed to win that,” freshman third baseman Ashlynn Tovar said. “That was the key point in the game where we could’ve won it.” After another Lady Demons’ three-up-three-down, Melissa Bryant batted in junior pinch hitter Kelley Martino for the win. In this game, the Bears outbatted the Lady Demons 8-3. Junior right fielder Nicole Beals, Melissa Bryant, Melanie Bryant and Britt all got two hits for the Bears. The Lady Demons beat the Bears in strikeouts 10-8. Sophomore pitcher Kelsie Armstrong threw eight strikeouts for the Bears as she pitched the whole game. In preparation for the next game, Vondenstein said the coaches simply told the team that they had to keep playing hard and take it one pitch at a time. Allowing only one hit in the first inning, the Bears were off to a good start offensively and defensively. At bat, the Bears started off striking out, but they bounced back quickly with Melissa Bryant hitting a line drive to left field. Britt followed up with a two run homer to score their only two runs of the game. The Lady Demons also scored two in the fourth inning, starting with Cole hitting a home run. Following the home run, England hit a fly ball to center field and it was dropped by the defender. At Rodriguez’s bat, there was an error as she hit to second base. Right behind the error, junior third baseman Tiffany Ward dropped a sacrifice bunt that drove in an equalizing run. The Lady Demons scored the run they needed to take the lead in the seventh inning. Burke managed to get on base due to the pitcher fumbling with the ball. She was able to advance to second because of fielder’s choice against the next batter. Sophomore designated player Kylie Roos hit a grounder to left field for a double, knocking in a run in the process. The Bears fought back, but still fell short. “I think we battled all night, but they made more plays than we did defensively,” Vondenstein said. “We had three errors on the board. We [aren’t] going to win many games when we have three errors. There should’ve been a lot more too.” The Bears move to 21-27 with the loss and 8-15 in the Southland conference.

Lukas Deem photo

Junior first baseman Kasey Britt gets a hit during the series finale game against the Northwestern State University Demons. The Bears lost the game 3-0 on Saturday.

Softball Bears lose series finale to Demons 3-0 by Simon Gable Staff Writer

The UCA softball team split its first two games of the weekend against the Northwest State Lady Demons, but came up short in a 3-0 loss during their final game of the series on Saturday, April 23 at Farris Field. The loss brings the Bears to 21-28 overall with a conference record of 8-16 and the win takes the Lady Demons to 29-19 overall with a conference record of 1212. The Bears came into the game confident that they could get the better of the Lady Demons. Coach David Kuhn said: “We are pretty evenly matched with this team, and we were expecting to come out here and get a win. Unfortunately, we were unable to execute that.” The game got off to a slow start with neither team doing anything in the first inning, but it did not take the Lady Demons long to get on track. The Demons started the second inning right when junior left fielder Samantha Roberts led off with a double. Roberts didn’t have to wait at second base long before she was driven home by another double by freshman first baseman Brianna Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was able to score later in the inning off of a sacrifice fly to center field by junior third baseman Tiffany Ward. The Bears got out of the top of the second inning down only two runs, but were unable to muster up any offense during their chance in the second inning. The Lady Demons were able to carry the momentum they gained in the second into the third and started the inning with a base hit by freshman second baseman Cali Burke. Burke was then able to advance to second base after an error from the Bears. Roberts drove Burke home moments later when she singled up the middle of the field. This gave the Lady Demons a 3-0 edge and would be the last score of the game. Innings four through six were good defensive innings for both teams, as most of the plays were groundouts to first base. However, the Bears were able to break up sophomore Lady Demon pitcher Brooke Boening’s no hitter in the fourth inning when sophomore catcher Melanie Bryant singled to center field. The Bears attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning with the game on the line.

Bryant was able to get her second hit of the game when she doubled in the bottom of the seventh with one out. Bryant was then able to advance to third after junior designated hitter Katie McGregor singled. Unfortunately, with a runner on third base and two outs remaining, the Bears were unable to complete their comeback. Boening’s pitching proved to be too much as she was able to get the next two batters for the Bears out at first base on consecutive groundouts. “NSU’s pitcher was too much for us today,” Kuhn said. “She has a great drop ball and she used it to dominate us,” he said. Boening finished the game with eight strikeouts. The Bears’ lack of offense ultimately proved to be their downfall. “We have come up short in a lot of close games lately. We just can’t seem to come up with that big play to put us over the top,” Kuhn said. Kuhn said he is confident that they will be able to bounce back. Bears sophomore pitcher Kelly Armstrong, who is now 1319 after the loss, said: “We have high hopes that we can turn it around. We just have to practice hard and get back to doing the things that we know how to do well.”

-REVIEW-

Tennis Sugar Bears ends season with 1-17 record by Lisa Burnett Entertainment Editor

The UCA women’s tennis team finished out its season April 17 in Beaumont, Texas with a record of 1-17. Coach Rebecca Miller said she is really proud of the team for its effort throughout the season. The team’s best match was against Henderson State University on March 11. “We killed the Henderson match. We won every match and we had some really close head-toheads,” Miller said. The Sugar Bears swept the match with every member of the team winning their matches. It was freshman Sasha Ruocco’s first year to play for the Sugar Bears. “Our coach really helped me improve on my stroke. When I came here it wasn’t that great, but I think it’s better now,” Ruocco said. Ruocco said she wants to improve on her game by learning from her mistakes. “I have a book that I write down everything I do wrong in a match so I can work on those mistakes,” Ruocco said. The Sugar Bears got their first and only win at the Henderson match. Senior Lisa Mainz and junior Allison Hartman won in doubles and sophomore Kazumi Otani and Ruocco also picked up

a win in doubles at this match. Miller said she wants the team to work more on being able to finish their matches strong. “We struggled a lot with finishing, we just couldn’t close our matches after we got started,” Miller said. Ruocco said she wants to improve on her endurance, among other things next year. “I need to work on my conditioning and reaction towards the ball next season,” Ruocco said. Miller said she is proud of how the team pulled together. “We had a lot of team unity. They really came together as one,” Miller said. The season began with the Red Wolves Invitational in Jonesboro on Oct. 1. At this invitational, senior Kati Andersen won the fifth flight of singles. The Sugar Bears fell short during their match

against Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. on Feb. 13. The Sugar Bears lost their home opener against Murray State with a score of 5-2. Freshman Simona Horsik won the first singles matchup to get the first point of the match and Andersen got the other point for this match. Ruocco had some tough competition this season. “One of my most prominent memories is when I played against a girl with a national ranking at the match against Nicholls State at home. She was one of the best in the conference,” Ruocco said. This is Miller’s last season with the Bears. “I’m getting married, so it’s bittersweet to leave,” Miller said. “ I’m really going to miss the relationships that I made with the girls.”

12 / April 27, 2011

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